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More
on Queen Victoria
Daily
Mail -- Tuesday, August 14, 2001
Victoria's
secret Behind the austere mask, a queen full of passion and romance ...
or so the BBC would have you believe
TARA
CONLAN
THE
austere image of Queen Victoria is blown apart in a controversial BBC film
which portrays her as a passionate romantic.
Victoria
and Albert is described by the corporation as the story of her 'life of
passion, both as monarch and lover' and 'the man who awakens her sexually'.
The
project has already provoked anger among monarchists, who say it is based
on nothing more than a vivid imagination and will taint her reputation.
The
two-part drama, to be shown in a pre-watershed slot on BBC1 over the August
Bank Holiday weekend, explores Queen Victoria's love life and the desire
she felt for Prince Albert.
In
one scene the Queen played by Victoria Hamilton is shown barely able to
control herself when she sees her future husband wearing tight breeches.
She
also asks one of her ladies-in-waiting for tips on lovemaking.
The
couple's wedding night is played out on screen, with the Queen and Prince
shown kissing passionately in bed.
In
another scene, Albert barges in on Lord Uxbridge having sex with his mistress.
Distinguished
historian Philip Ziegler, Edward VIII's official biographer, said the drama
could not possibly reflect the exact details of Victoria and Albert's private
life.
'My
own feeling is it must be a work of imagination,' he said. 'No one really
knows what went on in the bedroom.
I
can't see the point of it. To ascribe such words and gestures seems a fairly
pointless exercise.' Donald Foreman, secretary- general of the Constitutional
Monarchist Association, said some members of his organisation would be
upset by the royal bedroom scenes.
 'Queen
Victoria may well have been a passionate woman, but do people really want
to see it portrayed on the television?' he asked.
'She
is still a living memory for some people and certainly people remember
their grandparents talking about her.
'She
seems close to many people and for them it will be like having the curtains
drawn back on their own grandparents' sex lives.' Actor Jonathan Firth,
who plays Prince Albert, defended the series as 'the story of a passionate
romance between two people'.
'Queen
Victoria was a product of a the Regency period, which was quite debauched
and louche,' said Firth, brother of Pride and Prejudice star Colin
Firth. 'She was initially more like that, but then took her morality from
Albert in later life. Most people have an image of Queen Victoria from
her later life in films such as Mrs Brown.' Producer David Cunliffe pointed
out that Queen Victoria's diaries had revealed her to be a passionate woman.
'This
drama is essentially a love story about two people,' he said.
'We
have done extensive research, making use of Victoria's diaries. Although
it does give an account of Victoria and Albert's personal life it is not
torrid.
'You
would be quite happy to let a child of three months see this programme.
Many
of the people who have commented on it have not actually seen it.' The
5million drama had been due to be shown in the spring, but was put back
to August after a series of classic dramas flopped in the ratings.
The
cast includes many well-known names, including Nigel Hawthorne, as prime
minister Lord Melbourne, David Suchet, as German diplomat Baron Stockmar,
and Diana Rigg, as Victoria's governess Lehzen.
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