All language subtitles for Victoria.S02Ep6

The government cannot introduce a tariff

to protect every industry threatened
by cheaper imports, ma'am.

Isn't that exactly what the
Corn Laws do, Sir Robert?

- My fault. - You are looking prosperous
these days. Is that real gold?

The drains are like an Augean
stable and... it's porous.

If it bothers you so much,
then stop complaining

and do something about it.

You are giving me permission to
reform the way the palace is run?

Where do you come from, Miss Cleary?

County Cork, sir.

Well, the Royal Palace
is no place for papists.

Ernest, I am concerned, you
are behaving like Papa.

I like to think that I'm
honouring his memory.

There are no secrets between us.

No secrets.

If I were a member of the lower orders,

I might blame the Prime Minister,
who supports the Corn Laws

that make bread unaffordable,
for my misfortunes.

d Gloriana

d Alleluia

d Gloriana

d Alleluia

d Gloriana

d Alleluia

d Alleluia d

'And the Lord made an east
wind blow across the land,

all that day and all night.

And the wind had brought the locusts.

They invaded all Egypt.

Settled down in every part of
the country in great numbers.

They covered all the
ground until it was black.

They devoured all that
was left after the hail.

Everything growing in the
fields. The fruit on the trees.

Nothing green was left in any
part of the land of Egypt.

The Egyptians had broken their
promise to the Israelites

and God punished them with a plague

that made the sky dark,
and the land barren.'

What a gloomy sermon.

I found it rather thought-provoking.

How pestilence and plague
is part of God's will.

What can be gloomier than that?

I've seen potato fields in my parish

where every plant is black, my lord.

And when they dig the tubers
up they are quite putrid.

I believe the black
stuff can be scraped off,

and what is left may be boiled
down to make a farinaceous mixture

which is most nourishing.

I have set up a soup kitchen
in my parish, for my flock.

And in the spirit of Christian charity,

I welcome any papist

who wishes to be baptised
into the Church of Ireland.

My congregation, I must say, has swelled.

Every cloud, or should I say,
rotten potato, has a silver lining.

But if some poor beggar were to show
up without a certificate of baptism,

- what then?
- I seem to remember, Traill,

but you were not so charitably disposed

towards the papists in your parish

when they refused to pay their tithes.

That was wilful disobedience, my lord,

but this calamity is not of their making.

Oh, come now, Traill.

I think you will find it is
entirely of their own making.

- This reliance on one --
- Let us be clear about this.

Miss Stevens, a package.

And this for Mr Edwards.

And what is this?

I just don't recognise these markings.

- That will be for me.
- Are you sure, Miss Cleary,

they look like hieroglyphics to me.

Just give her the letter, Mr Penge.

And I thought they spoke
English in Ireland.

Very well, carry on.

Ernest!

Can it really be you?

I wasn't expecting you
until the christening.

Well, I hope I am still welcome.

You are always welcome here.

How are things at Coburg?

You know how it is.

The roof of the Hall Of
Giants is still leaking.

And the girls at the Golden
Fleece are as educational as ever.

I heard that after Paris you
went straight to Baden-Baden.

It seems you are never at home.

My doctors advised me

that a course of the waters
there might be beneficial.

What, you are ill?

Are you serious?

I enjoyed myself perhaps a
little too much in Paris.

Well, I am glad you have come back.

News from home?

It's nothing.

- Are you sure?
- Mm-hm.

Your Majesty, Mr Trevelyan here,
who works in the Irish office,

has drawn up some suggestions for
the new Archbishop of Dublin.

I don't know any of these names.

It is hard to attract candidates
of the very highest calibre

to the Irish Sea, ma'am.

The church there has
financial difficulties.

The so-called tithe war
has been very damaging.

A war?

The Irish, as a race, are
prone to exaggeration, ma'am.

Some unruly elements among
the Catholic peasantry

objected to paying tithes
to the Church of Ireland

and made some violent protests.

I believe some clergymen were
burnt in effigy and suchlike.

But if the peasants are Catholic,

then why are they paying money
to a church they don't belong to?

The Church of Ireland is
the established church.

It is a vital bulwark against
the forces of anarchy, ma'am.

Catholics outnumber
Protestants by ten to one.

If the church were to flounder,

then the very foundation of
Irish society would crumble.

- I had no idea.
- I would be more than happy

to explain the Irish
situation further, ma'am.

When your nursery duties allow, of course.

- Your honour!
- Halt!

Stop!

Mammy won't wake up.

Daddy!

Hello, my darling.

If you look carefully, sir,

you can still see the remains
of the Roman hypocaust.

The palace is built on a sewer?

As I made clear in my report,

in London we are still
relying on a drainage system

that was built by the Romans.

Half a mile from here in
the rookeries of Pimlico,

thousands of people are living
without any access to clean water

and no way to dispose of their waste.

The streets are no
better than open sewers.

So what you are saying is this...

.. even in the 19th century,

our public sanitation is
inferior to that of the Romans?

I'm afraid so.

Well, I will not only be supporting
your commission, Mr Chadwick,

I fear your work must
begin here at the palace.

We must show the world that
cleanliness is next to godliness.

Thank you. Gentlemen, please...

And if you really intend to put
water closets throughout the palace,

well, here would be a suitable place

to install one for the servants.

Hygiene should not only be
the preserve of the rich,

- Mr Chadwick. - I couldn't agree
with you more, your Royal Highness.

Hygiene? Is that German for an
assault on individual liberty?

I think that the female
members of the household

will see it not as an
assault, but as a convenience.

I'm going to bed, Robert.

Please don't stay up all night.

I saw a woman die of
starvation today, Anne.

She left five children.

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.

- I'll visit the family tomorrow.
- The name is Keenan.

They live at the crossroads.

- Catholics?
- Famine has no denomination, Anne.

The people of this parish
have nothing to eat.

The same people

that tried to burn this house
down three years ago, Robert?

I know... but Anne, the entire
potato harvest has gone.

Did you speak to the Bishop
about a living in Dublin?

We had more important matters to discuss.

What could be more important than
your family's happiness, Robert?

'Sir, the haggard eye.

The pale, sunken cheek.

One poor creature came up to me
and staggered like a drunk man.

I charged him with intoxication
but alas, it was starvation.

Famine is advancing
with strides so fearful

that I verily believe

that if some superhuman effort
is not made to relieve us,

half our population will erelong
be blotted from the book of being.'

Sir Robert, have you read this
letter from the rector of Skull?

He writes that people in his
parish are living off seaweed...

and nettles.

As you will see in my
memorandum of the 17th, ma'am,

nettles contain more nourishment
than you might imagine.

I believe, when gathered young,
the leaves taste like spinach.

Doctor Traill writes that people
are too weak to bury their dead.

And that corpses are left
by the side of the road.

The Irish like to imbibe at funerals.

Perhaps that is why they are
incapable of digging a decent grave.

Aren't you going to do
anything, Prime Minister?

I'm afraid it would not be... desirable

for the government to intervene, ma'am.

The truth is, ma'am,

the population of Ireland has
grown beyond its natural limits.

It would be immoral of us to interfere

in what is an inevitable
period of self-regulation.

Self-regulation?

I don't know if you are familiar
with the works of Malthus, ma'am,

this is exactly the sort
of situation he predicted.

Population growth always
outstrips food production,

with inevitable results.

I think I should like to visit Ireland.

I feel I need to see the
situation for myself.

Such a visit would be inadvisable, ma'am.

Why not?

Surely my presence will
bring them some comfort.

I'm not sure how comforting
your presence would be.

I could not guarantee your safety.

Yes, as I thought.

The rash and the mouth lesions are
common manifestations, Mr Schubert.

Most unfortunate, of course, that
the women who carry this disease

do not present their
symptoms so evidently.

Is there a cure?

I cannot promise that...
but there is a new treatment

that I believe is most efficacious.

I am prepared to try anything.

It is an expensive undertaking.

Don't worry, Doctor, I can pay your fees.

In that case, I will
make the arrangements.

Six sessions of half an hour each

and I think you will see
a distinct improvement.

The mercury vapour is not pleasant,

but I believe the results are worth it.

Only another ten minutes, Mr Schubert.

And this is where the servants'
water closets would be.

There can be no distinction
when it comes to hygiene.

Only when it comes to the Irish.

I do not know what you mean.

I mean, if English labourers
were dying in ditches

it would be a scandal.

But because they are
Irish, they are ignored.

I do not see what that has to do
with water closets for servants.

Albert none of this makes sense to me.

I merely wanted the people that
work for us to do so in decency.

Would you rather they worked in a sewer?

Victoria, I can see how much you
care about the situation in Ireland,

but we have to remind ourselves
that charity begins at home.

You think this is enough?

Trust Sir Robert to do what is best.

He has served in Ireland.

He knows the situation better than most.

He's a good man... and a Christian.

Your Majesty... have you heard the news?

What news?

Sutherland's dead.

How?

It was a hunting accident.

Poor Harriet.

I shall ask her to the palace.

You've given up already?

Mens sana in corpore sano.

I have neither.

Well, you could always go back to Coburg.

Live a healthy life there.

With a delightful wife, chosen
for me by Uncle Leopold.

Ernest...

.. I do not know if you are aware...

.. Harriet Sutherland's husband has died.

I did not know that.

He broke his neck whilst hunting.

Poor Harriet.

Victoria would like her
to return to court.

I think perhaps it is too soon.

What do you think?

Drummond!

I didn't know you were at the palace.

I had some papers for the
Queen from the Prime Minister.

I should go, there is a
debate on the Irish question.

Yes, the Queen talks about nothing else.

The Prime Minister is doing what he can.

He can't alter his policy

just because the Queen's read
some letters in The Times.

The Irish are starving.

Then the Queen should
reach into her own purse.

Women are so damn emotional!

Women like your fiancee?

She is insisting on setting a date
right in the middle of the session.

Sorry.

You don't want to hear about that, do you?

And I must go to the debate.

Goodbye, Alfred.

Have you lost your wits, Traill?

Do you understand what you are saying?!

That we ought to feed a gaggle
of potato-eating papists

because they have brought
this misfortune upon themselves

through their own
improvidence and fecklessness?!

It's not their fault the
harvest failed, my lord.

But it is not the church's
responsibility to feed them.

Let them find work. If we
were to start supporting them,

there would be no end to it.

They must learn to live
within their means!

What means?!

A loaf of bread now costs ten shillings.

That is a year's rent, my lord.

The people of this parish
are already starving.

- Soon they will be homeless as well.
- That is not our concern, Traill!

'For the poor shall never
cease out of the land.

Therefore, I command thee say,
'Thou shalt open thine hand wide

unto thy brother, to thy poor
and to thy needy in thy land.''

Deuteronomy 15:11!

Do you ever want to return
to civilisation, Traill?

I hear the new Archbishop of
Dublin is looking for a chaplain.

I'm sure your wife would like to
return to the society she's used to.

Mrs Traill understands my mission.

I hope so, Traill,
because I can assure you

you will never return to Dublin if
you persist in flouting my authority.

I believe, my lord, that I
answer to a higher authority...

even than yours.

In County Cork the potato
crop has failed completely,

but if you send relief to Ireland...

Then every factory worker in Manchester

will ask why he must spend
half his income on bread,

while the Irish peasant is given charity.

If I send help to Ireland, Drummond,

it is only just that I repeal those laws

that artificially protect
the price of British wheat.

- If I do that...
- .. the party will rebel.

Every Tory squire whose income
is guaranteed by those corn laws

will think I've betrayed them.

And they'd be right to do so.

Wouldn't the Prime Minister
agree that it is time

to call the formidable effects
of the potato blight a famine,

and act accordingly!

If it were known

that we undertook the task of
supplying the Irish with food,

we would, to a great extent,

lose the support of the Irish gentry...

the Irish clergy...

and the Irish farmer!

Order!

Yes, here, here. Quite right, too!

It is quite impossible

for the government to support 4m people.

Here, here.

- Here!
- Order!

The mercury vapour has
been most effective.

The rash is gone... and all the
other symptoms have subsided.

I really am very pleased with
the results, Mr Schubert.

Does that mean that I am cured?

I make no guarantees, sir...

.. but if the symptoms do not
return, then I think we may hope.

May I ask, sir, if you are married?

I am not married, no.

It would be most unfortunate if an
innocent party were to be infected.

And, of course, the children in
such cases can be terribly blighted.

Mr Penge!

I'm sorry to be disturbing you.

I was wondering...

if there is a chance...

of maybe getting paid a
little earlier this quarter?

Is this a joke, Miss Cleary?

Some Hibernian attempt at humour?

- No, sir. - Then I fail
to understand the question.

I am the palace steward,
not the Bank of England.

Mr Penge, I am begging you.

I'm afraid, Miss Cleary, that you,
like so many of your compatriots,

must learn to live within your means.

'Dear Dr Traill, the Queen
writes with respect of your letter

concerning the dreadful
conditions in your parish.'

What is it, Robert?

'She has been most affected by your
account of the suffering there.

Therefore, she would be most grateful

if you were to come to Buckingham Palace

so that you may furnish her
with a first-hand account

of how the famine progresses.

And what may be done

to relieve the misfortunes of
her... most unfortunate people.'

Is it a sweetheart?

Let me tell you, Miss
Cleary, no man is worth it.

Did you hear about the
potato plight, Mr Francatelli?

I know that you can't buy
decent ones at the moment

for love nor money.

In Ireland, potatoes are money.

My family are smallholders.

Without potatoes they can't eat.

They can't pay the rent.

If they can't pay the
rent they'll be evicted.

And then I don't know
what'll happen to them.

I've sent them everything
I have, Mr Francatelli.

Everything!

A lady friend gave this to me.

Don't take less than 50 for it.

It's pure gold.

I can't.

She said it made me
look like a gentleman...

but I think I'd rather
be judged by my actions

than my appearance.

You're a prince among men, Mr Francatelli.

A prince!

Oh... I'll settle for being someone

who's learnt how to do the right thing.

It's going to take years to repay you.

I don't want your money, Miss Cleary.

You are doing me a favour.

Dr Traill...

.. thank you for coming to the palace.

When I received your letter, ma'am,

I knew the Lord had been listening to me.

Please, do sit.

Won't you have something to eat?

I cannot eat, ma'am, my heart is too full.

I understand...

or rather, I hope you
will help me to understand.

I have spent my life
studying the Bible, ma'am...

.. but nothing has prepared me

for what I see every morning out
of the window of the rectory.

Grown men, staggering as if drunk,
but actually weak from starvation.

Old people who turn away what
little nourishment they are offered

because they would rather die
than be a burden to their families.

Babies screaming at their mother's breast because
she has no milk. What is even more terrible,

is nothing is being done to
help these poor creatures.

Do you know what I saw on
the boat coming over here?

Bushels of grain on its
way to England to be sold.

One of those sacks

would have fed the children
in my parish for a week.

How can that be, ma'am?

I am only a parson, but
I do not understand

how a country where famine
is stalking the land

can send food abroad.

And I am the Queen...

.. and I, too, do not understand.

Albert, this is Dr Traill,

who has come to the palace at my request.

Oh, the gentleman who has
been writing so eloquently

to the newspapers. Good day.

- Sir.
- As I understand it, Dr Traill,

these shortages, they are endemic.

It's an inevitable result of
relying too heavily on one crop.

I don't think you can blame the
Irish for the potato blight, Albert.

I think, ma'am, I might have said
something similar a few years ago.

I, too, believed the Catholics
had only themselves to blame

for their misfortunes.

I thought if I could bring
them to the Church of Ireland

they would learn to help themselves.

The truth is...

the reason the Catholic
peasantry are starving

is because they have no legal
right to the land they farm.

If they fall behind in their rent,

they are evicted without compensation

for any improvements they have made.

There's no wonder they
live from season to season.

There is no reason for
them to be prudent, sir.

So what is it we can do, Dr Traill?

Persuade your government
to send sustenance, ma'am,

or the people of my parish will
swell and ripen only for the grave.

Your Honour.

Dr Traill is the Queen's
guest, Miss Cleary.

Cleary? Are you...?

Yes, sir. My family live in Skull.

Please can you give them this?

Tell them I will send more by Michaelmas.

It should be enough to
pay the rent at least.

I will. I'm sure Father O'Connell
will know where to find them.

I don't know what you mean, sir.

You mustn't be ashamed of who you are.

The Queen has given me money
to help the people of Skull,

both Catholic and
Protestant. It is your duty

to help her understand the
country that she reigns over.

Miss Cleary.

But, ma'am, if the
government provides food

we would be creating a
country of dependents.

Why should a man struggle
to earn his living

while his neighbour lives in idleness?

Thank you, Mr Trevelyan.

You may leave us.

I will not stand by while
the Irish die of hunger!

I cannot have it on my conscience.

Sir Robert, remember Corinthians 13.

'And now abideth faith, hope, charity...

.. the greatest of these is charity.'

You must believe

that I have examined my own
conscience most rigorously, ma'am.

Come with me, Sir Robert.

Come on!

Look at this child, Sir Robert.

Look at Alice.

Can you imagine what it must be like
to be a mother in Dr Traill's parish,

who knows that she has no milk to give.

And the crying will
grow weaker and weaker...

.. and weaker...

.. until one day it stops.

Charity begins at home, Sir Robert,
it begins here in the nursery

and as a mother.

I will not let my people starve.

You want to turn this
house into a soup kitchen?

What about the children?

There is fever in the village.

Robert, do you want to visit
the plague on your own family?

No. I think you and the children
should go to your mother's in Dublin.

You would banish me and the
children from our home?

It is my sacred duty, Anne.

What about your duty to your family?

I cannot pass by on the other side, Anne.

I know...

.. but if I go to Dublin,

I will not return.

My place is here.

When I first met you, Sir Robert...

.. I confess, I did not
find you congenial.

I remember, ma'am.

But since then, what I've
come to understand...

.. you are a man of principle.

Well, I'm afraid that principles
are a luxury in a Prime Minister.

If I follow my conscience...

.. I will destroy my party.

As a monarch I can only advise...

.. but as a mother...

.. I implore you, Sir Robert,
listen to your conscience.

Men think mothers are great
eiderdowns of comfort, but...

.. we are fierce.

I would do anything to
protect my children.

When I first met you, ma'am...

.. I wondered whether
such a young woman...

.. was capable of fulfilling
the duties of a monarch.

But since that time...

.. I've come to appreciate
your strength of purpose.

First impressions are
misleading, Sir Robert.

Indeed they are, ma'am.

There must be no barriers to hygiene.

And that is why I have
asked Mr Chadwick here

to install a water closet
in the servants' quarters.

One day I hope that all
households will have...

.. a throne of their own.

Please.

Thank you.

- Good day.
- Thank you, sir.

Good day to all.

Where shall we begin?

First, we should discuss how
to deal with the Queen's --

Excuse me, my lord.

We are to be joined by one more.

I have asked Father O'Connell to join us.

You'll never get to Dublin now, Traill.

Now, gentlemen...

.. what is to be done?

Your Majesty?

Forgive me, Your Majesty,
for disturbing you,

but I was just wanting to say
that you did a splendid thing

sending for Dr Traill.

- You know him?
- I know of him, ma'am.

I come from Skull, where he is the rector.

But I am not of his church.

I wanted this position so badly.

I have no objection to
Catholics in the household.

God bless you, ma'am.

Tell me...

.. how is your family?

Gone to America, ma'am.

I sent the money to pay the rent...

.. but it was too late,
and they were evicted.

My father decided to emigrate.

They sail from Cork next week.

My mother says they'll write
when they are settled, but...

.. America is so far away.

Miss Cleary!

I am sorry, Your Majesty,
for the disturbance.

It's all right, Lehzen.

Thank you for confiding in me.

I did not know she was a Catholic
when I offered her the position.

As if that matters.

Bless you.

Bless you.

God bless you.

Bless you.

Surely we must be ready for a famine,

whether it comes or not!

Are we to sit in cabinet
and consider and calculate

how much dysentery and
diarrhoea a people can take

before it becomes necessary for
us to provide them with food?!

d Oh, Father dear,

d I oft times hear you talk of Erin's Isle

- d Her lofty scene, her
valleys green... - Thank you.

d Her mountains rude and wild

d They say it is a pretty place

d Wherein a prince might dwell

d So why did you abandon it?

d The reason, to me tell

d Son, you were only two years old

d And feeble was your frame

d I could not leave you with your friends

d You bore your father's name

d I wrapped you in my cota mor

d In the dirt of night unseen

d I heaved a sigh and said goodbye

d To dear old Skibbereen d