10 British Monarchs Buried in Westminster Abbey

1. Edward I, King of England, in 1307
2. Edward III, King of England, in 1377
3. Henry V, King of England, in 1422
4. Henry VII, King of England, in 1509
5. Edward VI, King of England, in 1553
6. Mary I, Queen of England, in 1558
7. Elizabeth I, Queen of England, in 1603
8. James VI and I, King of England and Scotland, in 1625
9. Charles II, King of England and Scotland, in 1685
10. William III, King of England and Scotland, in 1702

(Also, Anne, Queen of Great Britain, in 1714 and George II, King of Great Britain, in 1760)

The Hollow Crown

I'm a bit behind with this but I've now had chance to see all four of BBC 2's series of Shakespeare history plays (Richard II, Henry IV Pt 1 and Pt 2, Henry V). These were excellent productions. (See more here). They take the plays out of the theatre (making for some difficulties in Henry V which is very much written for the theatre with a chorus [John Hurt this time]). These were not lavish productions for today I suppose but a good deal of time time and money was invested in scene setting, costumes and extras that far from detracting from the plays themselves added greatly to the interest. The idea of featuring the same hollow crown in all four plays was inspired and added to the whole. I'm not sure why the continuity preserved by having one man play Henry V (Tom Hiddleston) could not have been followed in the case of Henry IV (Rory Kinnear is replaced by Jeremy Irons). All four plays featured well known actors (Jeremy Irons, Patrick Stewart, David Suchet, Julie Walters, etc) and lesser known ones too. Although all four presentations made for a gripping 8 hours of TV, the first was the outstanding one for me. Ben Whishaw in the lead role is just magnificent. The decision to present him as a Christ figure worked brilliantly visually. A stunning performance. It is not easy to get to see this at this stage but it is worth seeking out.

Henry V at the Globe

For some reason I haven't found time to say what an excellent time I had down at Shakespeare's Globe last Thursday (apart from the hayfever set off by the thatched roof). They were doing Henry V, not a play I'm very familiar with although some of the lines are inevitably in one's head (O! for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention!; Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more Or close the wall up with our English dead! ). A play almost devoid of theatrical bombast its brilliantly paced variety (soliloquy, comedy, action, etc) still stands up and this was a good if not a great production. The play inevitably raises questions of war and peace though I found the interest in language much more interesting. There is an amusing scene (mostly in French) where the French Princess learns some English from her maid. The play also features a Welshman Fluellen and that was very well done (with a few adlibs such as esgob Dafydd and Aberystwyth [why is that word so funny?] though the many look yous seem to be original). I'd love to hear Rob Brydon doing the part. Of course, archetypal Englishman as he may be, Henry V was technically Welsh (born in the same county as yours truly - Ay, he was porn at Monmouth, Captain Gower. .. I'll tell you there is good men porn at Monmouth) and that is alluded to. Henry says to Fluellen "I am Welsh, you know, good countryman". Of course, Shakespeare just loves irony and there is plenty where that came from in the play. The whole Globe project really grabs me (especially the idea of letting groundlings in for a fiver). Apart from the occasional plane passing over you might think you were back in the 17th century at times.