Episode Two

Overview

With no sign of a Royal pregnancy, the succession is a thorny issue. Charles's impetuous brother and heir to the Throne, James, Duke of York, complicates matters with his conversion to Catholicism.With the prospect of a Catholic King an anathema to the Protestant English, Barbara is busy priming Charles's eldest son, Monmouth, for greatness: he might be a *******, but he's a Protestant *******. When Catharine becomes pregnant, Barbara's scheming seems to have been for nothing but, tragically, the Queen miscarries. With the lack of a viable Protestant heir to the Throne, Charles is under pressure to divorce Catharine and remarry. The beautiful Lady Frances Stewart is groomed by Barbara as a potential future Queen but, just when Charles seems tempted to propose, she elopes and flees the Court.

Episode Information

Guest Stars

Martin Freeman

Lord Shaftesbury

Shirley Henderson

Helen McCrory

Charlie Creed-Miles

Ian McDiarmid

Sir Edward Hyde

Peter Wight

Ormonde