| The Crown of the Kings | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The Crown of the Kings. The Jagiellonians (since season 4) |
| Genre | Historical Drama |
| Written by |
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| Directed by |
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| Starring |
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| Composer | Marcin Przybyłowicz |
| Country of origin | Poland |
| Original languages |
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| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 535 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 25-29 min. |
| Production company | TVP |
| Original release | |
| Network | TVP1 |
| Release | January 1, 2018 |
Korona królów (The Crown of the Kings) is a Polish historical soap opera. Aired from January 1, 2018, on TVP1. The show is a biographical story about the reign of: King Casimir III the Great (seasons 1–2), Queen Jadwiga and King Władysław II Jagiełło as co-rulers (season 3), and then Jagiełło as the sole ruler (seasons 4–5) of the Kingdom of Poland.[1] The series tells the story of the monarchy in Poland in the 14th and 15th century.
The first season depicts events from 1325–1339, showing the last years of King Władysław the Elbow-high's reign and the beginnings of the rule of King Casimir the Great. It focuses on his first marriage with Queen Aldona Anna of Lithuania and relationship with mother - Queen Hedvig of Kalisz. Season ends in 1339, the year of death of Aldona and Hedvig.
The second season starts three years after events of first season's finale and shows events from years 1342–1370. It shows the threads of three castles: Wawel, Visegrad and Świdnica. The story of King Casimir III the Great and his second wife Queen Adelaide of Hesse, is extended of threads of his sister - Elizabeth of Poland, Queen of Hungary, her son King Louis the Great and his nephew - Duke Bolko II the Small, his wife Agnes von Habsburg and niece Anna of Świdnica, future empress. Season shows also bigamic marriages of Casimir with Christina Rokiczana and Hedwig of Sagan, during Queen Adelaide's life. The action of the final episode takes place in 1374, four years after Casimir's death, when Jadwiga of Poland is born.
The third season depicts the life of Saint Jadwiga of Poland and covers 1376–1399. The action begins at the turn of 1376 and 1377 during the reign of Louis I of Hungary. The last years of his reign are shown, as well as the last moments of regency of his mother Queen Elizabeth in the Kingdom of Poland. The season explores the life and reign of Queen Jadwiga of Anjou, crowned King of Poland in 1384. One of the main threads is her relationship with Prince William Courteous of Austria and marriage with the Lithuanian Grand Duke Jogaiła. Season ends with death of Queen Jadwiga, three weeks after childbirth. In the final episode her and her baby daughter's funeral is shown.
The fourth season covers 1399–1420, it begins two months after the death of Queen Jadwiga, when the bereaved Jogaila considers returning to Lithuania. Polish nobles allow him to stay on the Polish throne after his wife's death on condition that he marries her cousin Anna of Cilli, granddaughter of Casimir the Great. The marriage is stormy at first, but over time love grows between the king and Anna. The royal couple's only daughter is named Hedvig in honour of Queen Jadwiga. The season also portrays Jogaila's relations with his cousin Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania and rebellious brother Svitrigaila, as well as the growing conflict with the Teutonic Order, leading to the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 and the King's love marriage with widowed Elizabeth Granowska with her death marking the season finale.
The fifth season focuses on the final years of King Jogaila and his fourth and last marriage to Sophia of Halshany.
| Season | Title | Episodes | Season premiere | Season finale | TV Channel | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Crown of the Kings | 84 | January 1, 2018 | May 22, 2018 | TVP1 | ||
| 2 | 161 | September 3, 2018 | June 25, 2019 | ||||
| 3 | 155 | 131 | September 9, 2019 | May 1, 2020 | |||
| 24 | August 31, 2020 | October 8, 2020 | |||||
| 4 | 1 | The Crown of the Kings. The Jagiellonians | 125[2] | 65 | January 2, 2023 | May 31, 2023 | |
| 60 | August 28, 2023 | January 30, 2024 | |||||
| 5 | 2 | 125 | January 31, 2024 | June 13, 2024 | |||
| August 2024 | 2025 | ||||||
Korona królów: Od księcia do króla (The Crown of Kings: From Prince to King) is a special 25-minute episode of the series. He will explore the mystery of gaining power by Kazimierz. This episode is a summary of the events of the first series of the series - from the engagement of Kazimierz Anna to the moment of his mother's death Jadwiga. This episode will premiere on May 24, 2018 (Thursday), the day after the premiere of the first series issue.[3]
Korona królów: Taka historia... (The Crown of Kings: Such a story ...) is a program that shows the story behind the creation of the series, as well as aimed at historical education. The premiere episodes are announced for Fridays at 18.30, starting from September 7, 2018, i.e. after the first week of the broadcast of the second season of the series[4]