Original subtitles

- Subtitles - Lu�s Filipe Bernardes

Christ!

Give me that it's mine!

Hey, don't go there, that's mine!

- I'll give you thruppence for it. - I don't want...

- Six pence. - No, sir.

- Nine pence. - I don't want to sell it.

I'll give you one last chance, Master Wheeler,

take it or leave it. I'll give you one shilling flat.

I don't want to sell it for anything, sir. I want to keep it for meself.

Then take it away with you, you filthy little sloth.

You're a dirty selfish little guttersnipe,

and I don't want to see your ugly mug around here again, do you understand?

- Yes, sir. - Run along with you then! Get away!

Hop it!

And me what's been like a father to him.

I say, would you give me a shilling for it?

Why, do you think you can get it?

You watch.

He sleeps around here somewheres.

Give it to me, or I'll grab it from you.

I've got it! It's in his pocket here.

Here it is. I've got it, come on!

Please, Sparrow! Please don't take it!

Please, Herbert!

Please, Sparrow. Please, Herbert.

Sparrow! Herbert!

Please, Herbert!

- Again with your wizardries, eh? - I haven't done, guvnor, honest I ain't!

- They robbed me picture! - I never took your picture!

Hey, shut it up, will you? Or I'll chuck the lot of you in the river!

Now, then? What's it all about, eh?

He swiped me... he swiped my picture while I was asleep.

What picture? Where is it?

Here.

No!

Hey, boy!

Please, sir!

Come out of there right at once, you hear me?

I can't swim, sir.

Can't swim?

You're a strange lad. Do you really think so much of her?

Yes, sir. I suppose so.

Well, there ain't many as likes her these days, you know?

Shutting herself up like a nun, as you might say,

in that blinking blooming castle.

What's the good of it doing England now, they say.

What's the matter with her anyway?

Mourning a dead husband for fifteen years.

- Is she done in? - Is she?

No, no, matey. It's just that she's an old lady, that's all.

An old lady with a crown of sorrow on her head.

And her heart, well, her heart just ain't anything no more.

You know what they called her, don't you?

- What? - The mother of England.

That's what. The mother of all England. As if we was all her children, see?

Millions and millions of blinking blooming kids for her to worry herself about.

Poor old girl.

She looks like a mother.

After nine babies it ain't surprising. Or did you mean your own mother?

No, I ain't got no mother.

- Who looks after you, your dad? - No, I haven't got no dad either.

- Who have got? - Nobody.

Well, if you ask me, the likes of you is about the first thing she'd worry about.

That is, is she's worrying about anything at all, you know.

- Who is she, sir? - Who is who?

- This lady. - The one with the picture?

- Yes, sir. - Well, Victoria, of course.

Who else do you think we've been talking about?

Yes, sir, but who is Victoria?

Are you asking me who is Victoria, the queen of your own country?

I've never heard of her before, sir.

- Never even heard her name? - Not that I can recollect, sir.

Strike me dead if I ever I heard the like of that before in the whole of me life.

- Did you ever hear of England? - Yes, sir, I've heard of England.

- What is it? - It's a place, sir, ain't it?

- A place where? - In London, sir.

No, no, no, mate, you've got it all backwards.

London's in England, not England in London.

London's just this old city what we're sitting in now.

It's the whole blinking blooming place.

And that lady, as you call her, she's the queen of the whole blasted business.

- I'm afraid I don't know very much, sir. - Oh, I can see that.

I'm so busy finding things that I don't have much time to keep up with what's going on.

- Can't you read? - No, sir.

Well that's who the lady is, see?

Here, half a minute, matey.

If you never heard of Her Majesty,

how is it you risked your blinking blooming life in a watery grave for her picture, eh?

I liked your face, sir.

- Her face? - Yes, sir.

She looks like what you said, sir, a mother.

I thought you said you didn't have no mother.

I mean anybody's mother. Like mine, if I had one.

There's not much chance in that now, matey. Not with her shut up in that blasted castle.

- What castle is it, sir? - Windsor.

And you don't know Windsor neither, I'll wager.

No sir, I don't.

Now let's see what you do know. So as we can get a start anyway.

How about the Thames? Do you know what that is?

- Oh yes, sir, the river. - Yes.

- That's where I work, in the mud, sir. - Yes, that's right, matey, that's right!

Well, Windsor's straight up the Thames, about twenty miles or more.

And right there, sitting on the bank is this blasted big castle.

A castle so old that nobody really knows who started it or when.

But the Conqueror lived there once, and so did Richard the Lionhearted.

King after king, and queen after queen.

Like Henry VIII, Charles I, and poor old George III when he went potty.

All in all it's a good part of the history of England it is, the Castle of Windsor.

But I must say, I've seen cheerfuler places for a widow to retire to.

Off with you.

You heard him. Off with you.

- Halt! Who goes there? - The Prime Minister, Mr. Disraeli.

- Yes? - Brown is here to see you, sir.

Mr. Brown, the Highlander?

There can scarcely be any question of that, sir.

I'll be there directly.

The Prime Minister will be here directly. Will you be seated?

I will not.

How do you do, Mr. Brown, I'm happy to see you again.

- Are you presentable to see her now? - What do you think?

I was thinking it's a good job the Prime Ministers don't have to wear the kilt.

I agree with you, Mr. Brown.

My business here is much too serious for that sort of comedy.

How is Her Majesty and what is her humor this week?

The same as it's been for years.

Does he show no inclination whatever to come out of this rather unhealthy seclusion?

- Is that what you're here for? - The subject may arrise.

Then you're wasting your time.

In some things she's as sensible as you could ask,

but with that she's as stubborn as an old mule.

May I remind you, sir, that you're speaking of Her Majesty the Queen?

- If you're ready, we'll go now, sir. - After you, sir.

- Mr. Disraeli. - Yes?

- Oh, yes. - That man is drunk, sir!

Only moderately.

How could he dare go into His Majesty's presence in that condition?

The condition being more or less permanent, I don't see how else he could manage it.

How can she tolerates it?

Mr. Brown, Hammond is a legacy from the dead.

He was Prince Albert's friend as well as servant.

His widow not only tolerates, she cherishes such legacies, however thirsty they may be.

- Are you coming? - Lead on, sir.

There have never been practical difficulty in dealing with such cases...

and no person self-respecting person has ever felt aggrieved...

...because he was debarred from accepting foreign orders.

Mr. Disraeli, Ma'am.

Always so good to see you, Mr. Disraeli.

God save our gracious Queen.

- You've not been quite well, I'm told. - No one is quite well, ma'am.

How dreadful for you. Brown, a chair for Mr. Disraeli.

It's most kind of Your Majesty,

but for the moment may I be allowed to stand there and warm myself?

But of course.

That's how the dear Prince used to like to stand,

rising on his toes now and then, toasting himself comfortably.

And with what dignity, too.

In the smallest details of life, Ma'am, His Royal Highness...

...was an example to us all.

Everyone came to appreciate him... finally, didn't they?

Well, let us attend to the business first,

then we can enjoy the rest of the evening.

- What is it this time? - Business, Ma'am?

Now, now, Mr. Disraeli,

I know very well you haven't come all the way down here just to see an old woman.

Indeed I haven't, Ma'am,

I've come to see the most fascinating woman in England,

in her enchanted tower.

But I will admit I did prepare some slight excuse.

You are amusing, Mr. Disraeli, you really are.

Now what is the excuse this time?

I wish to tell you myself, Ma'am, the disturbances are now all under control...

and there is no further immediate danger.

I can see you're going to be devious again. What disturbances?

They begin, I believe, as debates...

...about Your Majesty's the regrettably protracted absence from London.

Yes, I know, I know.

But of late they've taken a more serious turn.

There were several thousand in the demonstration before Buckingham Palace...

the other night after someone had posted a "to let" sign on the gate.

To let?

The implication, by your leave, Ma'am, was that the tenant had moved out for good.

Oh.

May I pursue the subject further?

- If you think you must. - I do, Ma'am.

There's no one in the world who has more sympathized with Your Majesty and her sorrow

than Your Majesty's true friend and most loyal subject,

or been in a better position to understand her need for solitude.

But I do believe the time's come for Your Majesty to reflect again on its wisdom.

- Please be careful, Mr. Disraeli. - I intend to be, Ma'am.

As careful as the circumstances will permit.

But there are matters of importance at stake here.

And it may be that some boldness will be necessary.

For example, the government's reform program.

A matter which I know to be very close to Your Majesty's heart.

I cannot see the connection between my personal grief...

...and a proposal to better the conditions of the people.

If Your Majesty will allow me to trace this connection.

The odds against the passage of the program are now being quoted at 5 to 1.

Such proposals such as slum clearance, public housing,

educational facilities for the poor, are all wise and worthy measures...

...and consequently will be opposed vigorously.

The British are a proud and independent people, Ma'am,

and will not yield to improvement without a stout struggle.

I only of but one power in the country...

...capable of turning this almost certain defeat.

But I thought I made it quite clear that I approve of these matters.

Words won't be enough to win this victory, Ma'am.

Not even yours.

I ask you to be careful, Mr. Disraeli.

I believe I must take the risk, Ma'am.

The truth is the country has discovered a certain inconsistency...

...between Your Majesty's words and Your Majesty's practice.

In your words they have found only love, sympathy and understanding.

In Your Majesty's long seclusion, I regret to report they can find nothing of the kind.

They remember, you see, how pleasantly you once moved about your realm.

Like a lamp that brightened not only England, but the world itself.

In those days, Ma'am, you were Britannia in person.

Bringing hope and happiness to your people.

You were a holiday in Liverpool and a celebration in Bristol.

You were like drums and trumpets wherever you went.

Men, and women, and children clamored to see you pass by in the streets.

But I'd be lying, Ma'am, to pretend that this was so today.

Talk of your abdication is common.

Republicanism, which used to hide in corners, is now almost fashionable.

It's even benn argued in the House of Commons.

And in the House of Lords, a peer, Ma'am, has gone so far as to ask...

what England is getting in return for the hundreds of thousands of pounds...

that it pays annually for the royal establishment...

...now that its ceremonial functions have lapsed.

How can they say such a thing?

When I'm so unhappy.

So alone.

Allow me contradict you for once, Ma'am.

You are not alone, not even near it.

You have thirty million friends in England...

who ask only the opportunity to tell you again, face to face, that they love you.

What do you propose?

This is an invitation, Ma'am,

from the governors of the Lambeth Foundling Hospital,

begging the honor of Her Majesty's presence at the celebration...

of its one-hundredth anniversary.

The occasion itself is without specific importance,

but it would be impossible to exaggerate the good that would come of it...

...should Your Majesty see fit to accept it.

That's what I was afraid of.

I only ask Your Majesty to consider the circumstances carefully.

Why do they insist on such purely ornamental duties?

In a sense, Ma'am, the flag is also purely ornamental.

I don't enjoy my unhappiness, Mr. Disraeli.

Surely you know that better than anyone else in the world.

But what can I do? I'm alone and often I'm frightened.

I admit it.

But in here, among things that are familiar to me,

or in Balmoral, which he loved even more,

I have a certain strength and courage.

I get it, I believe, from him, from the memories he's left me.

- Can you understand that? I can indeed, Ma'am.

We spent so much of our time in this room, you know? It was his favorite.

I can still see him rolling this pen between his fingers...

...as he studied some paper that I must understand and sign.

He insisted one night that I must read this book that he had enjoyed.

We discussed that picture one evening.

Whether it was a fair likeness of the children or not.

He sat in this chair.

We read under that lamp.

He stirred the fire with that poker.

We went into dinner from here.

He held my arm in the hall.

We smiled at each other across the table because...

Because we thought of the same thing at the same time.

and as long as I have them around me, I feel I'm able to go on.

But not, I'm afraid, otherwise. Do you see what I mean?

I see it very clearly, Ma'am.

I suppose you will say this is a sad way to live.

Like a prisoner. And of course it is.

But I'm afraid it's the only way left for me.

If you'll forgive me, Ma'am,

but I'd be greatly surprised if these memories of His Royal Highness...

...didn't remind you also that you are still Britain's sovereign.

I don't see how I can face it, Mr. Disraeli, I really don't.

The very thought of going out again fills me with terror.

But if you really consider it of such great importance,

I'll try to find the courage to do it.

Thank you, my most gracious Queen.

Now if you'll excuse me.

Right! Right, guards!

# Come into the garden, Maud #

# Come into the garden, Maud #

# I am here at the gate alone #

Charles, you shouldn't be here. What do you want?

- Did you know your mother was here. - No, when did she get here?

Just a few moments ago, to see Queen. Have you said anything about us?

No, why?

I know I should have told you before. I've been hoping for a chance to talk to you.

The truth is I... I wrote a letter to your father.

Someone's coming. I'll see you later.

- Yes? - She wants to see you now.

- This minute? - Ay, this very minute.

- Is my mother with Her Majesty? - Ay, she is, mum.

Now, we haven't much time before dinner, Emily, so please, answer simply.

Who is this Lieutenant McHatten?

- Why, um... - You do know him, don't you?

Yes, Your Majesty. He's in the guards here.

Have you been having rendezvous with him?

Oh, no indeed, Ma'am, believe me.

We've met of course, but only under circumstances of the greatest propriety.

And we've never discussed any but the most impersonal of subjects.

Could you give us an example?

- Poetry. - Poetry, how interesting.

Whose?

Mr. Tennyson.

This is perfectly charming, Margaret.

- Does he quote it for you too? - Yes ma'am.

I've never heard anything so delightful.

A guardsman and dear Mr. Tennyson.

When did this recital take place, my dear?

During the day or in the evening?

It was in the evening, Ma'am, but quite early.

Indoors or under the stars?

Under the... it was out of doors, Ma'am.

How appropriate.

Do you recall the poem you thought he did most effectively?

I'm afraid I can't at the moment, Ma'am.

The second best?

I can't remember that either.

The third?

Oh, well, such idle moments do slip the minds so easily.

But if that's all it is, you couldn't possible have given him...

...the right to ask for your hand in marriage.

My hand? But he didn't. He couldn't have. I know him so slightly.

- May I, Your Majesty? - By all means, Margaret.

Emily, my dear, this is an impossible situation.

You are the daughter of a peer.

You are a maid of honor in Her Majesty's household.

You have the opportunity yes, and the obligation to make a marriage of distinction.

You cannot throw these considerations away on an utter nobody.

- He is not a nobody. - He's less than a nobody.

He's clergyman's son.

In a situation like this, Emily, there can be but one solution.

Whatever the young man's suitability or lack of it,

your mother always knows what's best.

So, for her sake and for your own good, I'm going to forbid your seeing him again.

Forbid? But that's not fair, Your Majesty.

- Emily! - Emily's upset, I fear.

I beg Your Majesty's pardon.

The obvious solution of course is to remove him, send him away at once.

Send him away where, Ma'am?

Out of England, anyway. To India, perhaps.

But that's not fair either! Punishing him on my account!

- Emily, you must control yourself. - But it's not fair, Your Majesty.

I don't want to be rude, but it's not a crime to ask for my hand in marriage.

This is not the Middle Ages and Your Majesty is not an absolute monarch.

I am, believe me, Ma'am, your loyal subject, but I am also a free-born adult.

and I shall marry as I wish and not as I'm told.

Go to your room, miss, and remain there.

- I beg Your Majesty's pardon. - And pray to God to forgive you!

I can't find words, Your Majesty.

Please. Please, Margaret.

Not for a few minutes yet.

Candle grease on the carpet. Remove it.

- Yes, sir. - Pure carelessness on somebody's part.

Yes, sir.

- Who moved this? - I'm sure I don't know, sir.

Some day I may write a book on what I have to go through in my position.

Yes, sir.

- What's you doing here? - I ain't doing no wrong.

Come here!

Are you daft? Do you want to run into the guards?

I ain't done nothing. Honest I ain't.

What are you, a mischievous boy?

Yes, mum.

Well, if you ain't the bold one, getting yourself into her dining room.

A dirty little urchin like you.

But it may be possible to get you out of here.

Sergeant.

Bring that bowl up.

Right. That's all. Off you go.

What about you, girl? Haven't you finished yet?

Another moment, sir. I won't be a moment.

Well, you can't stay here all night, you know.

Blooming big armors, aren't you?

Aha, Miss Noonan!

You're advancing. I haven't seen you in this room before.

Aha, yourself, Mr. Slattery!

And may I ask what it's got to do with you whether I'm advancing or not?

You're not particularly sociable this evening.

Not while I'm about me duties.

Under other circumstances maybe?

I told you I can't talk to you now.

It'll have to be soon, mind. For I have great plans.

- I may not be with you much longer. - Oh, such an important man he is.

You doubt me courage?

Then just cast your eye in this direction for a moment, me girl.

Slattery! Do you mean to burn us all alive?

I was only practicing to show you how easy it would be.

Practicing? Oh well, the saints preserve us!

- And is it mad the looney is entirely? - Mad?

To burn down Windsor Castle?

No, no, girl, but a job that would warm many a cold heart in Ireland this night.

Those words are hanging words you uttered.

And how do you think you'd look with your long neck stretched by a rope?

Would I be the first to risk his neck in an English coup for Ireland's sake?

Oh, no, Slattery, not you, me lad.

You'd burn down no castle in a hundred years.

Oh, no?

Then perhaps you didn't know how simple it would be.

Just a little bit here.

And a little bit over here.

And a little bit under here.

And a bit here.

Flaming Patrick, what is it? Oh, no you don't, me bucko!

Don't hurt him, Slattery, please!

I ain't done nothing, guvnor, honest I ain't.

Ah, so it's nothing, is it, to be hiding under Her Majesty's own table?

- Leave him alone, he's only a baby. - What do you mean?

A snake under her own dining table and you taking his part?

Is it your own brat then?

Miss Noonan, if you please!

That did it, me girl, that did it completely!

Now we'll see what Mr. Naseby has to say about the matter.

Well, if I were you, Mr. Burn-Me-Down Castle,

I'd think twice before carrying tears to Mr. Naseby about this lad.

And him after taking in every hanging word that came out of your mouth...

...not a moment since.

He didn't!

Did you?

Yes.

Mercy, heavens preserve me.

What the deuce are you still doing here? Quickly, out that way.

- Please, sir. - Go along, girl, go along!

Go along, girl, They'll be here any second now!

Of course His Royal Highness was always so fond of traveling.

I suppose they were right when they described dear Albert as restless,

for he did like to go out and see my people, but...

as much as he loved London, I do believe he came to love the Highlands even more.

He loved their dress, their customs, even their bagpipes.

I remember once at Balmoral when...

What's troubling you, Mum?

I thought I heard a rather odd noise. Did anyone else hear it?

- No, Ma'am. - I don't think so.

Listen.

Oh, it's nothing but your fancy. Go on with your dinner.

They do play so often, you know.

First about breakfast time, then during the morning,

again at luncheon, now and then in the afternoon,

before dinner, or during dinner.

Then after dinner, then you have...

You didn't hear it then?

- No, Ma'am. - I didn't hear anything.

What did it sound like?

Like heavy breathing.

Naseby, have you got the asthma?

Either heavy breathing or, though it seems quite impossible, snoring.

Listen!

There is someone else in this room!

Will you see the ladies out, sir?

In there.

- Come here! - There it is!

I have got him, sirs, I have got him!

- He's only a wee bairn. - What are you doing here, boy?

- Good heavens, he reeks! - He does indeed, sir.

Well, get him out of here, he's fouling up the whole room.

Yes, sir. I'll have it washed immediately.

I don't want to be washed! Let go of me, you big fat pig!

You ain't got no right to wash me! I don't want to be washed!

- Let go of me, do you hear? - Shut up, you little fleabag!

Let me go, I ain't done nothing, guvnor!

How old?

- Not yet ten, I should say, Ma'am. - You mean it was only a child?

- Only a wee tot the size of my thumb. - How strange.

I'm investigating him now to see if he's not the head of some vast and dreadful plot.

Oh, is that what they think?

They have their responsibilities too, of course.

I don't know, maybe he's armed with a pea shooter.

In other words, there are still flaws in the beautiful picture...

...of universal love you painted for me this evening.

What's the matter with you, woman, did your own bairns never get into mischief?

Mischief indeed! Who knows what the boy's intentions were?

And I for one cannot forget...

...there have already been six attempts on her dear Majesty's life.

I'm under no delusions that my popularity is or ever was unanimous.

But the older I grow, the less concern I have for the emotions of a crowd.

It no longer matters a rat to me whether those demonstrations you mentioned...

...were out of affection or the purest hatred.

They were not out of affection, perhaps, but certainly not out of hatred, Ma'am.

At worst it was resentment.

The resentment of a people deprived of someone they loved.

Have you ever found reason to complain of the way I perform my duties, Mr. Disraeli?

I haven't, Ma'am.

Am I neglectful of them in any way whatever?

No ma'am.

Do you or one of the other ministers find me difficult to reach...

- ...when there are matters to be discussed? - Never, Ma'am.

Then I see no reason why should alter my present way of life.

I don't believe I understand Your Majesty correctly.

Surely you can't mean you'd allow your judgment...

...to be influenced by the antics of a scrubby little guttersnipe.

No use arguing. My mind is quite made up.

I support the program any other way you suggest,

with letters or statements, but not by opening bazaars...

...or waving at crowds or any other such nonsense.

I considered long and carefully before bringing this appeal to Your Majesty...

and I decided to do so only when I could think of no other force powerful enough...

...to offer us even a slight hope of success.

If I fail to convince Your Majesty of this necessity,

the heavy burden of defeat will fall not on us, Madam,

but on the poorest and weakest of your people.

I urge Your Majesty not to lose sight of this harsh consequence.

I'm sorry, but I can't think what else there is to be said about it.

I shall continue to perform my official duties here,

and I shall continue to be at the disposal of the government within these walls.

That will be the way for the rest of my life.

And if this arrangement should ever prove unsatisfactory to the people of Britain,

I assure you, sir, I'll not for one second stand in the way of a successor.

Now if you'll forgive me, I think I'll retire.

- All this clatter over a wee bit of a laddie! - Oh, bugger your wee bit of a laddie.

I'm not concerned about him, I'm thinking of myself. Goodnight.

Good night, Your Majesty. I trust you will sleep well.

I do believe I will, in spite of everything.

I find I feel rather better than I should have expected after such an evening.

The tea, probably. It was unusually good this evening, Brown.

The best, I believe, I've ever tasted.

So it should have been, Mum, There was a good half munchkin of whiskey in it.

There you are. What did I tell you? Stubborn as an old mule.

Ah, Mr. Brown, what power of expression there is in a limited vocabulary.

- The face, Thompkins. - Yes, sir.

- Hopkins. - Yes, sir?

- The disinfectant. - Yes, sir.

Be careful... it's hurting!

Hold him immovable.

Now then, you dirty little beggar, what are you doing in this castle?

Nothing, guvnor, honest I ain't. I just wanted to see...

Don't lie to me, boy! Don't even try to lie to me.

Honest, guvnor, you can ask the man. He'll tell you I weren't doing nothing.

What man?

The man who was going to burn down Windsor Castle.

- Burn down the castle? - On my dying word, guvnor.

What man's going to burn down the castle?

I don't know his name, guvnor.

You lying little gutter rat!

Sorry sir.

If you don't tell the truth, boy, I'll have you flogged within an inch of your life.

- Naseby, you're a sumph. - I beg your pardon?

I said you're a sumph. Now, would you kindly move to one side?

Just a moment, Mr. Brown.

Boy, you smell like a hospital.

You have no authority whatsoever in this part of the castle.

You're a sumph, I'm telling you.

How can you get anything out of this lad with him scared out of his wits?

Now then, you listen to me, you young skellum.

How would you like to be hanged?

Please, sir, I don't want to be hanged.

- Then shut up. - Yes, sir.

What do you mean "sumph"?

Now then, some man sent you into this castle, some man bent on mischief.

- Who was it, your father? - I ain't got one.

- Who brought you here? - Nobody. I walked.

- From London? - Yes, sir.

Who smuggled you into the castle?

- I... I sneaked in. - Oh, you sneaked in, did you?

And who put you up to it, eh? Who put you up to it?

I sneaked in and then... then I fall down in a hole.

- You fall down what hole? - I don't know, sir.

Dang it, will you stop your sniveling?

You'd frighten thew daylights out of a bear with your wild roaring.

- Mind your place, girl! - But look at him for yourself!

Can't you see he's half dead with starvation?

Hold your tongue!

He does look hungry at that.

What kind of a man are you anyway?

Even in prison they get a man's belly full before they hang him.

Are you going to do less for this lad? Go away and get him something to eat.

Come on.

Now sit in there.

Or perhaps you'd sooner explain the situation to the officer of the guard.

- Away with you, man, you're bothering me. - Here you are, sir.

There you are, laddie, help yourself.

Go on, eat it!

Hey, bide away, bide away, son. They don't even do that way in the Highlands.

What's the matter with your fork?

You never seen a fork before?

Here. Look here.

You see? Like that. Now you try it yourself.

That's it. Now stick it in your gout.

What are you doing with all that meat in your mouth? Can you not swallow?

Ah, that's it. Now try it again.

No, no, no, it's not a fish you're gaffing with your tongue.

Keep your tongue in entirely to the root until you get the stuff in your mouth.

Look, I'll show you once again. Now watch me well.

See?

All he needs now is a wee bit of practice and he'll be as good at it as a belted arrow.

Now go on, try it again.

- Mr. McHatten! - Not now, please.

But you're the officer of the day, aren't you, sir?

- No, I'm not, I'm off duty now. - Please come, sir.

Her Majesty's life may still be in danger.

- In danger? - Yes, sir.

We have the assassin in the servants' hall now.

- Good heavens, man, lead on! - Yes, sir.

Charles?

Charles?

Well, where is it?

- Where is he, woman? - They took him away, sir.

- Took him where? - I don't know, sir.

I asked him but he gave me such an old-fashioned look...

I didn't like to question the matter further, sir.

What the deuce is this? Who took him away?

The Gilly, sir, John Brown.

He's been most officious throughout the entire affair, sir.

Why should he take him away, he hasn't any more authority here than any other servant.

Go and find him, man! Don't just stand there blabbering!

If we lose another beggar, the fat will be in the fire.

But I scarcely know how to...

You have troops here. Send them out to look for him.

Yes, sir. What a good idea!

Attention everybody!

Brown and the boy are somewhere in the castle.

They must be found immediately.

I order you to disperse and seek them out.

Forward!

- Yes, sir. - And look lively about it too.

Yes, sir.

- The Scotts done that! - Yes, sir. Indeed, sir.

It was somewheres about here, sir.

I was beginning to believe you, laddie, but you're lying now.

I know this yard like the back of my hand, and there's nothing like a hole in it.

I warn you, sir.

Mr. Brown, sir!

Go on.

And then I just walked about the hall, sir.

Go on, I'm listening.

Only they ate so ate so long, I falls asleep.

Where's that picture?

Here, sir.

Ay, that's her all right.

And here's mine.

Note the writing in her own hand.

"To our loyal good servant and friend, John Brown. Victoria, R."

Done fifteen year ago at Osborne and given to me by herself personally.

I suppese if I hadn't fallen asleep, I would have seen her too.

Oh, maybe it's not too late yet, laddie.

- What do you mean, sir? - Just wait.

I'll see what sort of a mood I'll be in presently.

- Would you really like to see her? - Oh, yes, sir.

But I wouldn't like to get into any more trouble, sir.

How would you like to meet her face to face...

...and tell your story in your own simple words, eh?

I don't know, now, sir. May I'll be too scared.

Scared? What's there to be scared of? She's just a wee old woman.

And a very nice old woman at that.

Besides, you're with me, laddie.

Are you sure it's alright, sir?

What?

- You're a bit sozzled, ain't you, sir? - Sozzled?

Yes, sir. You've been in the bottle a bit, you know?

Only enough to keep off infection, laddie.

Come on. She'll be most happy to see us.

It's a rule of life you may very well remember yourself, laddie.

Never neglect your health. Come on.

You know, laddie,

there's not a question of state that she decides without consulting me first.

- Did you see him yourself? - Yes, Your Majesty.

- What did he look like to you? - Very bold, Your Majesty, very bold indeed.

Some say that he's not a boy at all. They say he's a midget.

- A small midget claiming to be a boy. - Did he look like a midget to you?

I don't know, mum. I see so few midgets.

- Will that be all, Mum? - That's all.

- Good night, Ross. - Good night, Your Majesty.

Thank you, Ross.

Ay, it's a grand castle, laddie.

Would you like to see a bit more before we wake her up?

If you think it's safe, sir.

- I have an idea. - What, sir?

We'll have a look at the throne first, eh?

Come on.

This is where we keep all the relics of the famous victories we won.

This is where kings and emperors and tha nabobs of India...

...wait till we're ready to see them.

Come on.

Blimey!

Ivory and gold.

Rubies and emeralds and moonstones from all the treasure houses of India.

To Our Majesty, laddie.

What's on your mind, laddie?

Sir?

Would you... would you like to sit on it?

- Do you think I would dare? - Why not?

All them daft page boys as I sit in it when there's nobody there to watch them.

Climb up, laddie, climb up.

But mind you, don't dirty the cushions with your feet.

Come on.

How's it, laddie? Do you feel like a king now?

Yes, sir.

It's a rare feeling, sir.

A rare feeling.

Maybe that's it. Maybe that's what it is.

A young king.

A boy king conferring the honor of knighthood on the grandest captain of his whole army.

Home from the war with news of victory.

Good blimey, Captain!

Get down from there, you filthy little beggar.

Halt! Who goes there?

Stand aside, Brown, I want that boy.

Oh, you do, do you?

Oh, she'll give you a medal for this no doubt!

- I tell you to stand aside, Brown! - I tell you...

Is the whole Castle to come down on us now?

I warned you, Brown.

What's that I see in the distance? The troop of cavalry?

Come down here, boy!

Stay where you are, boy. You don1t come down till I tell you.

- He's drunk. - Drunk as a lord.

Yeah? And shame on you for it.

Shame on the Queen's soldier that goes about his duties sozzled to the gill.

- Shame on the uniform... - For the third and last time, Brown,

I order you to stand aside.

And I accept the challenge, me toy hero.

- I stand like a rock... - Come down from there, Mr. Brown.

Who's that?

Come down from there and hand over the boy to the lieutenant.

I won't go, I'm staying with Mr. Brown. You can't make me go with him!

Get him!

I won't go! Take your hooves off me...

Just one moment!

Let me go, I ain't done nothing! Let me go, I ain't done no harm!

He's all right... He's only a little lad.

He ain't done nobody any harm, I tell you...

He hasn't done anything at all. He's just a wee lad...

Just a kid...

The Times' reports, of course, are more restrained than the others.

Who told of all that nonsense?

It's difficult to say where they got some of it, Ma'am.

Where is the boy now?

The police removed him to London last night, Ma'am.

And Brown?

Brown was reported to be somewhat seedy this morning, Ma'am.

Has Mr. Disraeli gone yet?

No Ma'am. He's waiting now to see Your Majesty.

- Ask him to come in. - Yes, Your Majesty.

- Mr. Disraeli. - Thank you, General.

Your Majesty.

- Have you seen the Times? - I have, Ma'am.

I could wring that wretched boy's neck.

As I have already suggested, Ma'am,

I believe you're taking this incident much too seriously.

I won't argue the point.

But if this case isn't handled with the greatest care,

I see in it nothing but the most foolish embarrassment for everyone.

No matter what the boy's purposes were, he's still a child.

That will be enough to arouse any amount of multiple emotions.

As soon as I reach London, Ma'am, I shall issue a brief statement on the facts

that will at least put an end to these absurd rumors.

That's exactly what you mustn't do!

There'd be no surer way of giving it importance...

...for a member of the government to recognize it in any way, shape or form.

The thing to be done is to get it over as quickly as possible and no comment.

But if the question is raised officially, Ma'am... say in the Commons,

as well it might be in such an atmosphere of mystery,

does Your Majesty intend I shall still be bound by this discussion?

I can't think what's happened to you, Mr. Disraeli.

I've never known you to be so contemptuous.

Won't you be guided just this once by my wishes?

Thank you.

Is there anything else?

I had hoped that after a night's reflection,

Your Majesty might be prepared to reconsider...

Oh, yes, yes.

Would you be good enough to express my regrets to the hospital gentlemen?

Yes, Your Majesty.

I hope you have a very pleasant journey home.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

# Silent night, holy night #

# Star in skies, beaming bright #

# Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child #

# Holy Infant so tender and mild #

# Sleep in heavenly peace #

- Merry Christmas, Wheeler. - Thank you, sir, the same to you.

During these examinations,

you mentioned the following persons as being friends and acquaintances...

who could vouch for your character and testify to your good behavior.

Ben Fox, torcher.

Mrs. Feeny, hurdy-gurdy woman, Trafalgar Square.

Iron George, swag-barrel man,

two muglarks named Sparrow and Herbert.

Hooker Morgan, dredger.

- And Mrs. Dawkins, housewife. - Yes, sir.

Come with me.

Your friends and business associates, I believe.

- Hello, Sparrow! - Look at his new duds!

- Shut your trap! - Do you know this boy?

- I never seen him before in me life, guvnor! - But Sparrow, I'm Wheeler.

- What? - You know me.

Go on, you're lying!

This boy says he knows you people and that you know him.

What about you?

Never clapped me blinkers on him before, so help me.

Never heard of him.

It's the first time I've seen him, guvnor.

- I never seen him! - Nor I.

- You're certain now? - Yes, of course!

But I'm Wheeler!

Wheeler? Who's Wheeler?

Never heard of Wheeler.

That's all. Take them away.

- Sparrow! - Come along there.

Move along, come on.

But Sparrow is me friend.

What did he say that for?

Go and catch him. Ask him again.

Sparrow! Sparrow!

Come on, mate, come on.

What did you say that for, Sparrow?

What do you want to put the coppers on me for?

I didn't do it, Sparrow, on my dying oath.

- Why they got you for? - I sneaked into Windsor Castle.

Windsor Castle?

Ask the cops, they'll tell you.

I sat on the throne too.

- What did you do that for? - Because I wanted to see the queen.

But she's killed.

- Who's killed? - The queen, that's who.

- Who says she's killed? - The murderers, I tell you.

- They done her in. - When?

- Yesterday, I heard. - What did they do her in for?

What do you think? Because she's rich, ain't she?

Hooker Morgan said they got sixty bob off her, and jewels too.

- How'd they do it? - Bashed her head in.

What?

You're a liar. I ain't seen you before in my life!

Fine lot of friends.

Do you want to tell me the truth now?

Have you seen this, sir?

- Such rot! - Are you certain, sir?

Not a trace of Irish in it as far as I can see.

Then if I were you, sir, I'd avoid the Commons as much as possible for the next few days.

Why?

If they're innocent, the Irish members are bound to bring it up, sir,

and demand an explanation from the government.

They should, of course.

It can't fail sir, there's too much feeling about it, too much speculation in the press.

The moment you set foot in the House, they'll be after you like terriers.

- Oh, dear, dear, dear. - If only her Majesty hadn't been right.

What is it, sir?

Poor weak old Dizzy, so loyal, so conscientious, so devious.

Do you have a idea, sir?

What was the name of that young guards officer in the throne room?

- McHatten I believe you said, sir. - I should like to have a word with him.

- Do you think you can arrange it? - I'll see to it myself, sir.

- Mr. McHatten? - Yes?

- Are you on duty now? - No I'm not!

- Then will you come with me, sir? - No, sir. I have a very important engagement...

The Prime Minister wishes to see you.

- The Prime Minister? - Yes.

- Where is he? - In London.

If you'll come with me, I have a carriage ready.

- Won't you sit down? - No, thank you, sir.

Mr. McHatten, you were present at the first...

...police investigation of young Wheeler, weren't you?

- I was, sir. - What did you make of it?

I think you'd do better if you asked the police about that.

I don't believe so.

I'm afraid the police intelligence...

...is much too fair and honest to cope with the mind of a child.

It's the same with the guards, sir.

They gave five battle honors to this boy who was 20 years old and 3 feet tall.

Mr. McHatten, I should like to know everything you saw,

everything you heard, everything you thought about the boy that night.

- I'll try, sir. - Take this down, every word of it.

Yes, sir.

Well, sir, the question of...

Where on earth did you catch such a cold?

There was a draft in my room, Ma'am.

You poor child.

Thank you. I've been worried about you, my dear.

I've ordered your young man transferred to India,

but with promotion, a captain, you see, so least his army career won't suffer.

But I must confess I don't feel at all happy about it.

If he's gone, Ma'am, there's nothing else to be said.

But I trust you understand I'm unable to treat the matter lightly.

But I promise Your Majesty I shall never die of a broken heart.

Your private opinion of course being I'm a meddlesome old woman...

...who should keep her nose out of young people's affairs.

Oh, please, Your Majesty, I beg you not to think such a thing.

I thought that once about my own mother.

I was in love with a young soldier too.

Very much in love indeed.

But I was a queen, and not allowed to be in love with a young officer.

I was not expected to love anyone but a prince.

And I remember thinking that nowhere in the world could there be...

...a prince as fine and handsome as that young officer.

I have no idea now where he is or what he's doing.

But it did seem then that my heart would surely break.

And who knows that it wouldn't have...

...if at precisely that time I hadn't met my cousin Albert?

I forgot that young soldier completely. Not only did my heart never break,

but a month later I couldn't even remember exactly what he looked like.

Do you think it will be like that with me, Ma'am?

I don't know, I can't say.

In spite of my manner at times, being queen doesn't make me omniscient.

But perhaps another young man will come along for you some day,

one even more attractive than this one.

And then you'll remember him only as I remember mine, vaguely.

Perhaps, ma'am.

Besides, I know you wouldn't want to distress your mother.

No indeed, Ma'am.

On the other hand,

Margaret is an uncommonly insensitive woman.

- Is she, Ma'am? - Oh, quite.

And also...

I can't believe you're ever likely to find another like my dear Albert.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Not at all, my dear.

Emily!

... it cannot but be disastrous to the economy of this country.

Hear! Hear!

- Mr. Devoy. - Mr. Speaker.

The honorable member's concern for the economic welfare of England,

reminds me that I would like to express...

the regret of the people of Ireland...

Order, order!

The regret of the people of Ireland...

for the distress suffered by Her Majesty the English Queen...

...in the case ofd the boy Wheeler as reported in the public press.

But it has come to my almost incredulous ears...

that certain rogues, vagabonds and scoundrels...

...have circulated a report that this same boy Wheeler,

was in the pay of Irishmen,

whose purpose was the murder of the lady.

Order! Order! Order!

Therefore, I call upon the Queen's First Minister...

to put this case in all its truth before the House,

and furthermore to stipulate...

...that no Irishman had anything to do with this in any way whatever.

Aye! Aye!

The honorable member for West Dublin is out of order.

The question raised is irrelevant to the subject under debate,

which is the domestic policy as proposed by the government's recommendations.

With all due defference to your ruling, Mr. Speaker,

I venture to submit that the truth in the Wheeler case...

...is so bound up with the government's proposal,

that it would hardly be changing the subject to discuss it.

So if the honorable members wish, and with the Speaker's permisssion,

Hear Hear! Hear Hear!

Mr. Disraeli.

First, Her Majesty's Government deprecates any suspicion of an Irish conspiracy...

...against His Majesty. No grounds have been uncovered for any such assumption.

In fact, so far as can be ascertained, Wheeler was quite alone in his action,

and alone must bear the entire censure and punishment.

Perhaps the Commons may be a strange place to discuss the conduct of a mudlark,

but it is perhaps the best of all places...

to examine certain aspects of this particular mudlark's conduct.

For here they are placed not only before the honorable members,

but also before the entire nation.

Now, I confess I'm as puzzled as anyone.

By some of the mystery of young Wheeler.

How, for one thing, did this child escape us?

How did he manage to reach the age of ten...

...in the face of all that we did to prevent it?

I ask you to think how hard society tried to kill him.

It laid an ambush for him at his birth, surrounding his cradle with rats and vermin,

sent off gases from foul drains to pollute the air he breathed,

and tried to poison his mother's milk through her drinking water,

but only succeeded in poisoning his mother.

She died of typhus before he could walk according to police investigation.

And as there's no record of a father, this government was spared the necessity...

of a second murder in the same family.

So now that he was an orphan, alone, defenseless,

and entirely at the mercy of his country, it went further.

It attacked his spirit and his soul.

It taught him nothing, it withheld word of God from him,

and in the end it sent him into the Thames to be a mudlark,

barefoot and clothed in the merest rags.

Subject daily to cold, and damp and fever.

And in the warrens and lanes of the waterfront,

it exposed him to the worst influences...

...of immorality, and evil, and most final of all,

it denied him hope.

Now, as a result of this indifference and cruelty,

there seems to have developed in this small boy an unnatural attitude toward England.

Unnatural because in spite of all that it has done to him,

he seems to love it.

So one day he raised his head from the river,

looked about him,

and walked out of the mud and went to see his Queen.

Someone had told him Her Majesty was the mother of England.

We've all heard this expression, of course we do not take it literally.

But this unenlightened little orphan did.

But where could he see her?

Passing through the streets of London as once she showed herself to her people?

In the Green Park where older boys could just remember having seen her?

In any public place whatever where once her loyal subjects...

...gathered to shout their respect and affection for their sovereign?

No longer.

Never now in many empty years.

So he must go where her grief keeps her.

Ah, Windsor's walls are high.

But they were no barrier to Wheeler.

Her Majesty's footguard I'm told is one of the finest soldiers in England,

but he passed them as though they'd not been there.

Then one evening he arrived, trailing mud into throne room itself,

and only by the merest, the most touching of mischances...

did he fail of his ultimate goal.

At the very moment of triumph, the child fell asleep.

Other questions remain which you can answer for yourselves.

For example, has this small Briton been brought to our consideration...

for himself alone, or for the consideration of all British children who are as he is?

There's a singularly rough and robust doctrine held by some in this House.

Though the country is overpopulated in relation to its food supply,

the correction of the unfortunate situation...

must be safely left to the law of the survival of the fittest.

Though, if you will pardon me, I've never heard...

...overpopulation complained of in time of war.

I can't remember having heard, for instance, that there were too many Britons at Waterloo.

But this I have no doubt is a comforting doctrine...

...by which those who hold it may sleep well at night,

secure in the knowledge that a natural law of the jungle...

...will presently simplify their problems in arithmetic.

But under this doctrine, Wheeler shouldn't even be alive,

much less sitting on the throne of England.

Is there then a flaw in this concept?

And has Wheeler the right to be alive...

...in open defiance of the patriotic obligation to be dead?

Has he no consideration for the mathematicians,

whose calculations may be muddled and confused,

...by his stubborn failure to expire according to plan?

For myself, of course, I prefer another solution...

...based on the sensible Englishman's concern for his animals.

We see the results of it all around our countryside.

In our dogs, our cattle, our sheep, our horses.

Unfortunately the fact is Wheeler isn't a horse.

For when it comes to horses, Britons and sportsmen...

...would never permit such outrageous handicapping.

And do we go too far then proposing to apply the principles of ths art to human beings?

Are we rash to the point of madness...

...to try to equalize the conditions of the struggle for existence?

But the House must not suppose that I rose here to defend Wheeler.

There are however those of us who believe

That the true wealth of Britain is British character.

And by drawing attention to certain evidences of that character,

as they seem to shine through the deeds Wheeler has done,

I have sought only to advance the cause of British children,

among whom Wheeler is but a halfpenny bit,

of our great capital investment in the future.

Nothing I have said can alter the fact that Wheeler...

...has broken the law and must be punished.

And nor must it be supposed...

...that the government commends him to his country's mercy.

Indeed were I defending him,

I could not have said any of this.

In his defense I would have been reduced to one single argument.

That if in this case the conspiracy existed as is charged,

then that conspiracy was not against the Queen,

but against the boy.

And I should not have appealed to his country for mercy...

but for justice.

Hear Hear! Hear Hear!

The members' response to this was, I believe, overwhelming.

Inform Mr. Disraeli that I should like to see him at his very earliest convenience.

Yes, Your Majesty.

There was an old woman that lived in a shoe.

He spoke as if she were personally responsible for the boy's position.

- They're all your children, are they not? - You forget yourself at times, Brown.

That's a small thing to forget, Mum,

when you think of all the wee ones that nobody ever remembers.

The poor laddie working in the coalpit,

wee chimney sweep choking in the dark.

- The starving mudlark without a home. - That will do, Brown!

- But they're all your brood, Mum. - I said that will do, Brown!

Ay, mum.

Well, Master Wheeler,

It is not to say that you didn't do wrong, but there were,

we realize, mitigating circumstances.

We have made these arrangements for your care and schooling...

to compensate for the way we have neglected you in the past...

and also as a form of thanks for the part you have played...

in our efforts to bring certain matters to the country's attention.

- Now, if you'll go along with Mister... - Broom, sir.

- Broom and Mister... - Didbit, sir.

Mr. Didbit.

I'm sure that you'll find life a pleasanter experience than it has been in the past.

- We'll take very good care of him, sir. - He'll love it in Devonshire, sir.

Goodbye, Master Wheeler, and good luck to you.

You're a lively lad,

I shouldn't be at all surprised if England heard from you again some day.

- I just wanted to see her, sir, that's all. - I know, my boy, I'm very sorry.

Now, now, you can't have everything, you know.

You're a very lucky lad as it is. Come along.

It's come, sir.

- From Windsor? - Yes, sir.

Her Majesty wishes to see you immediately.

But the fact remains that you've deliberately ministered...

...a public rebuke to the Queen.

I beg your pardon, Ma'am, it may have been a reproach, but it was not a rebuke.

No one must forget, Ma'am, that I spoke for the people...

with a right to cry out for their Queen.

When children beg for their mother, is that a rebuke?

When they know she's ill and they complain to strangers,

it is worse than a rebuke, it's disloyalty.

have you no recollection that I forbade any mention of this case by the government?

But the opportunity to strike a blow for the program was more than I could resist.

I had hoped Your Majesty would find some justification...

...for this disobedience in the effect of my remarks on the members of the House.

Is that all that counts with you, Mr. Disraeli? Another success? Another victory?

Unless my recollection is even more imperfect than Your Majesty implies,

Your Majesty asked for a program of national reform,

not for a dignified failure.

I asked for nothing at the price of public embarrassment and humiliation.

Not one week ago I took you into my deepest confidence.

I laid my most secret fears and feelings before you.

Holding back nothing.

Who could dream you would use them in a public statement?

And the violation so callous and painful I can still hardly believe it.

I cannot imagine a more unfortunate misinterpretation...

...of my every word and thought.

But what else was there to understand...

when you rose before the whole country...

and used my grief as coldly and deliberately...

as you were using that boy's poverty and wretchedness?

To win sympathy for him, which you happened to need at that moment,

you pointed out to all England my solitude and retreat,

and offered them as excuse for whatever he may have done.

You not only justified him, you did it at my expense.

Whatever you intend to say, Mr. Disraeli, that's what you did say.

I won't even try to answer that, Ma'am.

I will only repeat that I was entrusted with a program of measures...

...for the benefit of Your Majesty's people.

When I encounter opposition in such a case,

I conceive it to be my duty to destroy that opposition...

through any means available short of the actually dishonorable.

If I do not always observe the strictest Marquess of Queensberry rules...

...in such a fight, it is because I have been in politics a long time,

and know that nothing can be won with a minuet.

However, I did it.

I have now brought Your Majesty's program to clear sight of victory,

when a week ago there were few willing to wager a farthing on it's chances.

Now, to paraphrase one far wiser than myself,

if the method of this accomplishment is not held to be satisfactory,

I assure Your Majesty I'll not stand for one second in the way of a successor.

I was not prepared for such an ultimatum.

But, of course, if you find our principles of loyalty too greatly in conflict,

I don't see how you can avoid considering such a decision.

- That's not a decision to be made, Mum. - Please, Brown.

Your man's dead, Mum. Dead and in his grave for fifteen years.

The boy's alive.

That is the decision that's to be made, not by him, but by you.

Who are you to serve, the living or the dead?

- Leave the room, Brown. - Not yet, Mum.

I knew your man well and he wouldn't have liked it, I tell you.

Think how he worked for the living. They weren't even his, they were yours.

But they were never out of his mind for one moment. He knew they needed help.

You're an ignorant man, Brown. You don't know what you're talking about.

Remember the dead in your heart, Mum.

But keep your hand and your smile for the bairns that are living...

...and begging for their mother.

I can't, I can't.

They don't like it.

That's not the point, Mum. It doesn't matter whether they like you or not.

You're a queen, woman.

And there's only one rule for a queen to remember.

One question from the Second Book of Kings,

"Is it well with the child?"

You're still Britannia, Mum, and they're all your brood.

- What was that? - Might have been a candle.

Wheeler!

How do you do it, lad? Are you a wee mousie?

- The same one again? - For once, Ma'am, I'm completely at a loss.

- Get him out of here at once! - Now, wait a wee, Mum.

Take him away, I tell you.

Can you not see that he's only a harmless wee tot?

I don't care how harmless he is, take him away from here.

Very well, Mum.

If Your Majesty could bring herself to overlook...

...a certain simple directness of this young man's approach,

I believe that a word or two with him will reassure Your Majesty...

...of the devotion of at least one of her subjects.

Bring him here.

Wheeler, is it?

Yes, mum.

What is that, your first or your last name?

Just Wheeler, mum, that's all.

- You're a very naughty boy, Wheeler. - Yes, mum.

Now she looks like her picture.

What was that?

Like your picture, Mum. Have you got it on you?

May I see it?

Go on, give it to her. She'll give it to you back.

May I ask where Mr. Broom and Mr. Whatshisname are?

Hunting for me in Paddington Station, sir.

Where did you get this?

It's mine, I found it.

He got it off a sailor, Mum. But it's all right, the man was dead.

- Oh, really? - Master Wheeler's an orphan, Ma'am.

It seems that he found in Your Majesty's countenance...

...the comfort and the pleasure that were otherwise denied him in life.

Ay, he's got nobody, Mum. Nobody but himself alone.

I'm very sorry, Wheeler.

Oh, that's alright, you don't have to worry yourself about it.

You've caused us a great deal of trouble, you know.

I didn't mean no harm, mum.

Why did you do it?

I don't know, mum.

Now, Wheeler, why did you do it?

I just wanted to see you, ma'am.

You're a little Jack of Knaves, I'm afraid.

But in a brood as large as mine,

I suppose that's only to be expected now and then.

I'm sorry, mum.

That's all right. I'm not cross with you now.

Thank you, Mum.

Thank you, Wheeler.

Is that all, Mum?

I suppose so.

Come on, son.

What do you think they'll do to me this time?

- Brown. - Yes, Mum?

Take care of him.

I will that, Mum.

Goodbye, mum.

Goodbye, Wheeler.

Have you answered the hospital gentlemen yet?

Not yet, Ma'am.

Most understanding of all sovereigns.

- Subtitles - Lu�s Filipe Bernardes