Monarchy by David Starkey

This has been a cracking series.

David Starkey is a good presenter, a lot more serious than Adam Hart-Davis - but that's the way we like it! This is serious history for serious grown ups! It goes into a great deal of detail on each of the monarchs and I have really enjoyed the recent run through the Stuarts, the four Goerge's and William the IV. My wife is Indonesian and is learning all this for the first time and asks lots of questions - but it shows how the good the series is when a complete history newbie is happy to watch an hour of this every Monday night.

In essence each episode concentrates on one monarch (of England, and then the United Kingdom) and leads on to the next one. So for instance you will get a whole hour (more or less) of Charles II, leading onto James II and then the Glorious Revolution.

Because of the depth of detail I have been learning a lot. Especially about how bloody and ruthless things were back then! I can't recommend it enough. It isn't as accessible as something like 'What the Roman's did for us' but I think anyone can watch this - not just history-buffs like me.

This is by far the best documentary series on the British monarchy I have had the pleasure of watching. It is well produced, very informative and not full of bluster and bull. Starkey presents the material very well. It is a must have for any fan of history or Anglophile. My only complaint is that the episodes were too short for my taste. I could easily sit through hour and half long episodes. I have watched the series time and time again. As a fan and student of history I highly recommend this series. Sadly however I have only seen the series on Netflix, and they do not as yet have the 3rd and final season of the series. I look forward to them getting it or someone buying the series for me;-)

It starts okay, just a quick overview of snapshots of history. This didn't bother me so much, as this is television. My problem arose when the narrator starts to outlined the War of the Roses. It's comical that a historian would use this phrase, but his use of the term perfectly illustrates the problem. The show becomes propaganda at this point, like he took all of Shakespeare's Richard III and quoted it verbatim, with the result being "Tudors good, Yorks bad." Even the actors who portray the Yorks are sensationalized. Richard is eighteen during this time but is portrayed by a man who looks to be in his mid thirties. Sorry, but if this is what Acorn TV considers a documentary, then I have to pass.

Monarchy is a multi-episode documentary outlining the history of the English Monarchy. I was really excited to stumble onto this series of the Netflix, primarily because I had never seen a thorough presentation of this fascinating subject.

The show, however, is a mixed bag. While on the one hand it is certainly informative, outlining the rich history in vivid detail, it also got on my nerves. Maybe it is my American prejudices, but it seems weird to me that Monarchy should be introduced (as this series does) as government by consent of the people. It seems like most of English history involves a parade of random personalities who acquire power mostly through military prowess and occasionally display synergy with the people themselves.

As for the presentation, it is dead serious, pompous and completely humorless. David Starkey seems almost a cliché of the earnest English historian, and the camera angles have him frequently looking at a downward angle at the audience. I felt like I was being lectured by the old-fashioned English school master/tyrant.

Still, it is educational, and if you can stand the style (or at least are not bothered by it) it is worth a look.

I have been watching this series for three years already. Watched many chapters twice or three times. I find David Starkey to be a superb narrator, eloquent, dramatic, a voice one must listen to. It's incalculable how much I have learned. I am not British yet as a fan of History and documentaries, I am extremely impressed with these series. The visuals and the music are excellent, but Starkey's narration is often enough to hold my attention.