[birds singing]
[indistinct chatter]
[flashbulbs pop]
-[director] Everybody set? -[man] Ready, sir.
[woman calling]
Yes. Yes, hurry up. Hurry up.
Operator ready.
Right.
Absolute silence, everywhere.
[switch clicks]
[mechanism whirring]
Cue disc.
[man] Live recording.
[director] Ready, Your Royal Highness?
Five,
four,
three,
two,
one,
and…
"On this…
the occasion of my 21st birthday…
I welcome the opportunity
to speak to all the peoples of the British Commonwealth and Empire…
wherever they live,
whatever race they come from,
and whatever language they speak.
As I speak to you today from Cape Town,
I am 6,000 miles from the country where I was born.
But I am certainly not 6,000 miles from home.
That is the great privilege of belonging to our place
in the worldwide Commonwealth.
There are homes ready to welcome us in every continent of the earth.
Before I am much elder,
I hope I shall come to know many of them.
Although there is none of my father's subjects,
from the eldest to the youngest, whom I do not wish to greet,
I am thinking especially today of all the young men and women
who were born about the same time as myself
and have grown up like me
in the terrible and glorious years of the Second World War.
Will you, the youth of the British family of nations,
let me speak on my birthday as your representative?
Now that we are coming to manhood and womanhood,
it is surely a great joy to us all to think that we shall be able
to take some of the burden off the shoulders of our elders,
who have fought and worked and suffered to protect our childhood.
To that generation,
I say we must not be daunted
by the anxieties and hardships the war has left behind
for every nation of our Commonwealth.
We know these things are the price we cheerfully undertook to pay
for the high honor of standing alone seven years ago
in defense of the liberty of the world.
If we all go forward together with an unwavering faith,
-a high courage, and a quiet heart…" -[shushes]
"…we shall be able to make of this ancient Commonwealth,
which we all love so dearly,
an even grander thing.
More free, more prosperous,
more happy,
and a more powerful influence for good in the world
than it has been in the greatest days of our forefathers."
-[clinking glass] -[man] Please welcome Margaret Roberts.
[overlapping chatter]
[young Elizabeth] "To accomplish that…
we must give nothing less
than what my father, King George, the first head of the Commonwealth,
calls 'the whole of ourselves.'"
Good evening.
[flashbulbs pop]
[young Elizabeth] "There is a motto which has been borne by many of my ancestors.
A noble motto.
'I serve.'
I should like to make that dedication now.
-It's very simple." -[photographer] And smile!
"I declare before you all that my whole life…
whether it be long or short…
shall be devoted to your service…
and the service of our great imperial family
to which we all belong.
God help me to make good my vow…
and God bless all of you
who are willing to share in it."
-Thank you, ma'am. -Thank you.
[theme music plays]
[man] It was the volte-face of Eurydice,
except I was Aristaeus,
driving her on towards the serpent…
Malachi, Maaalachi…
Twice, she called me by the name,
and twice she beckoned me with her outstretched dactyl…
I stood in darkness. She in light.
And yet here I was the diurnal,
and she the crepuscular,
-if such a… -[typing]
-…nugatory distinction can pertain. -[typewriter bell dings]
The aurora was breaking.
The island, sea-girt, was fast stirring.
I looked at her again.
Her dermis, pellucid in the lambent sunshine,
seemed as if a fish-skin pulled taut.
She gave me one last glancing look,
and then stepped off
and plunged down into the waxing viridescence
of the Ionian waters below…
Mors tua, vita mea.
The End.
Golly! Your very own War and Peace.
Ulysses, please.
[woman chuckles]
[clicks tongue] Uh…
I shall… set aside a year of my life.
-[mutters] What? -Just kidding.
I'll have it read by the end of next week.
-You're very kind. -And, Michael, bravo!
Ah-ah! No congratulations till you've read it.
You deserve congratulations
for being able to carry it up the stairs. Kidding again.
Oh. [chuckles]
Well…
I look forward…
to hearing from you.
Uh, taxi!
-Buckingham Palace, please. -[driver] Right you are, sir.
[man] Good work. Leave it on my desk.
-Morning, James. -Morning, sir.
-Morning, Michael. -Sarah.
Sorry to ambush you,
but I've got the Today newspaper asking for confirmation
of an apparently open secret in Commonwealth government circles,
that the Queen is deeply frustrated by Thatcher's refusal
to back sanctions against the apartheid regime in South Africa.
A frustration which threatens to strain her relationship with the prime minister,
who the Queen holds personally responsible,
and they'd like you, as palace press secretary, to comment.
You should know better than to come to me with nonsense like that, Sarah.
In the 33 years she's been on the throne,
the Queen has never once expressed a point of view about her prime ministers,
positive or negative,
and never will.
Political impartiality
and support of her prime minister is an article of faith to her.
And we all know how the Queen is…
about her faith.
[news anchor] …the now all too familiar use of violence.
Tear gas, followed by rubber bullets, and then bird shot.
It's been nearly four decades since the system of racial segregation,
termed apartheid, became the official policy of South Africa.
The current violent oppression of Black protesters by government forces
is creating increased international outrage.
[Sonny] The situation is getting worse and worse, ma'am.
Countless instances of brutality by the South African police
against members of the public.
As you know, we believe the only way to stop these atrocities
is through sustained economic pressure. Forty-eight of the Commonwealth countries
are committed to imposing a policy of sanctions on Pretoria
to try and bring down the apartheid regime.
But, as Her Majesty knows,
in order to implement those sanctions, total unanimity is required,
and one country remains against.
The United Kingdom.
Mrs. Thatcher remains opposed.
I will have an opportunity to speak to Mrs. Thatcher about all this in private
at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in the Bahamas.
[Thatcher] The Commonwealth.
Ridiculous waste of time.
Ridiculous organization.
Worse. Morally offensive.
Why we allow our Queen
to fraternize with countries like Uganda, Malawi, Nigeria, Swaziland…
Unstable countries.
Unstable despotisms with appalling human rights records.
And calling them "family"!
[Howe chuckling] Yes!
Anyway, she's requested a private audience on board the royal yacht
for what the palace is calling
"a frank conversation about the way forward in South Africa."
Spare me!
I'll give her a frank conversation about not wasting my time.
Oh, excuse the eggs, boys.
Right. Who wants kedgeree?
It's not my best, I'm afraid.
[man] For the dinner, this sunshine chiffon…
There you go.
…to pick out the yellow in the flag of the Commonwealth.
Yummy!
Oh, and a brooch given to you by King Otumfuo Opoku Ware.
Is that a porcupine?
A symbol of courage and strength in Ashanti culture.
-Oh, we might need some of that. -[knock at door]
-What's all this? -CHOGM.
-[Andrew] Oh, of course. -To what do I owe the honor?
I came to tell you that I've decided to ask Edward to be my best man.
Not Charles?
No.
-Oh, that will raise some eyebrows. -Good!
Let him see what it feels like to be sidelined in a…
slimmed-down role,
since I gather that's what he now thinks the future of the monarchy should be.
You, him, and his own precious bloodline. To hell with the rest of us.
Insecure, jealous fool.
What's he jealous of?
Me! Always has been.
Oh, Andrew.
Of me and you,
of our…
of our closeness.
The fact that I've fought in a real war,
won real medals.
Or the fact that I'm happier in love, more popular.
And…
like other second sons I could mention, I'd so obviously be better at it than him.
At what?
Being the heir.
I just want to see you all happy.
There are two families I care about.
My own family and the Commonwealth family of nations.
Keeping them all together is my life's work. Now I must get on.
Mummy.
For the state breakfast,
a dress of the palest blue and gold brocade…
Sarah!
…will go very well with the diamond necklace given to you
by the people of South Africa on your 21st birthday.
Lovely.
I told her. She was fine with it. Edward it is.
Aren't you, now.
Right, let's go.
Your Majesty. I just included that sentence there.
I don't think that's necessary.
-No, I liked it before. -We'll change it back.
[marching band playing]
[overlapping cheers and applause]
Your Majesty. Thank you for coming.
Oh, thank you. They're lovely. Thank you very much.
[Elizabeth] Those of you who know me
will be aware that the Commonwealth of Nations
is a second family to me,
as it was to my late father,
King George VI.
There are always tensions between nations.
Global peace is fragile.
But I believe this union offers us all something rare and valuable.
The capacity to celebrate difference.
To value compromise over conflict.
And to find a way to heal divisions in the interests of peace and goodwill.
Thank you.
[indistinct conversation]
[soldier] Attention!
[man] Prime Minister.
The prime minister, Your Majesty.
Your Majesty.
It was kind of you to come. I won't keep you long.
Um, I was hoping we could briefly discuss South Africa.
[Thatcher] Ma'am.
It is my fervent hope that Britain will join
the other countries of the Commonwealth and impose sanctions
on an apartheid regime that has no place in the modern world.
Let us be quite clear about this.
Nothing useful can be achieved by sanctions.
Really? It was my understanding they would devastate the South African government.
They would devastate us too.
Trade between our two countries is worth three billion pounds a year.
Might we look at it from the South African point of view?
[Thatcher] I am, ma'am.
South Africa is already a disinvestment economy.
But Black South Africans want sanctions, so shouldn't we listen to them?
Black South Africans don't want to inherit a wasteland.
They will if they feel it is their wasteland.
President Kaunda of Zambia would confirm as much.
It is not the business of a British prime minister
to consult with unelected dictators.
But it is a sovereign's duty when they are part of the Commonwealth.
Yes.
The Commonwealth.
Yes, the Commonwealth.
I recognize that for your family,
the transition of this nation
from empire to comparative supplicancy on the world stage
must have come as a greater shock than to the rest of us.
But I would argue that the Commonwealth is not the way to fill that gap.
There are ways of Britain being great again,
and that is through a revitalized economy,
not through association with unreliable tribal leaders
in eccentric costumes.
But isn't that all I am, Prime Minister?
A tribal leader in eccentric costume?
Certainly not.
You're head of an evolved constitutional monarchy
that stretches back to William the Conqueror.
It's not comparing like with like.
Ah, now that's where we differ.
You see, I consider myself to be exactly like them.
To me, Ghana, Zambia, Malawi
are all great sovereign nations with great histories.
I am aware you probably don't share that view.
To you, the Commonwealth is something of a distraction,
a waste of time.
But in many ways, I have given my life to it.
It was the pledge I made 40 years ago.
On the wireless?
"To our great imperial family…"
I remember listening to it
as a student at Oxford.
But we cannot let the values of the past
distract us from the realities of the present,
particularly where Britain's economic interests are concerned.
Forty-eight countries of the Commonwealth are now preparing a statement
condemning the South African regime and recommending tougher sanctions.
What they…
What I would like you to do is sign that statement.
If I didn't know better,
that sounded very much like a directive.
Think of it as a question.
[marching band music playing]
[man] The jolly atmosphere at the opening of the Commonwealth conference in Nassau,
nicknamed the CHOGM, fooled nobody.
Within an hour, South Africa came up
with the Indian prime minister making his position crystal clear.
How was it?
My meeting with the Queen? It was a little testy.
Although I must say, I do like the boat.
Yacht.
It isn't a yacht.
It's a great big ship.
And when the sovereign sails in it, historically it's called a yacht.
Oh, don't be a know-all. It's unbecoming.
[sighs]
Why was it frosty?
I didn't say "frosty." I said "testy."
Although I wish it had been frosty. It's far too hot here.
Because my fellow heads of government are now coming up with a statement
condemning the South African government they want me to sign.
I've told them I won't accept anything with the word "sanction,"
and… they've started--
Getting their knickers in a twist? [chuckles]
Insisting they won't accept anything less.
So now we need to come up with a word that… works for everyone.
Well, good luck with that.
Thank you, DT.
[sighs]
No, no, no, no.
She rejected any mention of "proposals."
[Elizabeth] I'm determined to win this battle, Sonny.
I don't often get into a fight, but when I do, I want to win.
You will, ma'am.
Remember, you are not alone.
It is 48 against one.
We are going back with another word.
[Thatcher] "Measures…"
No, no, no.
No.
[sighs]
I'm sorry.
A no to "measures."
Yes, so we are going back with "actions."
And should that fail?
We still have "controls."
Yes, I'm beginning to see this is all about control.
No. No.
[man sighs]
No. No, no, no.
[sighs]
No.
[sighing]
Thank you.
They must be out of their minds.
No. No! No…
Definitely not.
No!
[sighing]
Ridiculous.
[exhales]
What we need here is not useless politicians… Sorry, Sonny.
…but a writer.
Where might we find one?
[Shea, contemplatively] …sanctions…
…restrictions…
…protocols…
…measures…
…proposals…
…curbs…
…gestures…
…expediences…
…signals…
Hmm.
Yes, I think we can work with that.
[sighing in relief]
[chuckling lightly]
"Signals"!
Yes, she agreed to "signals."
And among the signals she agreed to
are actually several of the sanctions she would never have contemplated
had they been called sanctions.
Oh, thank you, Michael. And congratulations.
[chuckles]
-Have we won? -[Sonny] Oh yes.
It's a victory for the Commonwealth, for humanity, a victory for you.
When put in the ring with her Queen, the Iron Lady melted.
Oh.
Well played, Margaret. A victory for common sense.
Whatever are you talking about?
The other heads of government will appreciate
your willingness to seek a compromise.
There's a reason the top job has always eluded you, Geoffrey.
The absence of the killer instinct.
[Sonny] …that our family is once more united around a common consensus.
But, ladies and gentlemen, first, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
-Prime Minister. -Yes?
You have been forced to make significant concessions.
Not that I noticed.
You signed a document prepared by 48 countries
who were in conflict with you.
I did.
But the question is,
did one person move to the 48,
or did 48 move to one?
Yes, I agreed to "signals."
But as you know,
with one simple turn,
a signal can soon point
in an entirely different direction. Thank you.
[murmuring]
-Prime Minister! -Prime Minister!
[clamoring]
[man] Secretary-General, are you giving out a statement now?
Where does that leave the Commonwealth?
-That's what she said? -Yes, ma'am.
-Before walking off. -Really?
[indistinct murmuring]
[photographer] Ready? Here we go.
Please. We're ready.
In position.
Perfect.
Look at me.
Three, two, one…
[camera clicks]
[dub-reggae music plays]
[camera clicks]
♪ …smash their brains in ♪
♪ 'Cause they ain't got no fink in 'em ♪
♪ Some a dem say dem a nigga haytah ♪
♪ An' some a dem say… ♪
[horn honking]
♪ Some a dem say dem a Black stabbah ♪
♪ An' some a dem say dem a Paki bash ah ♪
♪ Fashist an di attack Noh baddah worry 'bout dat… ♪
[agent] Everyone's reading it.
Some early reactions have come in, and so far, very encouraging.
Right.
But, uh…
no offers yet?
Oh, uh…
Not yet. But, regardless of whether we get this one published,
what is undeniable is that you write vividly, catchily…
Dare I say it?
…even commercially.
[inhales sharply]
Well, it's not a dirty word, Michael. You can really tell a story.
I am wondering,
have you ever considered a political thriller?
What?
The inner workings of Whitehall, Westminster, the palace.
No one could write it better than you.
No.
No. If this magnum opus doesn't work, I'll call it a day.
You could expose it all under an assumed name.
Mmm. I could.
But, sadly, I'm old-fashioned and would never betray those confidences
or the people I'm proud to serve.
-I had to try. -Hmm.
Was that very grubby of me?
Mmm. [inhales]
Not grubby.
[chuckles softly]
Just quietly heartbreaking.
[anchor] With violence escalating in South Africa,
tensions between the United Kingdom and other nations of the Commonwealth
are at breaking point.
Mrs. Thatcher's refusal to act on sanctions
being blamed for the collapse of the Commonwealth Games…
Good meeting?
Great, thank you.
Hate to dampen the mood, but the Today newspaper has let us know
they are now running a front-page story about the increasingly sour relations
between Buckingham Palace and Downing Street
following the recent crisis
at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
-What is it with these people? -Tea, sir.
And that relations between the two women are in danger of completely breaking down.
The good news is, it's Today,
so we can expect it to have little impact.
The bad news is,
it won't be long before bigger, more influential newspapers
realize this warrants further scrutiny.
So I think the time might have come
for Your Majesty to make some kind of preemptive statement.
Uh, what kind of statement?
[Shea] One of support,
even, dare I say…
personal affection for the prime minister.
About the job she's doing,
something that would kill the gossip stone-dead.
What if I'm not happy with the job she's doing?
What if I'd be happy for people to know the displeasure was actually real?
That I am personally concerned about her lack of compassion.
You know how seriously I take my constitutional responsibility
to remain silent, but each of us has our line in the sand.
If it were to become public knowledge
that there had been an unprecedented rift between sovereign and prime minister,
would that really be so bad?
Well…
[chuckles uncomfortably] Um…
If… if that really were your intention…
And for the record, ma'am, I must say I think that would be a misjudgment.
And risk doing serious and irreparable harm
to the relationship between Buckingham Palace and Downing Street.
…then Today would not be the newspaper I would go to.
I'd go somewhere with more heft,
somewhere that also had a clear sense
of the unprecedented nature of this, where they understood the rules of the game.
Can I leave that with you, Michael? You are the expert.
-Ma'am. -Ma'am.
[scoffs]
It's reckless.
-It's reckless, Martin, and irresponsible. -I'm as surprised as you are.
It goes against my professional advice,
and I want my objection noted.
Noted?
Noted, Martin.
It's noted.
-It-- -It's noted.
Simon Freeman of the Sunday Times is on the line.
He's rung three times.
Following up on rumors about
"a deep and irreconcilable rift between the Queen and Mrs. Thatcher."
All right.
Put him through.
[brakes squeaking]
-[driver] Six quid fifty-four, sir. -Yeah. Keep the change.
[no audible dialogue]
-Thank you. -Prime Minister.
-Evening, Prime Minister. -Evening, Bernard.
I've just had a call from the Sunday Times
letting us know that there will be a difficult piece in the paper tomorrow.
About what?
The fault lines that have developed
in the relationship between sovereign and prime minister.
What?
[cart wheels rattling]
Sunday Times, first edition!
There we go.
Sunday Times, first edition!
-Bernard. -Michael.
Here.
[sighs]
[anchor] A constitutional crisis was on the verge of erupting this morning
as the Sunday Times published details of a sensational rift
between Buckingham Palace and Downing Street.
This story, which is likely to have a serious impact
on what had traditionally been cordial relations
between the sovereign and her prime ministers,
cites the cause of the rift as an alleged dispute
over Mrs. Thatcher's failure to commit to a policy of sanctions
against apartheid in South Africa…
Christ!
…a position regarding which the Queen has apparently expressed her disapproval,
marking a distinct break with the monarch's long-held practice
of never passing comment on political affairs.
So far, Buckingham Palace has refused to be drawn on the veracity of the report
with the palace spokesman declining to comment
on an article entitled…
"The African Queen. At odds with Number 10."
"It has been an eventful week for Buckingham Palace."
"Queen Elizabeth II, a well-intentioned, apolitical figurehead,
has been dragged into a messy row over South Africa
because of the stubbornness and insensitivity…"
"…of her prime minister.
Far from being a straightforward, uncomplicated countrywoman…"
[Philip] "…a late-middle-aged grandmother,
who is most at ease when talking about dogs and horses…"
"…she has shown that she is also an astute political infighter
who is quite prepared to take on Downing Street…"
"…when provoked."
Really?
Well, that's what it says.
I'm feeling something for the very first time.
-Something which I never imagined feeling. -What is that?
Impatience for our next audience.
-There she is! -Mrs. Thatcher!
Over here!
[anchor] Buckingham Palace has continued to deny accusations
published in the Sunday Times
regarding the rift between the Queen and Downing Street.
Government sources claim that the sacrosanct relationship
between sovereign and first minister was in danger of being blown apart.
The prime minister's here.
[brakes squeaking]
[bell rings]
Your Majesty.
Prime Minister.
Before coming today,
I checked with the cabinet secretary,
and it turns out that in the seven years I have been prime minister,
we have had 164 audiences,
always the model of cordiality, productivity, and mutual respect.
So it is perhaps not unreasonable
to expect an isolated hiccup.
What hiccup?
I was under the impression
that Her Majesty never expressed her political views in public.
I don't.
That there was an unbreakable code of silence
between sovereign and first minister.
If you're referring to the Sunday Times,
I've always advised my prime ministers against reading the newspapers.
[Thatcher] I don't, ma'am.
They misunderstand, misquote,
and misrepresent. Then everybody gets into a fluster.
But my press secretary does,
and he has working relationships with all of the editors,
and the editor in this case assured him that the sources were unimpeachable.
Close to the Queen.
Unprecedentedly close.
Well, I'm sure a clarification will soon be forthcoming.
In the meantime, should we make a start on the business of the week?
Only I am mindful of the time.
This is the business, ma'am.
The only business.
I think we have enough respect for one another personally
to ask ourselves some of the bigger questions,
woman to woman.
We are the same age, after all.
Really?
Just six months between us.
Oh? And who is the senior?
I am… ma'am.
"Uncaring,
confrontational, and socially divisive."
That's how these sources so close to the Queen describe me.
-Prime Minister-- -That I lack compassion.
And that my government has done irretrievable damage
to the country's social fabric.
My responsibility, for the time I have in office,
is to put sentimentality to one side
and look after this country's interests
with the perspective of a cold balance sheet.
And while I greatly admire your sense of fairness
and compassion for those less fortunate than us…
Do you? Really?
…let us not forget
that of the two of us,
I am the one from a small street in an irrelevant town
with a father who could not bequeath me a title
or a Commonwealth, but only grit,
good sense, and determination.
And I don't want people's pity or charity or compassion.
Nothing would insult me more.
My goal…
is to change this country from being dependent to self-reliant,
and I think in that, I am succeeding.
I have had to learn many difficult lessons as sovereign--
Britons are learning to look after number one,
to get ahead,
and only then,
if they choose,
to look after their neighbor.
Of those--
No one would remember the Good Samaritan
if he only had good intentions.
You see,
he had money as well.
…perhaps the hardest
is that I am obliged to support my prime ministers
on any position they take,
even yours, regarding sanctions against South Africa.
My question is,
given the lack of impact it has on your day-to-day political fortunes,
yet how important it is to me…
…could you not have supported me just once?
My fellow Commonwealth leaders,
many of whom I consider to be friends,
now feel that I have betrayed them on an issue most important to them.
Well, they need only read the Sunday Times.
It will give them no doubt as to your position.
Oh look, our time is up.
How it flies.
You must be very much looking forward to the wedding tomorrow
of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.
-[door opens] -Yes, we are.
[Thatcher] They seem like a good match.
Yes, we think so.
My own son, Mark, recently announced that he would be getting married.
Your favorite? The explorer?
Not an explorer, ma'am.
That was just the once.
He's a businessman now.
In the Middle East, mostly.
And South Africa.
Of course.
Your Majesty.
[door shuts]
[Shea] Listen to me carefully. There is no story here.
There's not a shred of truth to these rumors.
The Queen continues to have an extremely cordial
and productive working relationship with the prime minister.
[man] The Sunday Times maintains
that the story came from a highly placed source within the palace.
That's the line we're running with.
We will deny it, and you will look like fools.
Spare me the indignation.
I understand you have to say it, but we both know that it's true,
and your continual denial is making you lot look like fools.
[phone ringing]
[secretary] Hello? Can I take your details?
What's all this? Don't tell me the groom's having last-minute doubts.
No. Andrew's asked us all to come together because he wants someone to explain why--
What in God's name is going on with our mother?
The wedding of the Duke of York should be a landmark event,
at home and abroad.
Instead,
thanks to the Queen's inexplicable lapse of judgment,
the newspapers are full not of Sarah and me,
but of Mummy's rift with the prime minister!
Ah, yes. The Sunday Times.
-She has made a godawful mess of it. -What was she thinking?
She did what she's spent her life telling me I cannot do.
She opened her mouth and expressed an opinion.
[tsks] And is being slaughtered for it.
Bloody thoughtless of her if you ask me.
You can hardly blame the newspapers for wanting to write about something
other than the wedding of a fringe member of the family who'll never be king.
Ouch!
Well, it's true, isn't it?
Fourth in line now,
and by the time William's had children, and his children have had children…
Fringe.
Shall we?
Did he really just say that?
On my wedding day?
That was impressively cunty.
[cheering on TV]
[anchor] It would be hard to imagine there'd be anything
that could knock a royal wedding into second place on the news.
But the continuing escalation
of the row between the Queen and Mrs. Thatcher
threatens to overshadow the nuptials.
The Queen has made a very serious error of judgment,
and this Sunday Times article has lit a touch paper
to what could very quickly become a major constitutional crisis.
What the palace was hoping to achieve by this is hard to say,
but the fact is, they've stirred up a hornet's nest,
and so far seem to lack the wit to avoid getting stung. This story…
If I might interrupt, ma'am?
[turns off radio]
One unfortunate consequence of our denial of the story
is that the editor of the Sunday Times has now come out all guns blazing,
and whilst we could continue to deny it,
my own view is that it's no longer to our advantage.
And I think we're now going to have to give them something.
What?
A culprit.
To deflect blame from you and to put these flames out ASAP.
We need to let them have a name.
Martin!
[Charteris] Michael.
Uh…
This… escalating situation
between Buckingham Palace and Downing Street…
-You can't say I didn't warn you. -Eh.
I think you know how seriously the Queen takes her responsibility
and how much she values the close relationship between the two houses.
Of course.
And… to see it…
well, compromised like this
as a consequence of your actions…
Wha--
[scoffing] What?
The fact is that the steps you took were completely unprofessional.
Martin, stop it.
Impugning the integrity of the palace and of the Queen herself.
We know one another too well.
This is madness.
I hope we can rely on you…
to do the right thing.
Of course.
Michael.
[young Elizabeth] "There is a motto which has been borne by many of my ancestors.
A noble motto.
'I serve.'
I should like to make that dedication now.
It's very simple.
I declare before you all
that my whole life…
whether it be long or short,
shall be devoted to your service
and the service of our great imperial family
to which we all belong.
God help me to make good my vow,
and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it."
[crowd chanting]
[dub-reggae music plays]
♪ Inglan is a bitch ♪
♪ W'en mi jus' come to Landan toun ♪
♪ Mi use to work pan di andahgroun ♪
♪ But workin' pan di andahgroun ♪
♪ Y'u don't get fi know your way aroun' ♪
♪ Inglan is a bitch ♪
♪ Dere's no escapin' it ♪
♪ Inglan is a bitch ♪
♪ Dere's no runnin' whey fram it ♪
♪ Mi get a lickle jab in a big 'otell ♪
♪ An' aftah a while Mi woz doin' quite well ♪
♪ Dem staat mi aaf as a dish-washah ♪
♪ But w'en mi tek a stack Mi noh tun clackwatchah!
♪ Inglan is a bitch ♪
♪ Dere's no escapin' it ♪
♪ Inglan is a bitch ♪
♪ Noh baddah try fi hide fram it ♪
♪ W'en em gi'you di lickle wage packit ♪
♪ Fus dem rab it wid dem big tax rackit ♪