Edward VII mourned for second time

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33963, 2 October 1975, Page 4

Edward VII mourned for second time

The television reign of Edward the Seventh comes to an end next Wednesday and as Patrick Stoddart of the London “Evening News” wrote, “a nation will mourn him for the second time this century.”

The 13 episodes of the series cost more than £l.sm and are easily the most expensive ever produced by a British television organisation. In Britain, every episode of the series was in the 20 most popular programmes, and five of them made No. 1. The series elicited the kind of audience response that producer Cecil Clarke and director John Gorrie never dreamt possible when they began. And it came at a time when the experts were declaring that the public romance with historical costume drama on television was finished. However, the life and times of Bertie, Prince of Wales and later King, stirred an enormous audience over 13 weeks. OFFERED HINTS People from many countries wrote in to offer hints and advice. Very old people, schoolchildren, and people from every continent wrote in asking questions and telling the producers things they thought might interest them.

The success of the series, said Clarke, was due largely to the immense commitment of Timothy West as Edward and Annette Crosbie as Victoria. “Both did far more homework and research on their characters than was required of them,” he said.

But what really confounded the experts was that “Edward VII” often

topped the charts in front of the usual mass audience shows like “Love They Neighbour.” A quality show had never made it to the top of the charts before — not even the legendary “Forsyte Saga.” The Queen was reported an ardent fan of her ancestor’s story. Buckingham Palace approved the series from the start and gave considerable help to ensure accuracy. The Queen and Prince Philip watched many episodes and it was their favourite programme. CROWNS ASKEW

What was immediately clear was that the sceptics completely under-estimated the continuing pulling power of “royalty” in Britain. ATV’s “Edward” broke new ? round too in depicting ong-venerated royal characters with their crowns askew. The saintly Queen Victoria turned out to be a sharp-tongued virago at times.

“She was emotional, hysterical, obstinate, possessive and jealous. In fact, perfectly normal,” says actress Annette Crosbie. “When her husband died she was left with a wealth of grief and nowhere to put it. She was faced with a lifetime of never knowing love again. Naturally she was upset.” Clarke believes that realism spells success. “What fascinated people was seeing into royal homes and discovering that they don’t talk or behave to each other so differently to anyone else.” Of course a great deal of the appeal was in actor Timothy West’s portrayal. The bare bones of Edward’s character are not exactly attractive. A playboy Prince, he quite ruthlessly abused his position in acquiring

other men’s wives. He was also a gambler and a man given to towering rages. “Pictures of Edward with his mistress, Mrs Keppel, at the races used to appear in the society pages," said West. “A modern monarch couldn’t get away with it. I think a lot of people must have found him unpleasant. I hope I haven’t whitewashed him.”

Timothy West also added: “Royalty were like pop stars in those days.” And judging from the success of “Edward VII,” perhaps they still are.