Produced and directed by David Wilson;

Maybe it?s because I?m a first generation Aussie of English parentage; or that I have a strong interest in the history of the country that invaded, then founded, this nation, but I have always had a strong interest in the history of Britain ? a nation with both a proud tradition of social stability and fairness towards its own people, along with an imperialistic mentality that caused much harm globally.

Monarchy is clearly part 1 of an ongoing series of programs dealing with the British monarchy. This 6-part series of roughly one-hour episodes deals with the British monarchy from the time of Anglo-Saxon conquest in the AD400s to the late 1400s ? the conclusion of the narration to the sixth episode clearly indicates that there is more to come.

David Starkey is a well-known narrator of documentaries of this ilk, and once again he didn?t let me down. Though speaking at a rather rapid rate at times, he does not overload the viewer to a great extent at any stage, and tends to keep the viewer engrossed at all times. His method is akin to that of an uncle-figure who is not condescending or preachy, and is there to educate rather than lecture. Despite a couple of his methods of speech (his ?years? always comes out as ?yerrs?) I find his manner rather engaging.

THE EXTRAS

There are no special features attached to this documentary package.

CONCLUSION

Monarchy is a massive, enjoyable, and gently educational piece of historical documentary. It is hard to give you a great deal of information about the series because of it?s content and length ? except to say that it is a most enjoyable and compelling piece of storytelling. Because of the provenance of the series ? the sources (including the British Library), and the credentials of the narrator ? there is no way that I could ever query the content of the series. That being the case, it is an entertaining piece of filmmaking that proves once again that fact can be as fascinating, or far more interesting (and stranger) than fiction.

Highly recommended.