The Devil's Crown poster

The Devil's Crown

★ 8.1 128 votes 1978–1978 1 seasons · 13 episodes Ended BBC One
Starring
Jane LapotaireJohn DuttineChristopher GableBrian CoxRalph MichaelCharles Kay
Starring
Jane LapotaireJohn DuttineChristopher GableBrian CoxRalph MichaelCharles Kay
Ratings per Episode
246810
Votes per Episode
036912
E1E2E3E4E5E6E7E8E9E10E11E12E13
S17.0

About

The Devil's Crown was a BBC limited series which dramatised the reigns of three medieval Kings of England: Henry II and his sons Richard the Lionheart and John. It was broadcast in thirteen 55-minute episodes between 30 April and 23 July 1978. Henry Plantagenet (latterly Henry II), sees his opportunity to seize the crown of England and create a kingdom of law and order. He cuts a deal with King Stephen in which Stephen will name him his heir, excluding his sons Eustace and William in exchange for a fragile truce. Stephen's sudden death elevates Henry to the throne. He may have been King of England, but the bulk of the Angevin Empire was in France, and it was this that Henry regarded as the Jewel in his Crown, maintained through a series of political marriages and complex allegiances. Henry pays homage to Louis VII, King of the Franks, for these lands, but it is clear that Henry is the shrewder and more ambitious of the two kings, having married Louis' ex-wife Eleanor of Aquitaine.

All Seasons

Season 11978
7.01213
EpTitleRatingVotesRuntime
1If All the World Were Mine7.012
2The Earth Is Not Enough
3A Rose, a Thorn
4The Hungry Falcons
5Before the Dark
6Richard Yea and Nay
7Lion of Christendom
8When Cage-Birds Sing
9Bolt from the Blue
10In Sun's Eclipse
11The Flowers Are Silent
12Tainted King
13To the Devil They Go

Full Cast & Crew

Cast

Jane Lapotaire Eleanor of Aquitaine
John Duttine John
Christopher Gable Charles Auguste, Philippe Auguste
Brian Cox Henry II
Ralph Michael Hubert Walter
Charles Kay Louis VII
Michael Byrne Richard Lionheart
Michael Hawkins Richard De Lacy
Patrick Troughton William Marshal
Lucy Gutteridge Alys, Alys aged 16

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