This Sceptred Isle was created as a series of short 12-14 minute radio programmes by the BBC for transmission daily on Radio 4 from 1996 about the history of the lands and peoples of the British Isles. The producer was Pete Atkin. Corporate logo of the British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the national broadcaster of the United Kingdom. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The British Isles consist of Great Britain, Ireland and a number of much smaller surrounding islands. ... This article needs cleanup. ...

Starting in 55 BC with the arrival of Julius Caesar and initially concluding in 1901 with the death of Queen Victoria, the series was read by Anna Massey and included extracts from the book A History of the English-speaking Peoples written by Sir Winston Churchill, interwoven into Christopher Lee's main account of the history. The extracts were read by Paul Eddington and Peter Jeffrey. In total the series contained 216 episodes, ran 29 hours, and was first broadcast in daily episodes between June 1995 and June 1996. Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC - 50s BC - 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC Years: 60 BC 59 BC 58 BC 57 BC 56 BC 55 BC 54 BC 53 BC 52... Bust of Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (Classical Latin: IMP·C·IVLIVS·CAESAR·DIVVS¹) (b. ... 1901 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... A monarch is a type of ruler or head of state, whose titles and ascent are often inherited, not earned, and who represents a larger monarchical system which has established rules and customs regarding succession, duties, and powers. ... Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) (24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and Empress of India from 1 January 1877 until her death. ... Anna Massey, CBE (born August 11, 1937) is a British actress. ... The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, FRS PC (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... Christopher Lee is an author and historian, best_known for writing This Sceptred Isle for the BBC. He shouldnt be confused with Christopher Lee the actor. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

The series was very successful, being broadcast twice each day in the morning and late at night, and in 1999 the BBC extended the programme to cover the Twentieth Century; picking up from where the first series had finished to the end of the millennium. This new series was a total of 15.25 hours long and although it used the same narrator, the quotations were read by Robert Powell. The first episode of this new series was broadcast on August 30 1999 and the final episode on December 31 1999. 1999 is a common year starting on Friday Anno Domini (or the Current Era), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Robert Powell (born June 1, 1944), is a highly successful British actor with many film and television roles to his credit. ... August 30 is the 242nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (243rd in leap years), with 123 days remaining. ... December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

In 2001 another shorter series entitled This Sceptred Isle: Dynasties was produced. This told the stories of the powerful and influential families of Britain's history, including the Godwines, the Despensers and the Churchills. The series consisted of 10 episodes and was again narrated by Anna Massey. 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Godwin (sometimes Godwine) (c. ...

In 2005 This Sceptred Isle: Empire a 90 part history of the British Empire was broadcast. 2005(MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps The British Empire was the worlds first global power, a product of the European Age of Exploration that began with the global maritime empires of Portugal and Spain in the late 1400s. ...

The programme's title is a quotation from act 2 scene 1 of Shakespeare's King Richard II: "This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars ... This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England". Richard II is a play by William Shakespeare, based on the life of King Richard II of England, written in 1595. ...

The series is currently being repeated on BBC 7. BBC 7 is a digital radio station broadcasting comedy, drama, and childrens programming 24 hours a day. ...

External links

• This Sceptred Isle homepage
• Radio 4 homepage
• BBC 7 homepage