A sweeping epic historic drama based on the last three tumultuous years in the life of King Richard III

Born to be a soldier but destined to be king, a good man strives to defend the throne of England against attack from ambitious noble-man and an invading pretender.

Following the unexpected death of his brother King Edward IV, Richard a reluctant hero, is forced to rise to the challenge when he must take control of the kingdom and defend the throne. He is pitted in a deadly struggle against Elizabeth Woodville his sister-in-law and former Queen who seeks to retain power by ruling through her young son – a reign that would divide the kingdom and usher in a return to the civil war known as the War of the Roses. Richard is the only one strong enough to stand in her way.

Shakespeare was a great dramatist but he was no historian and was working from flawed and incomplete source material, under a Tudor reign when to displease his queen could cost him his head.

But Shakespeare had no more obligation to tell the truth about something that happened 100 years earlier than a film writer penning a blockbuster today. He just wanted a good story. So for 500 years the world has known Richard III as the archetypical villain, a hunchback who left a trail of murders in his ambitious quest for power, who usurped the throne and killed his nephews.

MONARCH tells the real story. It uncovers the dust and blows away the lies immortalised by Shakespeare's dramatic licence and presents the man behind the myth: a loyal and courageous king, loved by his subjects and all who knew him, and the rapacious former queen who will stop at nothing to retain her power. This struggle between Richard III and Elizabeth is one of courage, nobility and love contrasted with obsession for power, intrigue, war and treachery.

From the personal level, the film tells of the tumultuous events of the two-year reign of Richard III: the loyal brother who reluctantly assumed the throne to prevent civil war in the power vacuum following his brother's death, Edward's deathbed-wish appointing Richard regent for his 12 year old heir, the attempted coup by the former queen, the shock discovery of the bigamous marriage that left Richard the legitimate heir, the disappearance of the two princes in the tower and the disloyalty of Lord Stanley, step father of Henry Tudor who invaded England with a French-backed army of mercenaries... ending forever the Age of Chivalry in England.

An honourable man and a progressive ruler, Richard was brought down by disloyalty, in large part by Elizabeth's plotting. Their relationship was one of jealousy and distrust and of ever-switching power positions that lasted till each one had died. While Richard died a noble, heroic death true to his own belief system, Elizabeth was soon hoisted on her own petard, banished to a nunnery by her son-in-law Henry Tudor who she had helped place on the throne... a stark contrast between perfect nobility and ultimate justice for these two larger than life characters.

If you wish you can download the MONARCH pdf