Victoria Regina

Patricia Routledge gives a career-best performance as Queen Victoria in this 1964 series of plays based on the celebrated collection of dramas by playwright Laurence Housman. Self-willed, obstinate, imperious and passionate... a now-familiar description of one of history's longest-serving female monarchs – but Housman's satirical tribute marked a decisive break with the tradition of the uncritical historical portrait. A Broadway hit deemed too disrespectful for public performance in Britain until the late 1930s, Victoria Regina is a frank portrayal of an extraordinarily complex woman, tracing her development from royal teenager to inconsolable widow at the helm of a vast empire, with all her contradictions, prejudices and unconstitutional behavior.

Cast

Patricia Routledge Queen Victoria Joachim Hansen Prince Albert Max Adrian Benjamin Disraeli

Geoffrey Dunn Archbishop of Canterbury

Michael Bilton Footman Nicholas Courtney Tudor

Marianne Demming Duchess of Kent

Cyril Luckham Lord Melbourne Miles Malleson Conyngham

Humphrey Morton Secretary

Michael Wolf Prince Ernest

Jolyon Booth Mr. Oakley

Metadata from the source database.