Since the very beginning of the movie biz Hollywood has found the lives of kings, queens, princes and princesses fodder for their sweeping historical epics. Most of the time a great deal of dramatic license is taken in the telling, so you don�t always get the true story, or all you need to understand how things really happened. This month two more productions were added to the list: the self-titled Marie Antoinette, and The Queen starring the incomparable Helen Mirren. So the Jester got curious about just how many movies about monarchs there actually were. Several web sites listed what they considered to be the best of them from around the globe. Ran, Japan�s answer to King Lear, is one of the best. There is also Boris Godunov (Russian Tsar whose story I may tell you about in future), he of the 3 � hour long opera; Anne of a Thousand Days about Anne Boleyn�s misadventures with Henry VIII; Elizabeth R, Ivan the Terrible, Anastasia, The Last Emperor and Mayerling were held up. One that wasn�t in the top ten, but is one of my favourite Katharine Hepburn vehicles is The Lion in Winter.

This 1968 epic, in which both Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton make his film debut, tells the story of events leading up to the fateful Christmas Eve of 1170. By the afternoon of Christmas Day Henry�s immortal soul was in peril, and the fate of the Christian world hung in the balance. Of course Peter O�Toole, who had played Henry II in the equally excellent Becket in 1964, already knew what his boy�s fate would be.

Henry, Count of Anjou, son of Geoffrey, Duke of Normandy, and Queen Eleanor of France met in Paris, took one look at each other�s many assets, and decided, (or at least she did) that they were perfect for each other. Father and son had arrived to see her husband Louis VII to negotiate a deal. In exchange for giving up a disputed piece of land Henry would be made Duke of Normandy upon his death. Eleanor was Duchess of the very large and wealthy duchy of Aquitaine in her own right, and she had only produced two daughters for Louis. Henry on the other hand had a legitimate claim to the English throne that he was in the process of asserting. Eleanor wanted out of this marriage, which wasn�t going to be easy. Geoffrey saw what was up from this brief interlude and didn�t like it.

On the way back to Anjou Geoffrey caught a fatal fever. He tried to extract a promise from Henry that when he conquered England he would not try to impose Norman customs and laws on the people. Until he promised he ordered that his corpse could not be buried. For several days his father�s body lay exposed until Henry was reluctantly forced to promise. He was lying of course. Meanwhile, on her suggested grounds that Eleanor and Louis were just too closely related to be legal, the Church annulled their marriage. Louis was probably fed up with her constant affairs anyway.

Free at last she knew she was a target for every gold-digging male on the continent and the sooner she was off the market the better. On May 18, 1152, Henry of Anjou and his 11 years older bride were joined in a very low key ceremony, and without Louis�s knowledge or consent. This feudal business arrangement between two dynamic, energetic, intelligent, emotional, volatile, forceful rulers should have gone well if Henry hadn�t decided that he was the boss, and Eleanor should be subservient to him in all things. He had many mistresses, numerous bastards from them (he took care of their education and upbringing-one became a priest and another, William Longsword he made Earl of Salisbury). For the first 15 years and eight children they got along fine, probably because they spent a lot of time apart. (Until Eleanor hit menopause Henry appeared to be faithful to her).

Over in England meanwhile an exhausted King Stephen had finally prevailed over Empress Maude in their protracted civil war for the throne (see the Brother Cadfael mystery series). But Stephen had no heir, so when Henry finally invaded in 1153 Stephen not only acknowledged him as his heir but officially adopted him as his son. In exchange Stephen would remain king until he died.

In 1154 Louis remarried, to Constance, daughter of the king of Castile. He relinquished his title of Duke of Aquitaine and made peace with Henry. In October of that year King Stephen died. The new king and queen, seven months pregnant, endured a dreadful channel crossing with many delays, and then a mad ride to Winchester. England had been without a king for weeks and it was imperative that Henry be crowned as soon as he got there. The Plantagenet era had begun. As God�s legal representative on earth a king was there �by the Grace of God�, endowed with divine authority. Until the time of Edward I a king�s reign began on his coronation day. The King had the power to heal the sick, was charged with keeping the peace between church and state and must be merciful in his judgments. Royal courts were always moving around so there was no permanent government seat. Henry decided to set one up Westminster. Trial by jury became the accepted method of judging guilt for civil crimes.

Now here is where Henry�s un- promise to leave things as they were in England ran afoul of his chief ecclesiastic, one Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. They had been getting along great-such close friends that Henry�s children thought of Becket as a second father. But Henry believed that priests and other churchman who committed civil crimes should be judged by the people, not the church. At the moment ecclesiastical courts presided over issues like marriage breakups, wills, heresy and other matters of the soul. Henry thought that their claiming �benefit of clergy� was really unfair. Becket naturally disagreed, and virtually told Henry in this case to mind his own business. For this affront Henry banished not only Becket but 400 of his family members on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) 1164.

As both Henry and Eleanor had problems back in France they spent most of their time there, dealing with uprisings and rebellions. In the meantime Henry cast about searching for marriage deals for his children, while keeping a suspicious eye on the new alliance between Louis and William, King of Scots. Eleanor re-established her ducal court at Poitiers and worked to regain the loyalty of her vassals. By 1168 Eleanor had virtually left Henry, although they remained strong business partners. Eleanor, past her childbearing years at 46, and with Henry a robust 35, may have felt she just wasn�t up to the effort any more. Henry was more interested in his dynasty�s future.

Feeling that his daughter Eleanor would be better off married to the 12-year-old King Alphonso VIII of Castile he cancelled her engagement to the son of Frederick Barbarossa. He also determined to carry out a custom begun the in days of Charlemagne-have your heir crowned while you are still alive. This was one of those Norman customs Henry�s barons wanted started in England. Eleanor agreed, she just thought Richard should be the first choice. Nevertheless at this point she supported her husband.

So here�s where we refer back to Becket, and enter Richard Burton as the Archbishop.

By right crowning kings was the Archbishop of Canterbury�s job. But as Becket was in exile Henry gave the job to the Archbishop of York. Infuriated, Becket ordered that both Henry and York would be excommunicated if this went through. The Pope also vetoed it. Leaving Eleanor in Normandy to make sure the ports stayed closed to prevent Becket from getting back to England, Henry, followed shortly by Henry Junior, headed for Winchester. Young Henry had been married to Marguerite, Louis and Constance�s daughter, who was left behind with Eleanor too. She would, the king presumed, be crowned with her husband at a later date. On June 14 the 15-year-old Lord Henry was crowned. He had no lands, no political power and no army. And he wasn�t happy about it. His brothers had been given lands and power on the continent, and he and Eleanor saw no reason why the heir to the throne shouldn�t have any. When Becket heard about it he was livid. The two old friends now became new warriors in the fight to get their own ways.

The thing is that while Eleanor�s favourite son Richard was handsome, strong, intelligent, (violent, cruel and relentless), Henry Junior was not. Knowing his favourite all too well, the king forbade his heir to joust, gave him a pittance allowance and no English lands. Henry loved all his children, and had indulged them to excess as they grew up, failing to note that they were not still pliable young things anymore. He imagined his love was entirely reciprocated. Boy was he was wrong. Not only did they side against him, they also sided against each other. In this Eleanor egged them on. She had been competing with Henry for their children�s affections all along, and made sure she would win.

So it was at the end of the movie, on that fateful Christmas Eve, where Henry and Eleanor and their children Richard, Geoffrey, Joanna and John were celebrating at his hunting lodge in northern Normandy. As the two characters sniped semi-affectionately at one another they had no idea that in 24 hours everything in their lives would be turned upside down.

Henry thought he had finally made it up with Becket and ordered Henry Junior to give him safe passage back to England. The last time they ever saw each other Becket sadly told the king, �My mind tells me that I will never again see you in this life�. Henry asked him if he thought him a traitor and Becket said, �God forbid�. On November 30 Becket sent messengers to the bishops who had plotted with Henry over the coronation and ex-communicated them. On December 1 he was greeted by clergy and people with great joy. Henry Junior, once like a son to him, now refused to have him at his court at Woodstock.

On Christmas morning Becket rose in his pulpit and declared those bishops officially ex-communicated on the spot. Three of these now former bishops- London, York and Salisbury- caught the next ship and arrived at Henry�s lodge to inform him of what happened, and warned he�d have no peace as long as Becket was alive. There is no record he actually said, �Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?� He did bellow something about cowardly traitors and false varlets in his own household, and a low-born priest mocking him in such a shameful way. This sent four offended knights back up north to avenge their king. Horrified to find them gone Henry sent messengers to head them off, but was too late.

They arrived the afternoon of December 29, storming into Becket�s study and ordering Becket to get out of England and stay out- or else! Naturally Becket took offence. They went outside and armoured up. Following the monks into the church for Vespers, they found the monks shutting the door in their faces. But Becket ordered the door opened. The inflamed knights, swords raised, all of whom Becket knew personally, demanded he immediately restore communion to everyone. Declaring he was going to stand his ground and �die for my Lord�, he raised his hands in prayer, commended himself to God, St. Mary and St. Denis and stood so while the three of them took turns hacking at his head. Becket was finally viciously dispatched while the other kept the monks from interfering.

For six weeks after he heard about his Archbishop�s murder Henry went into seclusion. The Pope refused to speak with his envoys for a week. All of England trembled in fear the entire country would be cast to hell. Eleanor seemed to stand with him, at least for a year after. But sometime between 1170 and 1172 she disappeared and the tolerance she had had for her estranged husband turned to revulsion. What caused this final split, where Eleanor went, and what she did for those two years following this episode is lost to history.

The phrase �lock up your daughters� must have begun with her favourite son Richard, who took any female that struck his fancy, and then tossed her away when he was done. Richard was interested only in Aquitaine though. Young Henry wanted to be Henry III of England real bad. By 1173 Eleanor was entirely on her sons� side. The boys wanted complete autonomy in their own lands. Eleanor wanted justice for them and more power for herself. Henry�s vassals thought him too much of a dictator for their liking. The rest of Europe was still angry over Becket. Even King Louis was willing to ally himself with his ex-wife if it meant taking out Henry.

Was the chasm between them now so deep and wide that Eleanor was willing to commit treason against him? In the winter of 1173 it looked like the lioness and her cubs were poised to rise up and destroy the lion. As for Lionhearted Richard and Magna Carta John-read a few good books about them, then enjoy the swashbuckling Robin Hood sagas knowing that truth sometimes is stranger than movie fiction.

So who�s your favourite movie monarch?

Anon,.