ROYAL AUTOPSY

SEASON 1

In this graphic, ground breaking two-part TV series, Professor Alice Roberts investigates the cause of death of two of Britain’s most famous monarchs, King Charles II and Queen Elizabeth I.

Alice’s investigations bring together, for the first time, a unique blend of expertise to provide new insight and conclusions that challenge the received wisdom of how and why they died.

At the heart of each investigation is a detailed ‘as real’ autopsy led by Forensic Pathologist Dr Brett Lockyer. Together they search for any clues on the monarch’s body surface, then cut open the corpse to study their internal organs.

Alice takes her findings to leading medical and historical experts for further detailed analysis, exploring the cause and symptoms of any diseases, and how each ailment would have affected the regent, both in life and eventual death.

Using eye witness accounts sourced from the time of their deaths, the final dying days are brought to life in vivid detail with exquisite scripted dramatic scenes, starring Mark Wingett as Charles II and Linda Marlowe as Elizabeth I.

In both episodes, Alice opens a new cold case investigation to examine the life and death of our most celebrated monarchs. The gruesome facts are separated from wild fiction, the diseases and the health issues they lived with are investigated and are embedded in a broader historical context of their lives.

Based on the evidence, Professor Alice Roberts and Dr Brett Lockyer deliver their findings to reveal what they believe really did kill King Charles II and Queen Elizabeth I.

SEASON 2

Royal Autopsy returns for a second series to investigate the cause of death of four famous British monarchs: King George IV, King Henry IV, Queen Anne I and Queen Mary I.

Professor Alice Roberts will bring together a blend of historical and medical expertise, and by using contemporaneous accounts and documents piece together how and why these monarchs died.

Each investigation follows an autopsy conducted by Home Office Pathologist Dr. Brett Lockyer which will use a unique combination of prosthetic bodies to reveal how each of the monarchs perished. Further forensic analysis and toxicology testing is used to determine whether there is any evidence of foul play in each case.

Professor Alice Roberts will then take her findings to the world’s leading medicolegal experts and constitutional historians to determine how each ailment and affliction might have impacted the monarch’s reign in their later years and in the run-up to their deaths, with the final dying days of these historic figures brought to life in vivid detail with premium scripted dramatic scenes.