Britain’s Bloodiest Dynasty: The Plantagenets
Three elements make this documentary about 250 years of British history compelling. First is on-camera narrator Dan Jones, an expert on England’s medieval period, who walks through the actual places where events took place, either speaking directly to the camera in stark, modern terminology or doing voice-over work.
Second are those historic sites where British royalty ruled through treachery, murder, war, love and hate. They are beautifully photographed and bring a sense of reality to those dark days during which a single family (the Plantagenets) maintained control. Third are the actors portraying kings, queens, knights, religious figures, slaves and other reallife people. It is like watching outtakes from “Game of Thrones,” so elegant are the sets and costumes.
Blended all together into four 45-minute pieces of sequential history, “Britain’s Bloodiest Dynasty” never stops shocking with its grim details about how a French family, after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, took control of England and changed its direction forever. It begins in 1154 with Henry II and how his knights murdered Archbishop Thomas Becket, followed by how Henry’s son Richard I fought the Crusades. Next came Richard’s brother John, responsible for the Magna Carta. It finally ended in the late 13th century with Henry III, who ruled ruthlessly for 56 years.
Bonuses include a 12-page booklet with a detailed time line, plus profiles of all the Plantagenet queens, who were as often power driven as their savage husbands.