It's easy to understand why royals are a perennially popular subject for historical dramas. They may be subject to the same loves, fears, and uncertainties as the rest of us, but they get to confront these issues in palaces, wearing elegant clothes, and until the advent of the modern bathroom, presumably while smelling a bit better than the hoi polloi. With both power and inbreeding prompting royals to grow outsize personalities great for scenery-chewing interpretation, auteurs often have all the inspiration they may need ready to roll.

But as we know, not every historical drama is created equal, and some that present themselves as true, or at least inspired by true stories, are less than textbook-accurate reports. Directors tempted by big budgets and bigger stories have sometimes asked i

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