"Brocket Hall" is the third episode of the ITV drama, Victoria. It aired on 4th September 2016 and went up against BBC hit Poldark, for the first time.
Synopsis[]
Victoria's uncle, Leopold suggests that she marries her German cousin Albert whilst the Russian Grand Duke puts himself up as a suitor and the Duke Cumberland pushes his son George into the arena, prompting below stairs speculation as to which one will become Regent. When Leopold accuses her of being in love with Lord Melbourne she puts him in his place by declaring that she has no intention to be married but is clearly disappointed when Melbourne points out to her that they could never be together and she agrees to meet Albert, though she is initially unimpressed by him. She also starts to show some skill at politics, getting rid of Conroy with a promotion in Ireland and showing mercy to the Newport Chartists, the radical group demanding universal suffrage, who include Mrs Jenkins' nephew.
Cast[]
- Jenna Coleman as Queen Victoria
- Rufus Sewell as Lord Melbourne
- Daniela Holtz as Baroness Lehzen
- Margaret Clunie as Harriet, Duchess of Sutherland
- Adrian Schiller as Penge
- Anna Wilson-Jones as Lady Emma Portman
- Alex Jennings as King Leopold
- Paul Rhys as Sir John Conroy
- Catherine Flemming as Duchess of Kent
- Daniel Donsky as Grand Duke of Russia
- Eve Myles as Mrs Jenkins
- Nell Hudson as Miss Skerrett
- Ferdinand Kingsley as Charles Francatelli
- Tommy Knight as Brodie
- Jordan Waller as Lord Alfred Paget
- Tom Hughes as Prince Albert
- David Oakes as Prince Ernest
Trivia[]
- Daisy Goodwin's novel Victoria, which adapts the first four episodes of the series, explicitly states that the purpose of Victoria's visit to Brocket Hall is to propose marriage to Lord Melbourne, something that is not directly stated in the episode itself. In terms of historical accuracy, while the depth of Victoria's feelings for Lord M as expressed in her diaries and as suggested by her contemporaries has been interpreted by historians as everything from a girlhood crush to her seeing him as a platonic father-figure to full-out falling in love, there is no indication that Victoria ever considered actually proposing to her prime minister, who would have been forbidden to marry her on those grounds alone.
- Last appearance of Sir John Conroy
- First appearance of Ernest II, Albert, Prince Consort, Leopold I of Belgium
International Broadcast[]
Aired on PBS in the United States on 24 January 2017 as part of the anthology series, Masterpiece. Due to PBS not having commercial interruption, most episodes of Victoria, save the first two episodes of Series 1, have aired on PBS with several minutes of additional scenes. "Brocket Hall" was the first episode to include extra footage which was not seen on ITV, nor included in the UK or North American DVD/Blu-ray release. One example of this is the sequence in which Victoria is lectured by Leopold on the subject of marriage while riding home in her carriage after the opera; the PBS version is longer and contains additional dialogue, as does the preceding sequence at the opera.