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From Henry VIII to the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936, successive monarchs gradually lost political power.  And yet the British monarchy still survives: unlike its equivalents, which have collapsed all over Europe.

The series re-introduces our kings and queens, not just as powerful potentates but as human beings, each with their own very personal problems of biology and psychology. These intimate, individual problems have affected the course of the history of the nation.

Over the course of the series Lucy will examine royal clothes, medical records, personal letters and diaries to gain a unique insight into the intimate mental and physical worlds of the real men and women who lie behind the regal portraits.

Assessing them against the regal job description, Lucy argues that kings and queens have had to deal with infertility, religious extremism, depression, bisexuality and culture shock through being born abroad.  She reaches the surprising conclusion that monarchy isn’t about the survival of the fittest.  Against all the odds, a weak or inadequate king or queen can help the monarchy, by forcing it to adapt – and survive.