Presented by Professor Alice Roberts, the 4 x 60-minute series will investigate the cause of death of Queen Anne, Queen Mary I, King Henry IV and King George IV. It follows the two-part first series which investigated the deaths of Queen Elizabeth I and King Charles II.
In the new series, Home Office pathologist Dr Brett Lockyer will conduct an ‘autopsy’ on prosthetic bodies using ethically-sourced animal organs, forensic analysis and toxicology testing to reveal how each of the monarchs died. The series will also include scripted reconstructions.
Queen Anne was portrayed by Olivia Colman in 2018 film The Favourite. She was the last of the Stuart line who endured 17 pregnancies which ended with miscarriages, stillbirths, or childhood death.
Mary I, also known as Bloody Mary, was the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, who experienced phantom pregnancies in her desperation for a child and heir.
Henry IV was best known for murdering his cousin Richard II to take the crown, and suffered from a mysterious debilitating skin condition. George IV became one of Britain’s most obese and hated monarchs.
The series was ordered and will be executive produced by vice president of programming at A+E Networks EMEA Dan Korn with commissioning editor and head of talent Diana Carter.
The executive producers are Miles Jarvis and Jaimi West for Phoenix and Melanie Darlaston for GroupM Motion Entertainment. The series is created, written and directed by Paul Olding.
Roberts said: “It’s such a unique historical approach to examine not just the key events of a monarch’s reign but actually how they lived and suffered as mere mortals. I’m very proud to be a part of it.”
Korn said: “This novel approach of combining contemporaneous historical accounts with practical demonstrations of post-mortems and present-day medical investigations has proved such a hit.”
Jarvis added: “Seamlessly bringing premium scripted drama, ‘as-real’ autopsy, and unfolding investigative narratives together is not a simple endeavour – especially when entirely based on fact. It’s a real team effort across so many different specialist areas of TV production.”
International distribution will be handled by Abacus Media Rights.
Royal Autopsy season two will air on Sky History in 2024.
