Poet, essayist, novelist and filmmaker, Michel Houellebecq has always had close ties with the cinema and the world of the visual arts, which have accompanied and extended his reflexions since the start of his career, as the frequent allusions to them in his novels attest. This portrait of Houellebecq is from his early days of bad boy provocateur stardom. Having just published Plateforme in french and enjoying the many translations of Les Particules élémentaires.

The Trouble with Michel

Ever since King Edward VIII abdicated in 1936, the official explanation had been simply that the government disapproved of his marriage to a twice-divorced woman. However newly-released documents, embargoed until recently, suggest that Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Gordon Lang, played a large part in a plan to make certain that Edward VIII abdicated, not only because of his marriage to a divorcee but also because the archbishop disapproved of the King's whole lifestyle and modern attitudes to life.

Edward VIII: The Plot to Topple a King

In "Secrets of Westminster," viewers see the hidden areas of London’s House of Commons, House of Lords and Westminster Abbey. Throughout its history, Westminster has embodied stories of power struggles and tradition.  As one of the world’s most famous churches, Westminster Abbey is steeped in Anglo-Saxon myths and legends dating back to the 11th century. Viewers are privy to a behind-the-scenes tour to one of the most memorable vantage points of this architectural masterpiece, the site of the coronations of every English monarch since 1066. The film charts the brazen heist of the Stone of Destiny, part of the famous Coronation Chair, first used by Edward the Confessor in 1296. The theft, on Christmas Eve in 1950, made international headlines. Scotsman Ian Hamilton reveals how he and others planned and carried out the theft, then returned the storied stone in time for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.