Lately there has been a spate of television series about queens. The first one I watched in its entirety was Reign, the highly imaginative and historically inaccurate show about Mary, Queen of Scots, one of my favorite historical figures. If viewers can get past its faults, which are many, they might be able to empathize with the ill-fated teen queen and her even more ill-fated young husband largely because of the endearing performances by Adelaide Kaine (herself a real-life descendant of Mary) and Toby Regbo. The second series I started last year is Victoria on PBS's Masterpiece Theater. This series has outstanding performances and amazingly fine sets, but I am not much interested in her life, so I don't always watch it and am a bit behind in its second season. The third one, which I am binge-watching on Netflix, is about the current queen, Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II, who has been the queen since before I was born. This show is also beautifully done with a stunning performance by Claire Foy as Elizabeth. Why there are three highly popular series about queens right now is a mystery to me, but I hope to continue enjoying them. God save the Queens!
Vocabulary
spate (noun) -- a large number
imaginative (adj.) -- creative
inaccurate (adj.) -- not right or exact
empathize (verb) -- understand and share feelings
ill-fated (adj.) -- unlucky
endearing (adj.) -- lovable, cute
descendant (noun) -- a person that comes from a certain ancestor
outstanding (adj.) -- excellent
amazingly (adv.) -- surprisingly
binge-watch (verb) --view many episodes of a TV series all at once
stunning (adj.) -- attractive, remarkable
Vocabulary Exercise
Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary word.
I am a _________________ of two famous ancestors, King Malcolm III and Queen Margaret of Scotland.
She was an excellent or _____________ queen. The people, who loved her, found her to be ____________. For her _______________ (remarkable) qualities, the Church respects her as a saint. King Malcolm was ___________ old for a warrior, who was in many wars, but he met his __________ (unlucky) end when he was killed at the age of 62. Shakespeare, England's most ______________ writer, tells about Malcolm in the play Macbeth, which may be ___________ or not correct about some of the details of Malcolm's life. If Netflix ever makes a show about my ancestors King Malcolm III and Queen Margaret, I will ____________ until I have finished every episode. But for now, I am watching a ____________ of episodes of The Vikings, in which I can ___________ with another of my ancestors, King Alfred of England, who had to fight the violent Vikings to protect his people.
Grammar Point: Adjectives and Adverbs
Adjectives: Adjectives are words that describe nouns, while adverbs can describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
For example, in the sentence, "The very beautiful English actress Claire Foy plays the role of Queen Elizabeth II splendidly," very and splendidly are adverbs and beautiful is an adjective.
Write three complete sentences about the queens in my entry and their photos. Use at least two adjectives and one adverb from the vocabulary list in each sentence.
Want to watch Victoria? Click on this link.
