Music and Monarchy

Dr David Starkey begins with kings who were also composers, Henry V and Henry VIII, and the golden age of English music they presided over. He discovers how the military and religious ambitions of England's monarchy made its music the envy of Europe.

Dr David Starkey explores how religious conflict threatens not only the lives of musicians and monarchs, but the future of the monarchy and British music itself. In the midst of this upheaval, royalty presides over a series of musical breakthroughs.

Dr David Starkey's exploration of how the monarchy shaped Britain's music reaches the 18th century, when Great Britain became a dominant military and economic power, and the century which brought us patriotic classics such as `God Save the King' and `Rule Britannia'. Yet this was a time when the monarchy had never been more fragile, having lost much of its political and religious power.

Dr David Starkey's exploration of how the monarchy shaped British music concludes with the 19th and 20th centuries, a time when the crown rediscovered the power of pageantry and ceremony, and when native music experienced a renaissance.