Donning the crown
‘Victoria’ premieres in old ‘Downton Abbey’ time slot
Since “Downton Abbey” ended its run last year, a notable hole was left in the hearts of fans of the hit “Masterpiece” series. Happily, there’s a new period piece stepping in to fill the void. “Victoria” is a historical drama based on the titular Queen Victoria, whose long reign, passionate marriage and large brood of children provide no shortage of material worthy of prime time. The series premiered in the U.K. last summer, and makes its North American debut Sunday, Jan. 15, on PBS.
If you have an image in your head of Queen Victoria, it’s probably similar to mine: an austere and formidable middle-aged woman, clad in black and lace, looking quite important if not exactly a barrel of laughs. To be sure, she was one of the most powerful women in the world during her famously long reign and went into a period of heavy mourning after the death of her beloved husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, from which she never fully emerged (hence all the black).
Victoria held the crown for 63 years, making her the longest reigning British monarch until her great-great-granddaughter, the current Queen Elizabeth II, overtook her in September 2015. Her rule was a time of much cultural, political and industrial change in the United Kingdom, and saw a great expansion of the British Empire.
She was, however, just 18 years old when she inherited the throne in 1837, tiny and sheltered at just 4-foot-11. She’s portrayed in “Victoria” by Jenna Coleman (“Doctor Who”), and the first season examines these earliest years of her reign, from her accession to the throne and her important relationship with Prime Minister and mentor Lord Melbourne (Rufus Sewell, “The Pillars of the Earth”) to her early marriage to Albert (Tom Hughes, “The Game”) and the birth of their first child.
The series also features Daniela Holtz (“The Forest for the Trees,” 2003) as Baroness Lehzen, Victoria’s governess who was instrumental in her upbringing; Paul Rhys (“Borgia”) as the adversarial John Conroy; and Catherine Flemming (“Simones Labyrinth,” 2003) as Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent, with whom she had a less-thanideal relationship.
The freshman series completed its U.K. run back in the fall, and, aside from the odd critique of historical liberties taken, has garnered favorable reviews. It drew an average of 7.6 million viewers, regularly beating fellow period piece and timeslot competitor “Poldark,” airing on BBC1. The show has secured a second season renewal along with a Christmas special, which will air later this year. Stateside, it’s set to air in the time-slot that “Downton Abbey” held for six years, and it has equally high hopes this side of the pond.
Depicting real people and events always presents a particular set of challenges, with the added pressure of getting all the details right while still delivering a story people are actually interested in tuning in to. Coleman dove head first into her research of the role, uncovering a good deal about the queen that she never knew before; the queen we see on screen may come as a surprise to many viewers as well.
“The role has been quite a revelation actually, and I’m quite surprised at how little I knew,” the actress revealed in an interview with The Independent. “A lot of people instinctively say, ‘You can’t play Victoria . ... She’s stern and old and wore black for the rest of her life.’ And actually, I don’t think people are quite aware of how vivid she is and what a lust for life she has.”
The series sees a young and green queen take the throne and step up to the challenge of proving herself worthy of it, age and gender aside. Lacking political experience, she relies heavily on the advice of Lord Melbourne, and their friendship plays an important role in her early reign. Her infatuation with her mentor — younger and more handsome than the real, middle-aged Lord Melbourne, who was likely more of a father figure to the queen — makes for good TV, but the real love story is between Victoria and her new husband. The marriage between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert is notable for being a love match, as opposed to one made purely for political purposes, as was usually the case with monarchs of the past. In the series, Victoria struggles to prove not only that she is fit to rule the British Empire, but that her husband is right for it — and for her — as well.
While the queen is inarguably the main focus of the series, certain storylines go beyond her and her fellow nobles. “It’s a household. It’s a piece about Victoria and her inner and outer life, but also about Victoriana, I suppose,” Coleman explained in the same interview. “For example, we have a chef, and you see the invention of hot chocolate, you see photography coming in, you see railways starting to appear, you see all the things that shaped the world as it is now.”
If the series is as popular with North American audiences as it’s been with the Brits, “Victoria” is sure to prove a most satisfactory replacement for the dearly departed “Downton Abbey.” The new “Masterpiece” series premieres Sunday, Jan. 15, on PBS.