To Play the King

1993 British political thriller television drama

To Play the King is a 1993 BBC television serial and the second part of the House of Cards trilogy. Directed by Paul Seed, the serial was based on Michael Dobbs' 1993 novel of the same name and adapted for television by Andrew Davies. The opening and closing theme music for the TV series is entitled "Francis Urquhart's March", by composer Jim Parker. The series details the conflict between British Prime Minister Francis Urquhart and a newly crowned king as well as the run up to the general election. The book and TV serialisation follow on from the TV version of the first part of the trilogy. To Play the King (and the final part The Final Cut) reflect upon the end of the first series, which differed somewhat from the plot of the original novel.

The newly crowned King (Michael Kitchen) is displeased with the Conservative government led by Prime Minister Francis Urquhart (Ian Richardson) and becomes involved in politics in a way that Urquhart finds unacceptable for a constitutional monarch. At their first meeting, the King expresses concern about Urquhart's social policies, which he argues have led to greater problems for urban areas. Tensions escalate when Urquhart moves his moderate Environment Secretary to a job in Strasbourg after rejecting his proposals to regenerate inner cities. The King's Assistant Press Secretary, Chloe Carmichael, leaks the outcome of the meeting to the press, which rankles Urquhart. Fearing the King will weaken his position, Urquhart obtains "regal insurance" from Princess Charlotte, a royal family member. His underling, party chairman Tim Stamper, persuades her to divulge lurid details about the Monarchy to Sir Bruce Bullerby, the editor of the Daily Clarion tabloid, on the condition that the information is published after her death. Urquhart also begins regularly meeting with the King's ex wife, repeatedly assuring her that he has no intention of disturbing the Monarchy, implying he would support the early accession of her teenaged son as King. The King and his staff produce a public service announcement implicitly denouncing Urquhart's policies and covertly rally Opposition leaders to join forces against the Prime Minister. Irked by this intransigence, Urquhart calls an early election. His wife, Elizabeth, introduces him to a pollster named Sarah Harding and persuades him to choose her as a political advisor. Urquhart is impressed with Harding's intelligence and starts to favour her over Stamper, who becomes increasingly bitter over his reluctance to promote him to a senior position. Urquhart eventually begins an affair with Harding, which puts a strain on her marriage. Through all this, he continues to be haunted by his murder of Mattie Storin; unbeknownst to him, someone possesses Mattie's tape recording of her own death. Corder, Urquhart's bodyguard and security advisor, puts the King and other enemies under surveillance. After a brief abduction by some homeless thugs, Harding is told to "ask 'im about Mattie Storin". Despite her feelings for Urquhart, Harding begins to question his version of events about the tragedy. She meets John Krajewski, a former colleague of Mattie's who is now a paranoid freelance journalist. Corder and his staff execute Krajewski and blame it on Irish republican terrorists. Meanwhile, Urquhart threatens the King with Charlotte's memoirs, saying that he will be forced to publish them if the King continues publicly to oppose him. The King, however, refuses to be blackmailed. Urquhart engages in secret meetings with the King's ex wife, who urges him not to back down. He also blackmails Bullerby into publishing Charlotte's memoirs in the Daily Clarion, threatening to release images of his sexual relationship with the princess. While the royal scandal succeeds in hurting the King's popularity, the polls reverse when Conservative MP John Staines is arrested for sex with a minor. A furious Urquhart blames Stamper for the fallout, having put Staines in the public arena moments before his arrest. David Mycroft, the King's closeted advisor and Chief of Staff at Buckingham Palace, has recently separated from his wife and has entered into a romantic relationship with another man. Fearing his sexual orientation may damage the King's standing as well as having seen Staines in a gay bar with an underage boy before the arrest, Mycroft ultimately decides to come out to the King's press corps and announces his resignation. The deadly explosion of a tower block, as a result of a tenant's tapping into the gas main, puts the King's arguments about social problems back into the public domain. Urquhart announces his intention of having unemployed youth from the estates conscripted into the Armed Forces, re enacting a form of peacetime national service. The King organises a bus tour visiting disadvantaged estates to show his concern, refusing to include a security detail. Urquhart arranges for Corder to have the King abducted by thugs during his tour of an estate in Manchester. The Parachute Regiment, secretly shadowing the King's tour on Urquhart's orders, rescues him from possible harm. The King is seen as foolish for his negligence in the matter of security, and Urquhart seems like a hero for having protected him. Meanwhile, Corder discovers that Stamper has passed information on Mattie's murder to Harding as insurance. With urging from Elizabeth, Urquhart orders Corder to assassinate them. The Conservatives subsequently win the general election with a 22 seat overall majority. With his policies vindicated by the electorate, despite the King's public opposition, Urquhart demands his abdication. Harding's car explodes when she is en route to meet Chloe, while Stamper's car explodes outside New Scotland Yard. The media interpret the car bombings as Provisional IRA attacks. The end credits of the final episode roll with images of the crowning of the new teenaged King, showing that Urquhart had succeeded in obtaining the abdication of the previous King. At the end of the credits, Urquhart smirks at the camera and triumphantly says, "God Save the King", ending the series.

As in House of Cards, Urquhart occasionally speaks directly to the audience. He takes the viewer into his confidence, and at the end of the series, as at the end of the first, he challenges the viewer to condemn him.