All language subtitles for The.Crown.S04E08.1080p.BluRay.x265-RARBG

- Everybody set?
- Ready, sir.

Yes, hurry up. Hurry up.

- Operator ready.
- Right.

Absolute silence, everywhere.

Cue disc.

Live recording.

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 / 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...

We shall be able to make
of this ancient commonwealth,

which we all love so clearly,
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.

Please welcome Margaret Roberts.

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.

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.

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.

It was the volte-face of eurydice,
except / was aristaeus,

driving her on towards the serpent...

Malachi, Malachi...

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 nugatory distinction
can pertain.

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.

Golly. Your very own war and peace.

Ulysses, please.

I shall set aside a year of my life.

- What?
- Just kidding.

I'll have it read by the end of next week.

- You're very kind.
- And, Michael, bravo.

No congratulations till you've read it.

You deserve congratulations
for being able to carry it up the stairs.

Kidding again.

Well, I look toward...

To hearing from you.

Taxi.

- Buckingham Palace, please.
- Right you are, sir.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Anyway, she's requested a private
audience on board the royal yacht

for what the palace is calling

a frank conversation
about the way fonnard 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.

- 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.

- What's all this?
- Chogm.

- 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 let 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.

Your majesty. Thank you for coming.

Oh, thank you.
They're lovely. Thank you very much.

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.

Prime minister.

The prime minister, your majesty.

Your majesty.

It was kind of you to come.
I won't keep you long.

I was hoping
we could briefly discuss South Africa.

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 3 billion pounds a year.

We might look at it
from the South African point of view.

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.

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.
- 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.

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.

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?

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.

No, no, no.

She rejected any mention of "proposals."

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.

"Measures."

No, no, no.

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.

They must be out of their minds.

Definitely not.

Ridiculous.

What we need here
is not useless politicians, sorry, Sonny.

But a writer.

Where might we find one?

Sanctions...

Restrictions, protocols, measures...

Proposals, curbs, gestures...

Expediences, signals...

Yes, I think we can work with that.

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.

- Have we won?
- Oh, yes.

It's a victory for the commonwealth,

a victory for humanity,
and most of all, a victory for you.

When put in the ring with her queen,
the iron lady melted.

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.

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.

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.

- Prime minister.
- Prime minister.

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?

Ready? Here we go.

Please. We're ready.

In position.

Perfect.

Look at me.

Three, two, one...

Everyone's reading it.

Some early reactions have come in,
and so far, very encouraging.

Right. But...

No offers yet?

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.

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.

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.

Was that very grubby of me?

Not grubby.

Just quietly heartbreaking.

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.

What kind of statement?

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...

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.

Right, can I leave that with you, Michael?
You are the expert.

- Ma'am.
- Ma'am.

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.

- Six quid fifty-four, sir.
- Yeah. Keep the change.

- 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?

Sunday times, first edition!

Sunday times, first edition!

There we go.

Sunday times, first edition!

- Bernard.
- Michael.

Here.

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 straightfonnard,
uncomplicated countrywoman..."

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 fonnard to the wedding tomorrow

of prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.

Yes, we are.

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.

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.

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.

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 judgement,

the newspapers are full
not of Sarah and me,

but of mummy's rift
with the prime minister.

Yes. The Sunday times.

- She has made a god-awful 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.

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.

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...

Fnnge.

Did he really just say that?

On my wedding day?

That was impressively cunty.

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.

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.

This escalating situation

between Buckingham Palace
and downing street...

You can't say I didn't warn you.

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...

What...?

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.

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.