All language subtitles for Secrets.of.Great.British.Castles.Series.2.6of6.Arundel.Castle.720p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org

For me, a great British castle

is a fortress, a palace, a home.

And a symbol of power, majesty and fear.

For nearly a thousand years,

castles have shaped
Britain's famous landscape.

These magnificent buildings
have been home

to some of the greatest heroes
and villains in our national history.

And many of them still stand
proudly today,

bursting with incredible stories

of warfare, treachery, intrigue,
passion and murder.

Join me, Dan Jones,

as I uncover the secrets behind
the six great British castles.

This time I'm in Arundel,
near Britain's South Coast.

A classic English castle whose comfort,
elegance and grandeur

was enjoyed and admired by Queen Victoria.

But Arundel was originally built for war.

And it survived more than its fair share
of battles, brutality and bloodshed.

The story of Arundel Castle
expands almost a thousand years.

And throughout it all, the lesson for
its owners has been the same.

Chose the right side
and you get to keep all of this.

Chose the wrong one and die.

Arundel Castle
dominates a hill side

where the Sussex Downs
roll towards the English Channel.

It's half medieval fortress,
half stately home.

A place that has it's own gatehouse
and it's own cricket ground.

It even has a duke.

The extremely prestigious Duke of Norfolk.

It may seem odd but his family line
have owned this castle

for more than 800 years.

Even though it's not actually in Norfolk.

But you see he is not any old Duke.
He is also an Earl.

Although in Sussex, Arundel Castle
is the seat of the Duke of Norfolk

who is the first, or the most important,
peer in the land.

He also happens to be the Earl of Arundel.

The oldest earldom in the kingdom.
So he is doubly important.

In a few moments, Her Majesty
would arrive at the Palace of Westminster.

Awaited by the Earl Marshal, Duke of
Norfolk, and the Lord Great Chamberlain.

Traditionally the Duke of Norfolk
was one of those who walked backwards

in front of the Queen when
she opened a new session of Parliament.

He faced her to show loyalty and respect.

But he had to watch his back,
to avoid tripping over a dozing lord.

And actually that pretty much sums up
the history of this castle

and of his owners, loyalty.

Who's on your side,
who's plotting against you?

You need to watch your back
because you never know who to trust.

Howzat!

Today,
the Duke's own team is playing.

This used to be
his private cricket ground.

Until the 1970's when the Sussex county
sides started playing here too.

It regularly hosts big charity
and celebrity games.

Even Prince Philip captained
a side here in the 1950s.

Arundel has always attracted
people of power and influence.

But don't let all this
English reserve fool you.

Because underneath its serene exterior,

Arundel Castle has one of the bloodiest

and most dramatic histories
of any castle in Britain.

And it all begins more than 900 years ago
when England was conquered

by a bunch of men
who would sooner have chopped your arm off

than enjoyed a nice game of cricket.

They were the Normans.

The Normans were a powerful and
warlike French aristocratic dynasty

descended from Scandinavian pirates.

And they loved a bit of fighting,
pillaging and conquering.

In 1066, the Norman lord
William the Conqueror

also known as William the Bastard,

landed his boats on
the south coast of England

about 50 miles east of Arundel.

He defeated
the Saxon King Harold Godwinson

at the Battle of Hastings
and took the English crown.

And he set about conquering
the whole realm.

Arundel was right at the top of his list
and it's easy to see why.

The town of Arundel
was perfectly situated.

Fertile land, fresh water
and easy to reach from the coast.

A real jewel.

And in 1067,
the year after the Normans arrived,

William the Conqueror gave
this entire area to

his friend and ally Roger de Montgomery,
one of the greatest lords in Normandy.

And what had Montgomery done
to deserve all this?

Well, he stayed behind in Normandy,
keeping the show running

while William was over here conquering.

Even so, this was
a spectacularly good reward.

In fact by the end of
William the Conqueror's reign,

Montgomery's fortune amounted to about
three percent of entire country's wealth.

He was, if you like,
a medieval Bill Gates.

Montgomery needed to protect
all of his valuable new land.

So he did what
the Normans did so very well.

He built a castle.

Originally out of timber
and surrounded by a huge defensive ditch.

When the ditch was dug,
the spoil was piled up

to make this huge hundred foot mount
or motte.

Then you stick your secure
central building right on the top.

That's what today we call the keep.

A wooden castle on top of a hill
may not sound impenetrable to us today,

but back in the days before gunpowder,
it was pretty formidable.

Historian Marc Morris is a leading expert
in Norman castles.

Why wouldn't in the first instance
they are interested in speed.

Remember there is a few thousand Normans
and two million disgruntled Anglo Saxons.

So you are in the midst of
a hostile environment.

And you want to rivet
your power into place.

So you build quickly.

In the months that follow, start creating
that great mound of earth,

behind this the motte, with
again a wooden tower on top.

And this is a castle on a big scale.

On the same kind of scale as Windsor.

Is there any part of the castle

that still survives from
Roger de Montgomery's time.

Roger De Montgomery is very very powerful.

He has several castles across England
and into the Welsh marches.

But as time wears on, he clearly decides

the Arundel being way on
the south coast near to Normandy is one

that he wants to invest in heavily
and what he does here,

is he starts to invest in stone.

On the gate past behind you, there,

the bottom part of it, the lowest stories
that is late 11th century masonry.

So people will lay in that masonry,
in the time of Roger De Montgomery,

in the time of
William the Conqueror himself.

Norman castles like the one
Roger of Montgomery

was building here at Arundel were partly
for protection, partly for intimidation.

But the Normans were also very good
at falling out with each other.

And the real problems came, when they
had to defend against other Normans.

For almost two decades after
the death of William the Conqueror,

his sons had fought
and squabbled over the English throne.

In 1135, when his youngest son
King Henry I died

without a legitimate male heir,
the problems got even worse.

Soon the entire country was
on the brink of utter chaos.

Before he died, Henry I

commanded his barons to support
the claim of his daughter,

Matilda, to be England's first real Queen.

A monarch in her own right,
not just the wife of a King.

But with Henry dead,
the barons looked at each other

and had a collective change of heart.

Instead of supporting
the claim of a woman,

most changed their allegiance
to Henry's nephew Stephen of Blois.

Amen!

In a scramble for the throne,

Stephen managed to have
himself crowned first.

He was a power grab
that would lead to civil war

that lasted for nearly 20 years.

The country was ripped apart
by two cousins battling for the crown.

Stephen and Matilda.

And one of the most important showdowns
in that whole conflict,

took place here, at Arundel Castle.

The castle was owned
by Matilda's stepmother.

So it was a natural safe haven

and the perfect place for
Matilda to base her forces.

All those English barons who decided that
England ought to be ruled by a man,

had no idea who they were dealing with.

With Stephen and his army
on the march towards Arundel,

the fate and future of the England
would be sealed right here at the castle.

Today it's hard to imagine how somewhere
as pretty as Arundel Castle,

could have such a dark and turbulent past.

But nearly nine centuries ago, in 1139,
it was a Norman fortress

with a heart of a bitter power struggle
between two cousins

battling for the crown of England.

Matilda and Stephen.

This castle was protecting Matilda,
the daughter of King Henry I

and the heir to the English crown.

Outside was the man
who would claim that crown.

Matilda's cousin King Stephen.

And he had with him enough men
and fire power to besiege

and maybe even to destroy the castle
and everything inside it.

As military tactics went, the art of
the medieval siege was pretty simple.

One side goes into the castle,

closes the portcullis,
lifts the drawbridge and bolts the door.

The other side, armed to the teeth,
camps up outside

in a hope that those in the castle

will succumb to thirst,
starvation and disease.

Actual attacks were rare.
You risked losing too many men.

And those inside the castle had
the advantage of height, solid battlements

and later arrow loops and murder holes

to pour boiling oil down
on those trying to get in.

But here's the thing, so far as we know
a siege never actually began.

So what did happen?

Put yourself in Matilda's position.

Outside is her cousin Stephen
with a large army and a bad attitude.

He has more men than you.
And your castle is mainly made of wood,

and not stone, so do you resist or
or do you negotiate.

Matilda's fate was uncertain
to say the least.

And history is equally uncertain.

All we do know
is there was a bizarre conclusion.

Stephen agreed to something
completely unexpected.

Frankly quite hard to explain.

He decided to let her go.

Stephen basically allowed
Matilda to escape.

And he gave her a guaranteed
safe passage to Bristol,

where she could meet up with her allies.

It's really hard to work out
what Stephen was thinking.

But at the end of it all,
I think we just have to write this down

as a major miscalculation.

Stephen's leniency had dire consequences.

Having being let go,

Matilda wasn't just going
to let her cousin keep the crown.

She fought back.

For almost two decades,
the cousins battled it out

in a vicious, bloody and drawn out war
known as The Anarchy.

It left England a smoldering wreck.

It devastated the countryside,
destroyed communities and ruined lives.

One chronicler said it was as if
Christ and his saints were asleep.

Matilda never became Queen.

But in 1153,
the conflict was finally resolved.

When Stephen agreed to
make Matilda's son his heir.

He would become King Henry II.

But it would take England and Arundel
decades to recover from the war.

The man who brokered the peace settlement
between Stephen and Matilda

was William d'Aubigny.

And he was rewarded by being made
the very first Earl of Arundel.

Later by being given
Arundel Castle to keep.

The D'aubigny's family held the castle
for over hundred years.

Until the fifth Earl of Arundel
died without children.

In 1243, the title and the castle was
passed to his nephew John FitzAlan.

The FitzAlans were the family who would
make Arundel what it is today.

In fact they've occupied it
continuously ever since.

Give or take the occasional disagreement
with the crown.

This powerful family added
the massive barbican and its towers.

A moat, drawbridge and portcullis.

These heavy duty walls and gates were
not only for defense,

but also allowed advertisement
of the FitzAlan's wealth and status.

No one showed that better

than the great 14th century
Earl of Arundel Richard FitzAlan.

During his lifetime,
Richard FitzAlan would be a soldier,

a counselor to the King,
a clever financier

and one of the wealthiest men
of the 14th Century.

He used his riches
to transform Arundel Castle

into one of the most spectacular
buildings in England.

And where did his money come from?

Friendship and fighting.

As a teenager, Richard FitzAlan became
firm friends with a 14 year old

who just happened to be
the King Edward III of England.

For 45 years, they embarked on
a truly incredible adventure together.

At the heart of it was a war with
England's greatest enemy, France.

Edward III was one of
the England's greatest warrior kings.

Together Edward and Richard devoted almost
their whole lives to the 100 Years War.

A conflict with France that really
summed up the golden age of knighthood.

When Kings and Earls didn't just sit
around in tents

directing things from afar,
they fought in the thick of battle.

The 100 Years War epitomized

an era of loyalty and brotherhood
on the battlefield.

Tough military men who had
each others backs when it mattered.

Tobias Capwell is an expert on
medieval arms and armor.

Toby, in the 14th century,
were kings like Edward III

and nobles like Richard FitzAlan
really fighting in the middle of battle.

The whole foundation
of medieval warrior culture,

was that the leaders
had to lead from the front.

It's all about the personal loyalty

of warriors to their masters.

So if your leader isn't there,
there is no point in any body else going.

It was expected that a king would fight
in the front ranks with his men.

You can't stay behind,
you can't stay at home.

You cannot send young men to their deaths
without going with them.

The reality for the nobleman,
for the knights,

is that they don't do anything
until the armies are this close.

I really don't like
to be that close

to that sword, which looks pretty sharp.

It sort of resonates for
the kind of power doesn't it?

When you know it's something
that can make your arms fall off.

That's how male bonding happens.

It's about going through strenuous,
traumatic experiences together

when you think you might die

and then you all come home
forever bonded closer together.

And that's what the whole fabric
of medieval society

knightly culture is based on.

All of Richard FitzAlan's loyal
service to his king in the mid 1300s,

was spectacularly rewarded.

He was even left in-charge of England for
two years when Edward III was abroad.

And combined with the riches he gathered
from victorious battles in France,

FitzAlan, the Earl of Arundel,
became almost unimaginably wealthy.

In the 1370s, when he was a noble man,

Richard FitzAlan was said to have
30,000 pounds in cash

stored in a single tower,
probably the keep here at Arundel Castle.

Now today, that would be like having

10 million pounds
stuffed under your mattress.

Obviously all of the cold hard
cash is gone.

But the signs of FitzAlan's war booty are
still everywhere in the castle buildings.

Just take a look at this private chapel
at the castle grounds.

Medieval nobles were obsessed
with legacy and immortality.

What's the use of having a lot
money, power and respect

if you can't set it in stone to remind
people that you were here?

This stunning FitzAlan chapel
was founded after Richard's death.

Using the wealth he built up during
a lifetime of royal service.

Beginning with FitzAlan's grandson
virtually everyone of the Earls successors

is buried here in this chapel.

You're left in no doubt about
how important they were

or at least how important
they thought they were.

It's almost an overwhelming space,

it's not very different from
the tombs of the great medieval kings

at Westminster Abbey.

But it's still incredible
to think that all of this

was built from the spoils of the war.

None of the grandeur brought to
Arundel Castle would it been possible

without the war booty
plundered on foreign battlefields.

But the biggest war was yet to come
for the Earls of Arundel.

Because they were Catholic

in England that was about
to become violently Protestant.

They would have to fight
for their very existence

under the reign of the Britain's
most famous King, Henry VIII.

Arundel Castle had been
a seat of great wealth and power

since the time of William the Conqueror.

But in the 16th century, every ounce
of wealth and power came under threat,

because of King Henry VIII.

In 1534, Henry set up
the Protestant Church of England.

With himself as it's head and separated
from the Catholic Church of Rome.

Anyone who failed to pledge allegiance
to the new Church of England,

was in danger of incurring
the King's wrath.

Hundreds of Catholics
were killed for defying Henry.

But the FitzAlan Earls of Arundel
remained true to the Catholic faith.

Even given their high status,
they were treading a very fine line.

And today the chapel
at Arundel Castle still shows

how the FitzAlans brazenly challenged
the authority of the King

and his new Protestant religion.

This glass door looks pretty ordinary.

In fact it's anything but,
because it marks the division

between the church of England,
parish church on that side

and the catholic chapel,
the FitzAlan's chapel

within Arundel Castle on this side.

But it's not just rare.
Although it is rare.

It's also very symbolic.

Because in a way it tells you the whole
story of the English reformation.

The time when Henry VIII
ripped the English Church

away from the Church of Rome

and ushered in a period of
repression and persecution,

when your loyalty to your God and to
your king was constantly under question.

And if either was found wanting,
you would meet your maker.

In 1555, the FitzAlans joined forces

with another of England's
most powerful Catholic families.

Lady Mary FitzAlan of Arundel married
Thomas Howard, the fourth Duke of Norfolk.

From then on, this new Catholic dynasty
would be known as The FitzAlan Howards

or sometime simply The Howards.

These statues represent the two families.

On one side we have
the horse of The FitzAlans.

And then over here,
is the lion representing The Howards.

The Earls of Arundel

and the Dukes of Norfolk, this was
a marriage of title, of wealth, and power.

This combined family now had two titles.

They were the Earls of Arundel
and The Dukes of Norfolk.

But all the power and wealth
was in jeopardy.

As long as their Catholic beliefs

were at odds with
England's official Protestant faith.

Henry VIII's daughter Queen Elizabeth I

had the fourth Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard executed in 1572

for plotting against her.

Then she had his son Philip locked up
in the tower of London

for refusing to renounce
his Catholic faith.

The dynasty was suffering
a disastrous fall from grace.

Jessie, after the turmoil
of Henry VIII reformation,

this was a very dangerous time to be a big
Catholic aristocratic family, wasn't it?

Yes, definitely was. And especially for
The Howards who are the preeminent

Catholic family in the country.

The Howards had
a very turbulent 16th century.

They really did actually.

For about four generations, you see,

them just being
knocked over like skittles.

You have Thomas,
he fourth Duke of Norfolk.

He was caught up in a plot
to replace Protestant Elizabeth I,

on the throne of England with
Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, her cousin.

And then his son, Philip, Earl of Arundel

was sent to the tower of London
for 10 years.

And he died there of dysentery.

Why didn't they just
keep their heads down?

You think they would? Wouldn't you?

The fourth Duke of Norfolk Thomas,
he did. He wrote this desperately

desperately sad letter
to his son Philip saying

beware blind papistry, as he put it.

And beware of high degree.

In other words, yeah, keep your head down,
watch your back.

In a way, it's a miracle

that this family actually survived
and the Arundel Castle,

is still here today.

Yeah, it is.
Their motif is virtues and victor.

The only virtue unconquered.
There's that amazing self belief.

But there's also that Icarus quality.

They always would sail
little bit too close to the sun

which is why you get these disgraces.

But they would always rise up.

The union between The Howards
and The FitzAlans of Arundel,

which had promised so much

had instead been marred by calamity.

In the space of four generations,

four family members were imprisoned for
treason with two of them beheaded.

And of course they lost everything.

Their titles and their castle.

Which reverted to Queen Elizabeth I.

It all leads you to wonder how on earth

are The FitzAlan Howards still
at Arundel Castle today.

How did they retain all that power
and royal favor?

They certainly didn't roll over
and convert.

They remain staunch Catholics to this day.

That fate of the FitzAlan Howard dynasty
rested on the next in line.

Thomas was named after his grandfather,

the recently beheaded
fourth Duke of Norfolk.

But he wasn't born in a castle.

He was born in the shame
and relative poverty

of a humble village in Essex.

You'd have to say that this young
Thomas's prospects didn't look good.

But when Queen Elizabeth died

and James I came to
the English throne in 1603,

the FitzAlan Howard family's
fortunes changed dramatically.

The new King James I was pretty well
disposed towards the family,

that supported his mother
Mary, Queen of Scots

and then supported his own claim
to the English thrown.

Now the king repaid their faith.

Thomas was reinstated as Earl in 1604.

And The FitzAlan Howards
were back at Arundel Castle.

Young Thomas was smart enough to know
that he needed to start from scratch.

To keep his head down,
steer clear of politics

and try to restore
the family name and fortune.

And he started in
the very best way possible.

He married an incredibly wealthy woman.

This is Thomas's wife Alethea Talbot.

She was the daughter of
the Earl of Shrewsbury.

And she inherited huge estates across
the north of England.

Now her wealth,

meant her husband could indulge
his single great passion,

which was art collecting.

With the family back in the money
and back in royal favor,

under Charles I, Thomas acted as
government envoy traveling across Europe.

He spent a lot of time in Antwerp
and in Padua in Italy

and he liked what he saw.

The art he collected came back here
to Arundel Castle.

Thomas the Collector Earl was obviously
very cultured, very sophisticated.

I think he was very politically
savvy as well.

The reign of Charles I
was a very turbulent time.

It would end in English civil war.

Actually this wasn't a bad moment
to be getting out of England on long

art collecting tours.

I think there was more to it
even than that.

Considering what had happened
to generation after generation,

of this family,

amassing all of this art
this cultural splendor

was a way of restoring family pride.

It was a way of saying, "We're back.

"And we're back greater than ever."

By the time he died in 1646,

Thomas Howard had amassed a vast array
of art, literature, gems and jewelry.

His library included priceless sketchbooks
by the great Leonardo da Vinci.

In his will, he stated he wanted
the whole collection kept together.

Sadly that didn't happen.

But the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford
houses the Arundel marbles.

Thomas's personal hoard
of ancient European statues and carvings.

Where in Europe did he go
to get all these wonderful antiquities?

He travels to Rome and
undertakes what are called excavations.

But what we actually think was
they weren't true excavations.

But there were some statues planted
for his benefit, to find.

Which he then had to purchase.
And then bring back to England.

Could you give us an idea of
the contribution of the Collector Earl

to British art and
British heritage in general?

Well, he inspired all
the future collectors.

So when you travel around Britain today
and you see these

country houses full of
these beautiful objects,

we have Arundel to thank for them.

Although much of his collection
is now elsewhere,

recently, the castle decided
to commemorate Thomas, the Collector Earl.

With a specially designed garden
to recognize his artistic taste

and his legacy.

This used to be a car park.

His body is in the family tomb
in the chapel.

But his spirit is in this garden

which is a recreation of the formal
gardens of the 17th century.

Thomas Howard defined
how this period in British history

would be seen and remembered.

The artists he encouraged went on to paint

an entire generation
of Britain's ruling class.

Most notably,
the Flemish master Antony Van Dyck,

whose work is all over the castle.

But there is an irony there.

Because Van Dyck's pretty much famous work
is a portrait of King Charles I.

The monarch who helped bring about
the downfall of the Arundel Castle.

In 1642, civil war broke out,
dividing Britain.

The royalists supported Charles I,

and his right to rule his country
as he pleased.

The Parliamentarians, known as Roundheads,
challenged the authority of the King.

Arundel Castle which had become
more of a art gallery than a fortress,

was suddenly called back into action.

But at the outbreak of the Civil War,

the collector Earl, Thomas Howard
was abroad.

His health failing.

He would never see
his beloved castle again.

Thomas died in Italy as
civil war raged across England

and engulfed Arundel.

December 1643, Arundel Castle was held by
royalist forces loyal to Charles I.

But outside the walls, a huge
Parliamentarian army was gathering

maybe 10,000 strong.

They battered the castle
for more than two weeks.

Until eventually,
on the 6th of January, 1644,

it surrendered.

The castle and the chapel
were badly damaged.

But ultimately, the reason
the siege had succeeded,

was that they'd run out of water.

The men inside were dying of thirst.

But there was worse to come.

After the Roundheads won the war,

and chopped Charles I's head off,

they set about slighting British castles,

tearing down or dynamiting
their walls and towers,

to make sure they could never be used
for military defense again.

Some of the greatest
castles of Britain were ruined,

and Arundel was no exception.

Arundel was a shadow
of the palatial fortress

it had been for so many centuries.

But its enemies had failed
to destroy this place for good.

In fact they'd left
the foundations for another

golden age in the castle's history.

Arundel was about to be reborn
in the image of the perfect castle.

A castle fit for a queen.

Or at least for a queen's visit.

And that was just as well.

Because Queen Victoria was coming to stay.

By the end of the 17th century,

the once mighty Arundel Castle
lay in ruins.

But it was about to be returned
to its former grandeur.

The rich and powerful family who owned it,

The FitzAlan Howards, held two titles.

They were Earls of Arundel
and Dukes of Norfolk.

In 1786, Charles Howard
became the Earl of Arundel.

And set about making some changes.

An extravagant socialite,

he saw Arundel as a
potential pleasure palace.

And he began making major renovations
before taking up residence.

Along with Arundel,

Charles also inherited the title of
the 11th Duke of Norfolk.

The castle, like the Duke was going to be
big, brash and impressive.

The 11th Duke
was a rambunctious character.

He loved to entertain and to hold parties
here at the castle.

He was also a member of London's
infamous Beefsteak club.

Dedicated to the principles
of liberal prosperity,

their motto was beef and liberty.

But there was a fair amount of wine
involved as well.

He was nicknamed the Drunken Duke
or the Dirty Duke.

He had such an inversion
to soap and water,

that his servants had to wait until
he passed out in a stupor

before stripping him off
and giving him a wash.

His personal life was predictably
chaotic and unconventional.

His first wife died in childbirth

and his second was certified insane

and had to be confined
for almost 50 years,

leaving the Duke to make his way through
a succession of mistresses

and father at least
six illegitimate children.

Charles wasn't just flamboyant,
he was fashionable too.

And he began remodeling,
rebuilding Arundel Castle,

according to the taste of the day.

This picture gallery
was totally redesigned

so were rooms across the castle.

And ornate new wings were added in
the Gothic revival style.

Today, you'd call that retro.

It was harking back to
an earlier greater period in time.

In this case, the imagined
romantic English Middle Ages.

But at the turn of the 19th century,

that was the height of the hipster cool.

Charles's ambition with a make his castle
a place to be seen.

By 1797, he was estimated to have
spent 200,000 pounds on the castle.

And by the time he died,
that had risen to 600,000.

Or about 40 million pounds
in today's terms.

Perhaps, because of those costs,

he also decided to do something
incredibly modern for the time.

He started letting in paying tourists.

Social historian Ruth Goodman explains how
Arundel Castle was at the forefront of

the 19th century obsession with the past.

So, Ruth, in the 19th century,

that was really the birth of tourism
at the castle, wasn't it?

Absolutely, I mean I think
when you look around this place,

it's like a film set, isn't it?

And that was very much the purpose.

People were rediscovering the past again,
there was a certain fantasy element

to enjoying the past.

When you look around the castle today,
you see a lot of tourists.

Arundel is right at the forefront of that.

Starting to collect tickets.

Thank you very much for coming to see
our marvelous, recreated Gothic home.

Ruth, I loved the story of
the Dirty Duke who is so filthy

that his staff waited till
he was blind drunk

and passed out before they washed him.

He was a bit extreme.

But it was an age in which
it was really quite difficult to be clean.

So what would you use to get rid of
the stench of the age?

This is the perfume of the Victorian age

which is a mixture of lemon and bergamot.

-Very simple ingredient.
-Very simple ingredients,

but the two mixed together.

Very fresh.

This scent was the scent of Victoria
and her court.

Sure, I don't need
to wash this hand today.

And it carries.

There is no doubt it carries.

This one here,
this is a gentleman's hair product.

Quite a light one this,
hardly any scent it has at all.

-Have a go?
-Go for it.

Just a tiny bit on your fingers.

Okay, there we go.

-Yeah.
-Quite light.

Bit of, sort of...

Shine to it, I imagine. It's fine.
What's in it?

Well, all sorts of things.

If you were the King,
then it actually be based on bear fat.

Oh Jesus Christ.

Have I just put bear fat in my head?

No, you haven't.
Most people couldn't afford bear fat.

You be glad. You just got lard.

Lard, almond oil, little bit
of rosewater, a bit of vodka...

Genuinely amazing but
it sounds disgusting but...

It is really effective.

Yeah I mean, modern products
are not so dissimilar.

It all goes back to the Victorian times.

And it all goes back to
the Victorian times.

Clever Victorians.

The restoration work at Arundel
started by Charles, The Dirty Duke,

was completed by the 13th Duke Henry
during the reign of Queen Victoria.

And in 1844, Arundel was given
two year notice that

the Queen and her husband Prince Albert
were coming to stay.

So Ruth, we're living in Arundel Castle,
let's say, and we get word

that Queen Victoria is coming to stay
presumably, is panic station.

A vast army, this huge machine,
has to set to ratchet up into action.

Because you need everything
to be utterly ready.

I mean you got to produce food
fit for a queen

and you gotta be able to entertain
night after night after night.

All the flowers to decorate the rooms,
to produce the beautiful smell.

Then you gonna have to have stacks
of clean linen. This is a vast effort.

The castle has to be looking
its absolute best.

Absolute best.

No matter what the reality is actually.

-Shove it all under the carpet.
-Exactly.

And there is a huge number
of people to do that.

All these things are very labor intensive.

There aren't any sort of
mechanized quick cheats.

It's all about people.
So it would be pulling in extra labor,

from the towns and villages
around to get it going.

Victoria's visit
was a great success.

She stayed for three days.

There were fireworks, conjurers,
Ethiopian singers and lots of dancing.

She said Arundel reminded her
of her own castle at Windsor.

This ringing royal endorsement encouraged
successive generations of Dukes

to keep the process going.

And drag Arundel
right into the 20th Century.

It would go on to become
one of the very first houses in England

to have electric lights, service lifts
and central heating.

Ruth, it's quite light, even airy and
certainly comfortable here today.

But it wouldn't be like this
in the 19th Century, would it?

No. No, it wouldn't.
To be fair to Arundel,

they were one of the first castles to
install electricity and central heating.

And gives us this feeling
that we got today.

But for most of the Victorian period
in most castles,

you gotta think of it without the lights.

You've gotta think of it without
the heatings.

I mean they're built to store huge spaces.

Fundamentally, life in a castle
is pretty uncomfortable.

Cold, dark,
even if it looks nice in pictures.

So, Ruth, this room is pretty dazzling.

We got the bed Queen Victoria slept in.

This is the actual one.

This is the actual bed that she and Albert
slept in. Lovely crest above it

I mean it looks dazzling and beautiful.

Another thing that the castle didn't have,
even in the rooms prepared for the Queen,

was running water.

So this looks like rather
a smart drinks table.

Except this is the bathroom.

It's not even a separate room.

-A chamber pot.
-A chamber pot.

The famous chamber pot,
this is the toilet.

-That is the toilet.
-Never mind a flush or system.

-This is it?
-That's it.

And everywhere you went.

I mean Buckingham palace is the same.
There was no running water

at this stage within people's houses.

Even at the very top of society.

Even the Queen is busily having
to cope with a chamber pot.

In some ways I find
this chamber pot quite reassuring

and even quite comforting.

Because even if you're the Queen,

even Queen Victoria, you know,
greatest monarch in the world,

when it comes down to it,

you still need one of these
just like everybody else.

Yeah.

Today the castle is very much
a home as well as a tourist attraction.

And it does have running water.

The present Duke Edward FitzAlan Howard

is the 18th Duke of Norfolk
and the 29th Earl of Arundel.

But he doesn't walk backwards anymore
at the stage opening of Parliament.

It was the tradition
in order to show respect.

But the Queen herself asked
for tradition to change.

Because she was worried that the Duke
might trip over and hurt himself.

Arundel Castle is still home to the most
prestigious peer in the land,

who holds the oldest Earldom
in the entire country.

And even has his own cricket team.

Arundel Castle really is about
as English as it gets.

From William the Conqueror to the Queen.

From invasion, to reformation,
to revolution.

Now it's all hidden beneath
this perfectly civilized genteel veneer.

But scratch the surface
and you find a story of loyalty

tenacity and single mindedness

which has placed Arundel Castle
at the heart of Britain's stormy history.