Charles II: The Power and the Passion & The Boy Who Would be King

This column first appeared in The Age on May 22, 2004

Charles II: The Power and the Passion (ABC, Sunday, 8.30pm) took me, with real pleasure, into an area of British history I knew little about - the reign of King Charles from 1660 to 1685. Devastated by the execution of his father King Charles I by Oliver Cromwell, Princes Charles must wait in exile for 10 year before he can return to the throne. When he finally takes power both his father's death and his years in exile have moulded this charismatic man into a king who veers wildly between principle and compromise, a king who battled an increasingly powerful parliament, and a king who was, in effect, the last absolute monarch of England.

So how did King Charles II spend the momentous, transitional years of his reign? Well, apart from battling parliament, and troubling diversions such as wars, the great Plague of London and the Great Fire, he whiled away much of his time having sex- occasionally in full view of the court and his King Charles spaniels. His mistresses escalating financial demands, and, at times, their religion, creates a real tension between King Charles, the parliament, and his subjects.

Rufus Sewell has the physical charisma to play this handsome king, but even he, in an interview in The Boy Who Would Be King (Wednesday, 9.30pm, ABC) admits that on first reading the script he could not work out what kind of man Charles II was, or what he stood for. This moral vacuum dogs this four hours of television despite Sewell's best efforts. The supporting cast is impressive and includes Rupert Graves as the Duke of Buckingham, Helen McCrory as long-time mistress Barbara Villiers, Shirley Henderson as his wife Queen Catherine, and Diana Rigg as the Queen Mother. Martin Freeman (known better as a comic actor from The Office and Love, Actually) plays political operator Lord Shaftesbury and is the only performer who seems out of his depth.

Towards the end of the second episode of the series however, we do come close to understanding what motivates Charles. At the height of the tension between himself and the parliament he sits before them in full regalia. King Charles II is, for those moments, magnificent, symbolic of the potential glory of the monarchy. He, like his father before him, believes in the divine right of kings. His insistence on this principle becomes more complex as it becomes clear that he knows the show is over even as he fights on, standing up for beliefs he knows will die with him. This generates a real poignancy, as does his late conversion to Catholicism - in part out of love for his childless cuckolded Queen. Only as he is dying, it seems, is Charles prepared to show his true colours.

If you watch Charles II also watch The Boy Who Would Be King, which describes Charles early years, and his escape to France. This helps explain Charles's religious tolerance (both protestants and Catholics fought to save his life) and his common touch. It's a shame we need to watch the documentary to give the fictional series more heart. To have extended Charles II: The Power and the Passion to include Charles's early life would have given it more impact. But what we do have is still great television.

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