Rosie DiManno is a popular Hollywood star and bestselling author, featured on “Dancing with the Stars,” has a son named Sam, and has written 13 New York Times Bestsellers.
DiManno is now the Executive Producer of “King Richard,” a new award-winning, A&E original miniseries from executive producer Mark Burnett.
As the rich white Son of Israel, Richard Hambleton married a poor black slave girl named Terese for their own mutual benefit. Hambleton inherited the ruler of England from his uncle who died when Richard was a small boy. Hambleton eventually began calling himself Lord Charles. He was cultured and worldly. Lord Charles became a politico, meddling in court intrigues, and eventually followed through with the peace treaty with Rome, established by a Roman general named Percival of Holyoke.
Richard’s name was still Richard’s, and it was not until he became wealthy that he changed his name to King Richard, becoming King Richard of Wales. Hambleton took the throne as Richard and rose in the aristocracy. He was a charismatic and charming leader.
Hambleton’s marriage to a slave girl and his subsequent marriage to a white woman were the catalyst for a magnificent drama full of intrigue, secret affairs, art, literature, and music.
A married Richard married Jane Seymour, a very beautiful and intelligent socialite. He brought his wife to Rome to marry Percival, a similar wealthy and powerful man.
The beloved courtesan of Rome had caught Richard’s eye by running a brothel inside the Via Veneto. Young Capulet was tasked with giving Jane an elegant makeover in the bedroom to fit her new role, but first he was to make a generous donation to the orphanage.
Although Jane was excited to get married, she was more embarrassed when Capulet betrayed her, returned to England, and returned to his brothel. Jane learned to play the violin as her knight in shining armor retreated to the hotel room for an illicit rendezvous with Jane’s boy, Viscount Montorgueil.
While in Rome, Jane left her old life and traveled to Scotland with her new husband to meet Scotland’s greatest poet, Sir Walter Scott. Viscount Montorgueil married Jane once the deed was done. The Shakespearean legend is based on the truth.
In Roman society, the aristocracy were rich, well-born white men who travelled abroad with wealthy women they married as outcasts. In Europe in the time of the play, wealthy gentry were so absorbed in their travel and art that they not only failed to notice the suffering of an infatuated tourist, they were even busy consorting with prostitution from beggars and foreigners.
As Richard ascended in the aristocracy, he began to appear in incredible paintings, painted by famed artists like Lucas Cranach the Elder and Petrarch of Tufa. Richard was a lover of the arts.
As Richard sought an heir, he found an old slave girl with no natural-born relatives. In an arrangement similar to Richard’s marriage to Jane, Richard arranged a marriage for her with an aristocrat.
This poor woman named Enocha Claudius was given four slaves to hold over her. As a slave, Claudius came to suffer from the same neglect and mistreatment as any poor aristocrat with an illegitimate child.
When Lord Charles called her in for dinner, he found her withered and passed out at his feet. When Enocha went back to her senses, Richard took her hand, exclaimed “champion,” and accused her of witchcraft.
Enocha began to torture the king. Their uneasy alliance was always tenuous and Richard began to suspect the wicked Enocha of true plotting. Richard learned that Enocha, much to his disgust, was continuing to marry her slaves.
King Richard is more concerned with his own stability than an uptight white lady. The demise of Enocha Claudius’ career as a wife and mistress was a cause for concern in Britain. King Richard succeeded in keeping control of his court.
As the death of King Richard recedes in time, it eventually recalls the great patriarch in its own time and struggles with the glorious tale of one king vs. ten years of darkness.
King Richard brings to life Shakespeare’s legend, and is a vibrant and fascinating television