FormatBiz | RTVE’s Royal Drama Ena. La Reina Victoria Eugenia to Premiere at MIPCOM Cannes

RTVE’s highly anticipated historical drama Ena. La Reina Victoria Eugenia will premiere at MIPCOM Cannes on 21 October 2024, as part of Spain’s "Country of Honour" program. The world premiere will be staged at 18.00 in the Grand Auditorium in the Palais des Festivals hosted by José Pastor (RTVE Fiction Director) and attended by leading actors Kimberley Tell and Joan Amargós alongside Executive Producer Luis Hernández. The screening, to be followed by a Q&A, is open to all delegates.

The series chronicles the life of Victoria Eugenia of Battenberg, who became Queen Consort of Spain by marrying King Alfonso XIII and was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria of Britain. Spanning the early 20th century, the show portrays Ena as a progressive figure in a conservative environment, admired for her fashion and feminist ideals. The story delves into her personal journey, from her upbringing in England to her unexpected role as Queen of Spain, including key moments like the assassination attempt on her wedding day.

Spanning the first half of the 20th century and shot in palaces and locations across Spain where the monarch spent much of her life, the all-female-directed period piece (6 x 60’) is produced by RTVE in collaboration with ‘Ena La Serie AIE’, ‘La Cometa TV’ and ‘Zona App’, and adapted from the novel of the same name by Pilar Eyre and written and executive produced by Javier Olivares (El Ministerio del Tiempo, Isabel).

Victoria Eugenia of Battenberg is played by Kimberly Tell with Joan Amargós as Alfonso XIII alongside Elvira Mínguez (María Cristina, the mother of Alfonso XIII), Lucía Guerrero (Beatriz de Sajonia), Raúl Mérida (Alfonso de Orleans), Juan Gea (Count of Romanones), María Morales (Duchess of Victoria), Pedro Mari Sánchez (Marquis of Villalobar), Luisa Gavasa (Eugenia de Montijo) and Joaquín Notario (Marquis of Viana). Mariano Peña plays Miguel Primo de Rivera; Jaume Madaula, the anarchist Mateo Morral, (the orchestrator of the wedding attack on King and Queen); Tomás del Estal plays Torres Mendoza and Ángel Ruiz will once again play García Lorca (a character he already played in 'El Ministerio del Tiempo'. In addition to Showrunner Javier Olivares, the series is written by Isa Sánchez, Daniel Corpas and Pablo Lara Toledo and directed by Anaïs Pareto (four episodes) and Estel Díaz (two episodes). Executive Producers are Nieves Fernández Blanco, Gerardo Iracheta, Luis Hernández, Rosa Díaz, Javier Olivares and Juan Navarrete.

It is set to air on RTVE’s channel LA1 in Spain with global distribution rights handled by the largest public audiovisual group in Spain, RTVE.