If you’d been in any doubt, the passing of Elizabeth II proved that the world is still fascinated by queens. This might be because being a queen is inherently more complex than being a king. Occupy the throne as a woman, and you don’t just have to shoulder the demands of being head of state – you must also challenge deep-rooted preconceptions about women’s ability to lead.

But you don’t need to be a queen to have significant influence as a royal woman. New drama-documentary Royal Mob, starting on Sky HISTORY at 9pm on Monday 7 November, is told through the eyes of Queen Victoria’s favourite granddaughters, the four Hesse sisters. The four-part series shows how the siblings carried the burden of dynastic survival on their shoulders, navigating restrictive gender norms and historic attitudes towards disability and sexuality.
 

Each of the Hesse princesses married into great European royal houses in the late 19th century. Elisabeth and Alix joined the Russian royal family, while Irene married the younger brother of the German emperor Wilhelm II. Victoria married Louis of Battenberg, a German prince who became a British subject and went on to lead the Royal Navy.

Before and during the First World War, the sisters would see their family ties torn apart as revolutions exploded, empires collapsed and political chaos sent shockwaves throughout Europe. By the time the war ended, two of them would be dead.

Written by Jamie Brittain (Skins, Breeders) and Abigail Wilson (Ten Percent, The Larkins), the dramatic scenes of Royal Mob are interspersed with commentary from historians including Simon Sebag-Montefiore and Emma Dabiri. It’s a fascinating story – and we suspect it might whet your appetite for period dramas about real royal women manoeuvring through the corridors of power. If it does, we’ve got some great ideas for what you can watch next… 

The Serpent Queen

Find it in Box Sets > LIONSGATE+

British royals tend to soak up a lot of attention here, but we’re not the only country with a history of tangled dynasties and aristocratic skulduggery. Brash new series The Serpent Queen revolves around the infamous Catherine de’ Medici, an Italian noblewoman who became queen of France in 1547. When her husband King Henry II dies, a succession of Catherine’s very young and often sickly sons take over the throne – allowing her to wield real political power and influence.

With a modern soundtrack and characters who break the fourth wall, The Serpent Queen’s tone is sharp, gothic and cheeky, and Samantha Morton (The Walking Dead, The Whale, Harlots) is fabulous as Catherine.

Spencer

Find it in Apps & Games > Prime Video

Released last year, Spencer is more arthouse-adjacent than most royal-inspired films tend to be, with Kristen Stewart playing Princess Diana as a woman going through an acute psychological collapse. This Diana, who knows that Prince Charles is having an affair, can’t stop dreaming and hallucinating about Anne Boleyn – another royal wife rejected and demonised by her husband. It’s an eerie and challenging but utterly magnetic watch.

The White Queen

Find it in Box Sets > LIONSGATE+

The 15th-century War of the Roses is often told through stories of kings, wannabe kings and bloody battles, but this Golden Globe-nominated series is all about the women. Elizabeth Woodville (Rebecca Ferguson, The Greatest Showman) marries King Edward IV; Anne Neville (Faye Marsay, Deep Water) is King Richard III’s wife; and Margaret Beaufort (Amanda Hale, Catastrophe) is the mother of Henry Tudor, who becomes the first Tudor monarch after Richard dies. All three women manipulate events to gain power for the men in their lives – and by extension, themselves. Gorgeously shot and gripping to watch.

The Queen

Find it in Apps & Games > Netflix

Before The Crown, there was The Queen. This 2006 film, written by The Crown showrunner Peter Morgan, zooms in on the events following the death of Princess Diana in 1997. Helen Mirren won an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II, struggling to keep the British public onside as she refuses to acknowledge their grief or treat Diana’s passing as an official royal death.

Freshly minted PM Tony Blair (Michael Sheen), meanwhile, is trying to get the royals to understand how ordinary people think and feel in 1990s Britain. Incidentally, the same events are likely to be covered in series 5 of The Crown, due to drop on Netflix on 9 November – we can’t wait.

Wolf Hall

Find it in Apps & Games > BBC iPlayer

The literary world was bereft recently when Booker Prize-winning author Hilary Mantel passed away at the age of 70. This dark, gritty TV adaptation of her novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies is a magnificent tribute to her genius as a storyteller, documenting the rise to power of Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance, Bridge Of Spies) in the court of Henry VIII (Damian Lewis, Homeland).

Claire Foy (The Crown) stars as Anne Boleyn, whom Henry VIII is so desperate to marry that he’s prepared to destroy England’s relationship with the Catholic Church. Foy imbues her role with depth and complexity, depicting Anne as a woman with real hopes, fears and ambitions, not a one-note vixen. Wolf Hall might ostensibly be about Cromwell, but the action revolves around Anne.

The Great

Find it in Box Sets > LIONSGATE+

Period TV series and films almost always prompt debate about historical accuracy, but The Great is deliciously unconcerned with depicting 18th-century Russia as it really was – think stylish candied-pastel colours, irreverent writing and a contemporary soundtrack – and the latest season is prefaced with the disclaimer “An Almost Entirely Untrue Story”. Elle Fanning (Maleficent) plays Russian empress Catherine, plotting the death of her dim and spiteful husband Peter (Nicholas Hoult, Tolkien) so she can take over the throne herself. As the name suggests, she’ll go on to be known as Catherine the Great.

 The Young Victoria

Find it in Apps & Games > Prime Video and Apps & Games > Netflix 

At the other end of the spectrum from The Great is 2009 film The Young Victoria, about the early life and reign of Queen Vic. It was written by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, who wanted his script to be as true to life as possible – and while some artistic licence was inevitably taken, he did a pretty sound job.

The swoony tone and sweeping, opulent settings are very Downton-esque, as we see Victoria (Emily Blunt, Mary Poppins Returns) fall in love with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Rupert Friend, Anatomy Of A Scandal). Fun fact: the film’s co-producers include the very unlikely duo of Martin Scorsese and Sarah Ferguson. Yes, that Sarah Ferguson.

Marie Antoinette

Find it in Apps & Games > Netflix

Sofia Coppola’s bright, brash biopic of the French Queen Consort who lost her head in the revolution is arguably the blueprint for the modern period drama – you can certainly see its influence on The Serpent Queen and The Great, with its pop soundtrack and irreverent, modernist approach.

Kirsten Dunst (The Power Of The Dog) is the titular royal, an Austrian princess sent away to the French court to marry the heir to the throne; he turns out to have very little interest in his marital duties, leaving her to wallow in luxury and find out just what the advanatages of her position are. Witty and romantic, it’s also an insightful study in loneliness – plus it’s huge fun, with some terrific casting choices such as Rip Torn (Men In Black) as King Louis XV. 

When is Sky HISTORY’s Royal Mob on TV?

Royal Mob starts at 9pm on Monday 7 November on Sky HISTORY/HD (CH 270). You can catch up on episodes in Catch Up > Channels > Sky HISTORY.