The Last King aka Charles II: The Power and the Passion (2003)

The Last King aka Charles II: The Power and the Passion (2003)


Unfortunately, the version of this mini-series released in the U.S. is an abridged version, with a whole hour cut, making it a 3 hour series.  I have read that the cuts really hurt the show, making things more confusing and messing with the flow of the story.

Portrait of the real Charles II.

Regardless, I did enjoy it.  There was a lot of new information to digest, and so many historical figures I knew nothing about, that I think it would be good to watch it again, but it was enjoyable.  Charles II is a fascinating character, which is probably why so many movies are set during the restoration of his reign (The Libertine, Restoration, Stage Beauty, etc.).

Charles II begins the movie exiled in France, his father having been beheaded and Oliver Cromwell in charge of the government as Lord Protector.  Then, when Cromwell dies, I guess the people figure if a son is going to take over, it should be the King's son (Charles II) and not the Lord Protector's son (Richard Cromwell), which means the beginning of the restoration of the monarchy in England.  It's more complicated than this, but I am not an expert on the English Civil War or the English Restoration by any means.



So Charles II, played by Rufus Sewell, is back in England and on the throne of England.  Things are a pretty big mess for him.  He is traumatized by the death of his father, doesn't get along with his formidable mother, and has a religious crisis on his hands (Catholics versus Protestants, as usual).

Promotional photo of Charles II
surrounded by his women: (clockwise
from front) Queen Catherine,
Frances Stewart, Lady Castlemaine,
Lady Portsmouth, Nell Gwynn.

Rufus Sewell was good, though somehow I pictured Charles II with a less serious temperament -not that I have any evidence to support this idea, it was just an impression I had that he was more easy going-a bit more like how James Villiers played him in The First Churchills.  Still, I did like him.

The monarchs in history either seem to have been loyal spouses or complete leches, and Charles II was the latter.  He had multiple mistresses at all times, and things were pretty serious with most of them.  They often weren't one-night stands (though he had those, too); rather, he had long-standing affairs that involved the women giving birth to his children (most of whom he acknowledged) and many favors exchanged (titles, money, etc.).  An affair with the generous King was highly profitable for the women.  Mistress Nell Gwynne tells him her expectations in no uncertain terms:

Charles: You’re very beautiful, Nell.
Nell Gwynn: You don’t have to pay me compliments.  I’m not one of your simpering court ladies with a head full of romantic poetry.  I warn you, I want more than a quick pleasuring and a few trinkets for my trouble.
Charles: [Sighs] How much more?
Nell Gwynn: I don’t mean money.  I want respect.  I know what I’m worth, and any man who spends time with me better know it to, and that includes Kings.  Of course, if you do want to give me the odd token of your affection I won’t be offended.
Charles: I’ll make you rich, Nell.
Nell Gwynn: Comfortable will do.  To start with.

And another mistress, Lady Portsmouth, is equally clear:

Lady Portsmouth: My honor is my own affair now.  And with your sister gone, I must find another protector.  But alas, Sir, I have no money of my own.  I cannot remain in England.  [Slides closer to him and smiles] Unless, of course, Your Majesty wishes me to stay.
Charles: His Majesty can think of nothing more charming.
Lady Portsmouth: You may kiss me now if you wish.

Lady Castlemaine and a portrait of the
real Barbara Palmer, Lady Castlemaine.

His most prominent mistress for much of his rule was Barbara Palmer, titled Countess of Castlemaine and 1st Duchess of Cleveland.  She was able to wield a great deal of power over him.  I wish I knew her secret (or maybe I don't want to know) -she seemed really pushy and ambitious, she slept with multiple other men, including the King's favorite illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, and his best friend, George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham, and still he couldn't say no to her:

Lady Castlemaine: You don’t love me at all.  My good name’s been squandered for a man who treats me with contempt!
Charles: You’re Countess of Castlemaine now.  I made you rich.  What more proof of my affection do you need?  Your position will not suffer by my marriage.
Lady Castlemaine: I have no position.  Other than on my back.
Charles: Whatever I can do for you I will.
Lady Castlemaine: Very well, make me first lady of the Queen’s bedchamber.  [When he hesitates] Out.  Get out!  Go on, you have what you came for, why don’t you just go?
Charles: You’re my mistress, and everyone knows it.  It’d be a grotesque humiliation for the Queen to make you her principal attendant.
Lady Castlemaine: I have sacrificed everything for you!  All I ask is this one tiny thing from you in return!  Well, I see how things must be now.
Charles: If this is what you really want.  Perhaps something can be arranged.

She's demanding and annoying, and for quite a while has him wrapped around her finger (along with multiple other men).  Helen McCrory played Lady Castlemaine, and while she is a good actress, I didn't think she was pretty enough for the part.  Lady Castlemaine was supposed to have been a great beauty, and to have snared so many of the powerful men of the time it seems she would have had to have been gorgeous, and Helen McCrory doesn't quite fit the bill, though tastes were different back then.

Frances Stewart and a portrait of the real
Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond.

He also fell in love with Lady Frances Stewart -well, sort of:

Charles: Say the word, and everything you've ever dreamt of will be yours.  Everything.
Frances Stewart: Do you love me, Sir?
Charles: I have rarely felt such a need for a woman.  Perhaps that is love, I cannot say.

Apparently he toyed with the idea of marrying her, but she refused to become his mistress and married someone else before he could really consider it.  Were she as ambitious as Lady Castlemaine, she might have become queen.  It was actually kind of nice to see somebody reject him -he was so used to women saying yes to him.  He became very indignant when she refused his offer.

Charles II with his sister, Princess Henrietta
(with Lady Portsmouth walking behind them)
and a portrait of the real Princess Henrietta.

Nell Gwynn and a portrait of the real Nell Gwynn.

His two favorite mistresses at the end of his life were the actress Nell Gwynn, who was abrasive and crass but at least honest about what she was, and Louise de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth, who came from France with the King's sister Henrietta's entourage and was pretty and sweet but also whiny and weepy.  In one amusing scene, which is based on true events, Nell's carriage is attacked by people believing that she is the Catholic Louise de Keroualle, and she yells out cheerfully, "Good people, you are mistaken; I am the Protestant whore!" which is met by cheers.  Charles's wife, Catherine, gets along best with Lady Portsmouth, happy to have her replace Lady Castlemaine, who she hated, in the King's affections.  She even offers her advice:

Catherine: Mademoiselle de Keroualle, you should know by now the King loves his women bright, witty and diverting.  All this weeping and howling is not the way to keep his attention.  It is making you quite ugly.  [Offers a handkerchief] If you want him to love you again, be the woman he yearns for, and has never had.
Lady Portsmouth: What woman?
Catherine: An affectionate mother.

Lady Portsmouth and a portrait of the real Louise de Keroualle, Lady Portsmouth.

His mother, the devoutly Catholic Queen Henrietta Maria (daughter of Marie de' Medici and Henry IV of France), is depicted as cold and heartless, even refusing to visit her younger son's death bed when he asks for her because he is a Protestant.  Diana Rigg plays her, and she looks very old and dowdy.  In her portrait at the time of the Restoration she actually looked kind of pretty, so either the movie took artistic license or the artist painting her did.  I at least think she would have had better hair and clothes.  See my review of The Devil's Mistress for a different portrayal: http://www.kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-devils-mistress-aka-devils-whore.html

Henrietta Maria and a portrait of the real Queen Henrietta Maria.

The above are just some of his love interests -there were many more.  On his death bed, some of Charles's last words were in regards to his mistresses: "Be kind to Portsmouth and let not poor Nelly starve."

In addition to all these women, he had the aforementioned wife: Catherine of Braganza from Portugal.  When he first meets her, she speaks no English and has an insane hairdo, and he is not impressed: "My god, they've brought me a bat to marry."  He spends his wedding night with Lady Castlemaine.  Over time, as Catherine's English (and hair) improves, and he gets to know her better, he begins to appreciate that she has a kind and gentle personality.

Catherine of Braganza first meeting Charles II and a
portrait of the real Catherine of Braganza.

When she falls ill after a miscarriage, he stays with her through the night, comforting her when she becomes delusional and believes they have children together:

Catherine: Have you seen our little boy?  I fear he must be very ugly.
Charles: No.  He’s a very pretty little boy.       
Catherine: He will be strong and brave.  You will be proud of him.  How are the other children?
Charles: I’ve forgotten.  How many children do we have?
Catherine: Why three of course.
Charles: Of course.  They are well.  Very well.

Catherine in casual dress (trousers).

She is Catholic, and gets attacked by people at court because of her religion, but he seems to respect her piety and protects her.  While she eventually accepts that he will never love her or be faithful to her as she would wish, she still supports him and learns to accept his faults, which wins her points with Charles.  When Parliament (and Lady Castlemaine) pushes him to divorce her, as she is unable to bear children after miscarrying, he refuses, much to her great relief:

Queen Catherine comforts Charles after his sister's death.

Charles: Whispers and rumors swarm around my court like a pack of flies.  The time has come to put an end to so much uncertainty.
Catherine: If the axe is to fall, I pray you deliver the blow swiftly.
Charles: An act of parliament is all I require to end our marriage.  It’s a simple process, I’m informed, with good precedence in law.  But God’s divine will is not to be set aside lightly.  What I am, He made me.  He alone will decide my successor, not Parliament or any earthly party.  I will not grant Parliament rights it may one day use against me or the legitimate heirs of my blood.  I will suffer no more talk of divorce or annulment.  I’ve never considered it.  I never will.
Anne [In tears]: I know you can never feel more than a friend’s affection for me, but as long as you allow me to love and serve you, it is enough.
Charles [Turning to Monmouth]: The past is a closed book.  It can never be reopened.  Whatever you have been told, or choose to believe, there is nothing to be found in it that will change your destiny.  My brother, the Duke of York, is my heir.  Only a legitimate child of my blood will ever replace him, and no such child exists.  Let this be an end to these matters forever.  Forget your vain ambition.  Be happy as you are.

I thought Shirley Henderson, a quirky actress, was great in the part, giving the character a lot of heart and complexity.

The Duke of Monmouth and a portrait of the
real James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth.

Charles also refuses to make his illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, his heir in place of his brother James.  Parliament won't stand for James as future King, as he is Catholic, and though Charles knows that it will cause a huge rift, he will not change the line of succession, and eventually dispenses with Parliament over the issue:

"Talk of the exclusion of the Duke of York from the rightful succession is treason.  Any who speak of it set themselves against legitimate authority and are the heirs in spirit to those rebels who so recently plunged our country into rebellion and civil war.  Can anyone here contemplate such evil without horror?  Let there be no confusion.  The Duke of York is my heir and will remain so.  His right his ordained by God and no man may alter it.   Anyone who denies this truth makes themselves an enemy of God, King and country.  Think on that before you take another step towards chaos.  All the world may see what a point we have come to.  Nothing that begins in such division is likely to end well.  I declare Parliament dissolved.  Gentlemen, go home.  I will not trouble you any further."

James, the Duke of York and a portrait of the
real Duke of York, later James II of England.

Portrait of the real Anne Hyde,
first wife of the Duke of York (left),
and Anne Hyde at a spa with Lady Castlemaine.

He laments later:

Charles II: It's all been for nothing, Nell.  The cause that gave my life meaning, will die with me. I fought to restore everything that was lost when my father was murdered but James will destroy it all.  I know that, I've always known that.
Nell: Then why did you fight so hard for him?
Charles II: Not for him, for the principle.  For the rights of Kings.  Parliament will have its victory in the end.
Nell: You know what I think about politics; it's all a lot of foolish men scheming to ruin each other for no reason anyone can remember a few years later.  If it was up to me, I'd give the throne to Monmouth. Because, in my opinion, a King should always be handsome.
Charles II: Sweet Nell, how much better the world might be if it were arranged to your liking.

The title "The Last King" refers to the fact that he was the last king to rule without a Parliament.

Freeman as Lord Shaftesbury and Graves as the Duke of Buckingham
and as Detective Lestrade and Dr. Watson in Sherlock (right).

Portrait of the real Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury
and a portrait of the real George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham.

Other major characters are Rupert Graves as the Duke of Buckingham (Note: Buckingham married Mary Fairfax, the daughter of Thomas Fairfax and Anne de Vere, the main characters from the movie To Kill a King) and Martin Freeman as Lord Shaftesbury, and it was funny to see them together with their enormous wigs after having seen them act  together as Detective Lestrade and Dr. Watson in Sherlock.

I would have liked to have seen the full version of the series in order to get a better idea of the events of the time.  Still, it's a good one to watch, but you have to be okay with some sexually explicit scenes (though the U.S. version did edit out nudity).   I should also mention that the show does contain a lot about the politics of the time, but as I am more interested in the relationships of Charles II, that's what I've talked about here.

One thing that has become clear to me watching this show (and movies about Henry VIII), is that it doesn't pay to get too close to the king.  It's like flying too close to the sun.  His closest friends and advisers either turn to treason, unable to deny their over-abundant ambition, like Buckingham and Monmouth, or they are so loyal that eventually they're expected to take the fall for the King over some issue or other, even if they're very close to him and have offered years of loyal service, like the Earl of Danby and Edward Hyde.  Friendship with the King may seem like a good idea in the beginning, but it often ends badly.  Even his mistresses, who made off like bandits when they were in favor, often ended in squalor -Lady Castlemaine and Lady Portsmouth notably.

Also, it is incredible how many people take what appear to be minor religious differences VERY seriously.  These people were at each others throats over issues that seem so minor to me.  Charles was more tolerant than most, but Parliament, his people, and his family all put such pressure on him kill kill kill all the Catholics or Protestants (depending on their own views).  Hearing them rant their hatred is just baffling.  Did they not have enough to do with their time?  Seriously, people, relax.

Addendum: I am watching the full version now, and it is a much better movie with the added hour.  It makes a lot more sense with the plot gaps filled.  Unfortunately, it also contains a few crude scenes the edited version kindly omits.  It also puts forth the idea that Charles's sister, Henrietta (Anne-Marie Duff), was poisoned to death, and contains a lot more about her life in France (she was married to the King of France's brother, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans) and her work as an envoy between Louis XIV of France and her brother.  Additionally, it introduces William, the Prince of Orange, who would become King William III when he and King James II's daughter, Mary, seize the crown from James, which is just as Charles predicted.  The full version can be purchased on iTunes.

A portrait of the real William of Orange, later William III
of England, and William walking with Charles.

King Louis XIV of France and a portrait of the real Louis XIV.