Category Archives: Royal documentaries

French Royalty, Royal documentaries

‘The French Revolution, The Monarchy, and Maximilien Robespierre’ Two Documentaries.

Here are two documentaries regarding the French Revolution  “… which abolished the absolute monarchy in France…”  The first documentary, produced by the History Channel, is simply entitled, The French Revolution.  Overall, the program is okay.

The second documentary by the BBC is entitled, Terror Robespierre and the French Revolution.  Here is a synopsis:

The watchwords of the French Revolution were liberty, equality and fraternity. Maximilien Robespierre believed in them passionately. He was an idealist and a lover of humanity. But during the 365 days that Robespierre sat on the Committee of Public Safety, the French Republic descended into a bloodbath.

‘The Terror’ only came to end when Robespierre was devoured by the repressive machinery he’d created. This drama-documentary tells the story of the Terror and looks at how Robespierre’s revolutionary idealism so quickly became an excuse for tyranny, and why a lover of liberty was so keen to use the guillotine.

And, finally, here is the documentary I tweeted earlier.  Nonetheless, I decided to add it to this post.  The program is entitled, Filthy Cities: Revolutionary Paris.

The host, Dan Snow, kindly informs the viewer that in the 18th century inside the famous Château de Versailles it actually smelled like, well, a garbage dump.  Apparently, various writers at the time who visited the palace noted,  “… the squalor inside was unspeakable… the corridors acted like public lavatories for courtiers… livestock even defecated in the great gallery…”

EW!

If you can stomach watching the program, because it is a tad gross, click here to watch.

British Royals, Royal documentaries

‘Warts and All – Portrait of a Prince’ A Documentary Hosted by Historian, Dr. Lucy Worsley.

Yes, it is documentary Saturday and here is yet another program hosted by historian Dr. Lucy Worsley entitled, Warts and All: Portrait of a Prince.  This BBC Four documentary:

… presents a vivid portrait of an age of elegance presided over by a prince of decadence – the infamous Prince Regent himself, a man with legendary appetites for women, food and self-indulgence. Yet this was the same man who would rebuild London, carving out the great thoroughfare of Regent Street and help establish the Regency look as the epitome of British style through his extravagant patronage of art and design.

Click here to watch the documentary.

And, finally, here is a fun and interesting series from the BBC entitled, Filthy Cities: Medieval London, hosted by historian Dan Snow.

Click here to watch the documentary.