Fix: royals, swoon, period dramas, beautiful people
Platforms: Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Summary:
Created by Daisy Goodwin, this ambitious drama presents the early years of one of history’s greatest monarchs.
FYA Summary:
When 18-year-old Victoria suddenly inherits the throne, she becomes a LITERAL Teen Queen™ overnight, and is forced to deal with a bunch of terrible men who are constantly trying to undermine and take away her power. She struggles with proving herself as a capable Lady Leader, while also still being a bit of a kid at heart. Victoria grows close to her sexy-ass Prime Minister, Melbourne, which raises a few eyebrows, so at the insistence of her power-hungry uncle Leopold, she must invite her prickly cousin Albert to the palace in the hopes of a marriage alliance. At first, Victoria is not about it, but Albert is a total emo hottie, and their enemistry eventually turns to straight up chemistry. (I mean, no spoilers, right? We’ve all heard the stories of Victoria-and-Albert.)
Familiar Faces:
Jenna Coleman as Queen Victoria
Breezing right on by the fact that Jenna Coleman is totally eyebrow goals and just distractingly pretty, you most likely recognize her as Clara from Dr. Who. She nails Victoria’s mischievious eye-glint, which probably means she made the perfect Lydia Wickham in Death Comes to Pemberley (though I haven’t seen it and cannot confirm).
Rufus Sewell as Prime Minister Melbourne
TBH, still haven’t forgiven him for the way he treated Kate Winslet in The Holiday. Still sexy as hell tho.
Tom Hughes as Prince Albert
Okay, his face may not be familiar because a quick perusal of his IMDB page tells me he’s been in almost nothing I recognize. But I’m including him anyway because he’s fine, and also he’s dating Jenna Coleman IRL and their on-screen chemistry is ~steamy~ to say the least.
Couch Sharing Capability: Ladies In Waiting
Get on the GroupMe and give your girlfriends from book club a holler. You’re gonna want to watch this one with your lady friends who appreciate all things historical, royal AND swoony. Plus, they’ll appreciate the gorgeous English setting and insane costumes. My husband just kept muttering about her “weird ear braids” the whole time.
Recommended Level of Inebriation: Tea Time
You’ve got your girls and your Masterpiece Theatre, all you need is some afternoon tea, scones, and those little cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off. If you wanna spike that Earl Grey with a splash of Hendrick’s, well then, I’ll meet you there.
Use of Your Streaming Subscription: Royal Wedding Prep
This Masterpiece Theatre production does not disappoint, with jaw-dropping costumes, sets and cinematography making a gorgeous backdrop to its even more gorgeous cast. Binge the first season so you can trick your royal wedding watch party guests into thinking you’re a veritable expert on the coupling habits of English monarchs.
