BBC’s miniseries Prince Regent (1979) has clearly fallen off the radar, so much so that it’s not even available for streaming (but you can find it for free on a possibly-questionable site via a Google video search). Nonetheless, it’s a solid, traditional bio-series about an inherently hilarious person, and the costumes (by Raymond Hughes) are quite good — as one would expect from the BBC!
We pick up from my previous posts, and I foolishly left this post too long to write, because I don’t remember all the plot points except it focuses on Princess Charlotte and her marriage! Prinny must eventually become king, right? (Yep, 1820, just checked). Oh, I also remember that there’s the whole George attempts to divorce Queen Caroline in Parliament thing, which fails. Onwards, let’s talk costumes! Because this is the BBC, I actually found a lot to screenshot despite it being Regency!
I was wrong, Cherie Lunghi doesn’t play one of George III & Charlotte‘s children, she plays Princess Charlotte (Prinny’s daughter) at a young age! She hangs with mom in this metallic embroidered dress with standing ruff; and while she’s wearing a day cap, at least it’s cute and ruffly?
Charlotte and one of her ladies visit Prinny:
Queen Charlotte is still kicking around in her blousy, more 1790s-ish ensembles:
Charlotte looks elegant for evening:
Prinny gets laid up with gout, so gets visited by Lady Hertford, his not-actually-a-mistress.
At an evening party:
Riding habitses!!
Princess Charlotte talks to dad wearing a portrait dress:
Charlotte gets married:
Charlotte gets pregnant!
Soon-to-be Queen Caroline gets up to no good in Italy:
Prinny has a super blowsy woman for his current mistress:
Prinny and mistress go riding:
Because of his gout, Prinny has to be carried out in a chair. He is DRESSED TO THE NINES.
Prinny ages:
Caroline shows up for the Parliamentary hearings about a possible divorce in a full veil:
Prinny has fun with the Blowsy (Frowzy?) Mistress:
Caroline dresses up for parties:
Prinny continues his Beau Brummell-ish elegant dress style:
But also loves a uniform:
And we’re out! Have you watched Prince Regent? What was your take on the costumes?
The “Portrait dress” actually still exists. I have a picture of it somewhere, so they could actually have studied the real thing!
After reading your first three posts on this series, I managed to find a copy of the DVD on Ebay for £8 (I live in the UK). I binge-watched it over a couple of days and thought it was excellent. OK, it’s rather stagey and studio bound but the costumes are fab and so are the performances. Especially Peter Egan – he reminded me here of his brilliant Oscar Wilde in “Lillie” which I think was made the previous year.
A shame that this is almost impossible to find, the costumes seem lovely and it covers some interesting history.
It never ceases to fascinate me that Princess Charlotte of Wales and Prince Leopold very nearly did the full ‘Victoria and Albert’ (and that one of the former was almost literally born because nature denied the two earlier lovebirds a chance to go all the way).
Also, words cannot express how disappointed I am that this programme seems to have fled in Awe, wonderment and sheer terror from the episode in which His Late Majesty George IV wore full highland regalia (with flesh-toned ballet tights!) on that famous visit to Edinburgh masterminded by Sir Walter Scott.
Truly we cannot be living in the Very Best of all possible timelines.