Original subtitles

[wind whistles]

[airplane engines roar]

[air control] Flight 104, you're strength five.

[pilot] Roger that, Benson.

We're passing through flight level one seven, for 2,500.

[Benson] Roger, flight 104. Report approaching 2,500.

Benson weather is light overcast, wind calm.

Thanks, Benson.

We're hoping for a straight-in visual approach to runway zero one.

Roger, flight 104. That is approved.

Continue descent, and report reaching 2,500.

Roger, Benson. Flight 104...

[dialogue fades]

[man] Thus it hath pleased Almighty God...

[bell tolls]

...to take out of this transitory life unto His Divine Mercy

the late Most High, Mighty and Illustrious

Prince Edward Albert Christian

George Andrew Patrick David,

Duke of Windsor.

Sometime the Most High, Most Mighty and Most Excellent Monarch

Edward VIII.

By the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland

and the British Dominions beyond the Seas

King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India.

Uncle of the Most High,

Most Mighty and Most Excellent Monarch,

our Sovereign Lady, Elizabeth II,

whom may God preserve and bless

with long life, health and honor.

[Wallis] I wanted to thank you for writing such lovely letters

to David in his final days.

It meant a great deal to him.

And he wanted you to have this...

which I gave him in 1939.

A pocket watch and a compass.

With an inscription.

"No excuse for going in the wrong direction."

Thank you.

I'm sorry not to see your girlfriend.

Well, she's picking me up after this.

We're spending the evening together before I return to Dartmouth.

But don't tell anyone. It's a secret.

She's not official, yet.

Is she the one?

Yes.

I think so.

Then if I may offer two pieces of advice.

Never turn your back on true love.

Despite all the sacrifices and all the pain,

David and I never once regretted it.

Thank you. And the second?

Watch out for your family.

They mean well.

No, they don't.

I saw her.

The black widow.

Wallis?

[Camilla] Funny old crow.

She stared at me. It spooked me rather.

[Charles] She gave me a warning.

About what?

My family.

-Mummy. -Goodbye, darling.

Aunt Margot.

Hmm.

Poor you.

Is Dartmouth unbearable?

Huh! What a question.

Uncle Dickie.

It'll be the making of you.

Just remember "acting lieutenant" doesn't mean you're in a bloody play.

[Charles] It's funny.

I looked at them as I was leaving.

-Anne. -My mother...

[Anne] Charles.

...father, grandmother, aunt, even my sister, and I thought,

"That's what they must have looked like to him."

-Who? -The last Prince of Wales.

The poor, lost soul we just buried.

He wasn't like them.

He was brighter, wittier, more independent of thought,

more true to himself.

And so, they united against him.

And in that moment...

as they looked at me, in some god-awful way, I realized...

I have just replaced him.

[woman] Come on, Edward, this way.

-[Edward] What is it? -[woman] No peeking.

[gasps]

-[woman laughs] -Thank you.

-But we can't afford it. -[woman] Give it a go.

Go on.

[somber music plays]

[crowd shouts]

[reporter] In recent days, tensions have dramatically escalated

between the government and the National Union of Mineworkers,

and the resulting blockade now threatens to close

the government's last remaining stockpile of coal.

[somber music plays]

[Scargill] My friends, it is time.

No more standing at the bottom looking up.

It's time to make yourselves heard.

We've closed every mine across this country,

and we will continue to freeze stockpiles

till they open their ears, open their hearts.

[Scargill] What you're seeing here today is the beginning.

The beginning of the working classes saying enough.

We have tried to reach agreement with management, with government,

but the capitalist establishment

is bent on crushing the working-class movement.

So today we're tearing up that agreement,

and from now on we are men of action,

and we will achieve our aims

by any means necessary.

-[door opens] -[dogs whimper]

The Prime Minister, Your Majesty.

I am sorry, Prime Minister. They mean no harm.

All animals mean harm.

-They are but a meal away from barbarism. -[dogs yelp]

One item on the agenda above all others, I'd say.

-The miners' strike. -Oh.

Which, like a fever dream,

a sharp and sometimes painful interlude of madness, will soon pass.

Will it?

On the surface, their demands seem quite reasonable.

A wage increase in line with factory workers.

And public sympathy for them seems to be growing.

People are sentimental and easily swayed.

No, the issue that confronts us is far more important.

-Economic probity, ma'am. -But if the strike continues?

Then it will end in defeat and humiliation for the mineworkers.

We, the government, have been quietly moving coal stocks

from pitheads to power stations these past weeks.

We have eight weeks of reserves,

by which time we will have wrapped up this whole messy affair.

We are prepared.

-[Philip] Are you warming to him yet? -[Elizabeth] Mr. Heath?

-I'm not sure there's much to warm to. -[Philip] Give him time. He's rusty.

You're the first woman in decades he's had a meaningful relationship with.

It's what his enemies have always held against him.

-What? Thank you. -Well, the fact he never married.

People find it hard to trust a leader without a wife and family.

Apparently, there was a doctor's daughter.

It was love at first sight.

And she waited for him throughout the war,

only for Heath to chicken out at the last moment.

So she married someone else.

-Where do you get all this from? -Some chap I met who knew Heath of old.

Thinks that he, uh... never moved past it.

-How sad. -Hmm.

There you are.

When you find the right one, snap 'em up.

As a central theme, it's perfect.

For what?

Your speech to mark our 25-year wedding anniversary.

-Why my speech? -Because it's your turn.

I made the one on our tenth anniversary.

[sighs] Something of a triumph, as I recall.

Mon petit chou.

Speaking of love at first sight...

I had the opportunity to read some of Charles's letters to Uncle David

about his feelings for the Shand girl.

I think we need to take it seriously.

-Why? -I think he's really fallen in love.

[scoffs]

You don't love a girl like Camilla Shand. She's...

She's a bit of fun.

Uh, and a welcome distraction from the rigors of the Navy.

The first few months can be pretty tough.

[man] In line!

Quicker!

[Charles] Strange things, daydreams.

[man] Get over it, Windsor!

[Charles] You're safe during the 6:00 a.m. drills.

All that shouting and exertion rather blows the cobwebs away.

You're even fairly safe in class.

I mean, there's a rigor to astronavigation

in which one can lose oneself.

No, the time you're most vulnerable

is when you're out at sea.

Something about the waves.

One begins to disappear.

And then suddenly, you're somewhere else entirely.

[indistinct chatter]

And there's a feeling I've never had before.

A sense of safety and belonging...

and all that loneliness having vanished.

And it's all rather miraculous.

I think you are miraculous.

Tell me, is there any part of all this that's...

surprised you?

[Camilla] Of what?

Our... friendship.

You should ask if there's any part of this that hasn't surprised me.

A good surprise?

I think so.

-You don't sound certain. -No, I am.

I think.

You seem to be doing a lot of thinking.

That's the worst thing one can do.

Why? I love thinking.

[chuckles] Yes, and that's what makes things so confusing.

[Camilla sighs]

Or gives them clarity.

Not in this instance.

But what we have is special.

I know.

But that's what makes things so confusing.

Because I wasn't supposed to fall in love with you.

-None of this was supposed to happen. -[phone beeps]

What? Damn. Why?

-Hello? -What was supposed to happen?

Hello?

-I've run out of coins. -[phone beeps]

Hello?

[sighs]

[distant cheering]

[officer 1] Left, right. Left, right. Left, right...

[officer 2] Shoulder. Arms.

Inwards turn.

Parade will advance.

Right turn.

Parade halt.

That's not the face I'd hoped to see opposite me.

Commander of the college wrote to me only last week,

saying how encouraged he was by your progress.

A progress which, in his estimation, compares you favorably with your father,

and your grandfather before him, and great grandfather before him.

I know you had your own ideas,

your vision of where you belong.

I simply ask that you stick with it a little.

It's not the college.

Well, then what is it?

[sighs] Camilla.

Shand?

Hmm.

You two still amusing one another, are you?

[chuckles]

We are.

-I like her very much. -Good. Good.

I like her very much indeed.

Hmm.

The situation is complicated.

I'm not the only interested party.

Oh!

You mean the donkey-walloper? Parker Bowles? Hmm?

Dickie, I don't want to lose her.

Dear boy,

you're not going to lose any woman.

You're the Prince of Wales.

I mean, I don't want to lose her ever.

Hmm.

She's the one.

Now I think you understand what I'm saying,

and why I'm going to need your help...

with the family.

[officer] Eyes right.

Eyes front.

[Mountbatten] My fault entirely.

The Shand girl was only ever meant to be an opportunity

for an inexperienced boy to sow his wild oats.

That's why I encouraged it. Indulged it.

-I never expected him to develop feelings. -[scoffs]

Let alone nurture thoughts of--

Don't even say it. It's madness.

And the sooner that girl's back where she belongs, with Derek's boy, the better.

Hmm, I agree.

How shall we handle this?

Well, I can take care of Charles.

Nice long posting overseas will bring him to his senses.

I'll speak to everyone at the Admiralty.

Eight months on the other side of the world, it'll soon go away.

Hmm, let's hope so.

Can I leave the Shands and the Parker Bowles families to you?

-With pleasure. -Hmm.

[Scargill] You play the organ, don't you?

I do.

-Hmm. And the pianoforte? -Yes.

What smooth, elegant hands you have.

Long, delicate fingers.

-You ever seen a pit, Mr. Heath? -Of course.

Not on your television. In person.

Then let's help you...

get acquainted.

Pick it up.

Go on.

Touch it.

Smell it.

So, next time you're playing the organ in some cathedral

having lofty thoughts in the heavens close to God,

think of my members, my comrades,

down there in the heat and the darkness, digging for coal,

because when they go to work

and break their backs and risk their lives,

they're nowhere near God.

They're in hell, and they're doing that day in, day out,

so that you and everyone else in this country,

can have heat and electricity and power.

We will make no progress,

if you concentrate only on our differences.

No, you're wrong. That's the only way we'll make progress.

Until you recognize the miners' contribution to this country

is what keeps the lights on in factories, schools, hospitals

and grand rooms like these,

then there can be no agreements made with the NUM.

Well, let's talk for a minute about "grand rooms like this."

I'm just as much a stranger to rooms like this as you are.

My father was a builder.

I got here because I'm the leader of a political party

elected by the people of this country to lead their government.

This is not my home.

This is the home the people of this country

give the Queen's first minister.

It is grand, because we respect democracy.

You can make simple assumptions about who I am

by virtue of the fact that I play the organ.

My parents couldn't afford to buy a piano for me.

They had to pay for it in installments from a shop in Margate.

No, let's not waste time on bogus disagreements

about a class struggle between you and me.

I come from a background not so far removed from you.

But I have chosen democracy, unlike you,

and I will not have you, or any other hoodlum come in here

and threaten a democratic government with undemocratic strikes.

This government has its policy,

and will not be deviated from it... ever!

And we have ours...

and nor will we.

[door opens]

[door closes]

[Charteris] Now that talks between the government

and the mineworkers have broken down,

the Prime Minister has come up with a scheme

for nationwide power cuts to conserve energy.

[Philip] Christ.

I've seen battle plans that are less complicated.

Well, that's exactly what the government is calling it.

A battle plan to defeat the miners.

[Elizabeth] And we expect these power cuts to start soon?

-Yes, ma'am. -[Elizabeth] And for how long?

For the rest of this month, perhaps even year.

What? This will devastate the country.

Indeed, there will be interruptions to the normal functioning of government

and the judiciary and the civil service.

Hospitals may have to carry out operations by torchlight.

But Mr. Heath is confident of victory.

[Heath] As Prime Minister,

I want to speak to you simply and plainly tonight

about the grave emergency now facing our country.

In the House of Commons this afternoon,

I announced more severe restrictions on the use of electricity.

We are asking you to cut down to the absolute minimum

its use for heating and for other purposes in your home.

In industry we are limiting the supply of electricity

to almost all factories, shops and offices

to three days a week.

In terms of comfort,

we shall have a harder Christmas than we have known since the war.

In the kind of country we live in...

there can be no "we" or "they."

It is only "us."

All of us.

If the government is defeated,

then the country is defeated.

[man] Major and Mrs. Shand, Your Majesty,

and Mr. and Mrs. Parker Bowles.

[door closes]

-Thank you for coming, Major Shand. -Your Majesty.

-Mrs. Shand. -Your Majesty.

-Derek. -Your Majesty.

-Ann. -Your Majesty.

Please.

You're probably wondering why I've invited you all here this afternoon.

It's a slightly delicate matter.

Something of an imbroglio involving your son, Derek,

your daughter, Mrs. Shand,

and my grandson, the Prince of Wales.

[pants]

[officer] Windsor.

You're wanted on the quarterdeck. Captain's office.

Sir.

[captain] Windsor, come in.

We now have the results from the exams,

and the examining body has concluded

that you have met the necessary criteria

to undertake your duties as officer of the watch.

Your first official posting.

Congratulations.

Am I allowed to know where to?

Oh, Christ! Not again!

Jenkins, fetch another lamp and some candles, will you?

-[Jenkins] Yes, sir. -[door opens]

[typewriter clicks]

[Charteris] Your Royal Highness.

-Martin. -Sir.

I wonder if the Queen might have a minute for me.

Uh, it's not the best moment, sir. She's writing a speech.

Could you tell her I've come all the way from Dartmouth

and that it's very important?

Of course, sir.

Excuse me, sir.

[man] Excuse me, sir.

[woman] Excuse me, sir.

[typewriter clicks]

Her Majesty will see you now, sir.

-Sorry to interrupt, Mummy. -I didn't know you were on leave.

-I'm not. -Then why are you here?

-I've come to ask you a question. -Hmm.

I've been given a posting.

Eight months in the Caribbean.

That's not a question.

I'm not happy about it.

-Still not a question. -All right.

Here's the question.

-Did you arrange it? -Why would I have arranged it?

To separate us, break us up.

-Who? -Camilla Shand and me.

-You said you'd been given a promotion. -A posting, not a promotion.

And one that makes no sense. I'm not eligible for a posting yet.

I'm not qualified.

People make all kinds of exceptions for members of the royal family.

Not the Navy.

They pride themselves on making no exceptions ever. My question is,

did you or anyone else in this family have something to do with this?

-Why would we do that? -I've no idea.

Because she's not "intact,"

or not the right family, or because she has a mind of her own,

or perhaps just because it amuses everyone

to take two people who are perfectly happy together

and find a reason to break them up.

Because there is history of that cruelty in this family!

Well, I won't stand for it!

I won't be pushed aside like Uncle David or Aunt Margot.

I won't stand for it.

[Elizabeth] Martin.

Queen Elizabeth and Lord Mountbatten.

I'd like to see them as soon as possible, together.

[footsteps approach]

[door opens]

[Mountbatten] Everything was fine.

Everyone was getting what they wanted and needed from the arrangement.

-Till the boy started talking about love. -But what if it is love?

Shouldn't it be allowed to run its course? I was allowed to marry my choice.

That was different.

His rank was different. The feelings were the same.

The times were different. His past was different.

Philip was a royal prince.

Does that still matter in this day and age?

It does.

The system is too... fragile, too precious

to let in unpredictable elements, dangerous elements.

Camilla isn't dangerous.

She's the first woman Charles has met that gives him confidence

and comfort and self-belief.

Qualities I think we all agree he will one day need.

I understand you are both taking steps to protect the Crown,

but given the history of this family,

I don't think we can afford to break up two people

that truly love one another.

We've learned that lesson time and time again.

[Queen Mother] Trust me.

This is anything but love.

Dickie.

There is something you should know.

["Starman" by David Bowie]

[Anne] ♪ He'd like to come and meet us ♪

♪ But he thinks he'd blow our minds ♪

♪ There's a starman waiting in the sky ♪

♪ He's told us not to blow it ♪

♪ 'Cause he knows it's all worthwhile ♪

♪ He told me ♪

♪ Let the children lose it ♪

♪ Let the children use it ♪

♪ Let all the children boogie ♪

[hums]

♪ Da, da, da, da, da ♪

♪ La, la, la, la, la, la ♪

♪ Da, da, da, da, da ♪

♪ La, la, la, la ♪

♪ La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la ♪

[continues humming tune]

God, what's all this?

Come in, darling.

[Philip clears throat]

We'd like to ask you some questions.

And it's important while answering those questions

that you remain clearheaded, unemotional, rational and calm.

As opposed to what? The hysterical and neurotic way I normally behave?

[Philip chuckles]

[clears throat]

[Mountbatten] We need to talk to you about your brother.

Which one? I have three.

[Philip] Charles.

Go on.

Specifically, the suitability of his match with Camilla Shand.

Match?

We believe it's his intention to ask her to marry him.

Fine.

As long as he's prepared for there to always be three in the marriage.

The third being?

Andrew Parker Bowles.

Camilla's first love, and the man she's still devoted to.

She's not devoted to Charles?

She likes Charles, but she's obsessed with Andrew.

Spare me.

How do you know all this?

Because I was briefly caught up in it myself.

Wait a minute.

-When? -Then. In the past. It doesn't matter.

It was all very straightforward.

He got what he wanted, which was to make Camilla jealous.

I got what I wanted, which was a bit of fun.

-Fun? -Yes, sorry, Mummy. It was.

[Philip clears throat]

Is that it? Inquisition over. Can I go now?

Thank you, darling.

I hope that wasn't too emotional for you all.

[door closes]

I'd like to speak to Mummy alone.

Right.

-That's our cue. -[exhales]

[clears throat]

Queens only.

[door opens]

[door closes]

I'm not sure I know where to begin.

Obviously, poor Charles.

-Stupid, naive Charles. -Yes.

-And Anne? -Yes.

I mean... who would have thought it?

Hmm.

So, what's the next step?

The families have been spoken to.

A date has been set for Camilla to be married to the Parker Bowles boy.

[Elizabeth] Good.

All that's missing is for someone to let them know.

-Will you tell Charles? -That would achieve nothing.

It would achieve a great deal. It would clear the air.

And since you approve of the decision,

as his mother, and Queen, it's the right thing to do.

It would only create rancor and resentment,

and while I may approve of the decision,

none of this nonsense was my idea.

Dickie can do it.

This is his mess.

[music plays over dialogue]

[man on TV] During yesterday's extended power cuts,

it was almost impossible for many families who depend on electricity

to cook, or to heat and light their homes.

Summer camping stoves and old paraffin lamps

have been brought out of the attic and dusted down.

It's now almost impossible to buy a candle, a stove or a heater.

In ironmongers it's always the same notice,

and orders for fresh supplies have been in for days.

With millions now unable to work, people have taken to the streets,

and tensions are starting to rise.

[crowd chants] Heath out! Heath out! Heath out!

[reporter] There are now genuine fears for the stability of the country,

and the maintenance of law and order.

[Charles] I don't know where to begin.

What to say.

Is it true? Do you love Andrew?

-[Camilla] It's complicated. -Nothing complicated about it.

[Camilla sighs]

It's a yes or no answer. Do you love him?

Yes.

[sighs] In a manner of speaking.

I'm such a fool.

But the more time I spent with you,

the more I got to know you, the more my feelings changed.

[man] Transport is waiting, sir.

-Obviously not enough. -But that's not true.

[sighs] Whatever anyone tells you,

you must believe that my feelings for you are real.

Then why have we allowed them to do this?

Because apparently this way it'll be better for everyone.

[sighs] In the long run.

[sighs]

[Elizabeth] If it were the occasional blackout, I would understand,

but when it disrupts everyday life, up and down the country,

indeed threatens lives, threatens law and order,

I do begin to wonder whether we really have taken the right course of action.

Well, ma'am, the government is not to blame.

The National Union of Mineworkers has been given every opportunity,

and has rejected offer after offer.

Our last, a more than generous package worth £48 million,

was met with wholesale contempt.

But that does not explain the blackouts.

I distinctly remember you assuring me

that the government had stockpiled enough coal to weather any storm,

and yet here we are.

It's true, the strikes have lasted longer than we anticipated,

and the stubbornness of the miners and unions

has been considerably more violent.

I think we can safely say there has been stubbornness on both sides.

And one does wonder if we have failed to understand

the scale of the miners' anger.

Indeed if we have failed to understand them, as people.

-[switch clicks] -[sighs]

[bell dings]

[door opens]

[door closes]

[Philip] Wedding anniversary speech written?

[Elizabeth] Yes.

Excessively gushing in the "liege man of life and limb" department?

I do feel slightly for Charles.

Yes.

It will hurt.

And for a while it might even feel like a betrayal.

But then he'll come to his senses,

and it will be forgotten.

I hope so.

[Elizabeth] I must admit, my Lord Mayor,

that the first 25 years of marriage

have rather crept up on us.

I'm not much given to philosophizing,

but from time to time

one is presented with an opportunity

to reflect upon what has contributed

to the success of something.

And in the case of our marriage, it's family.

The rock upon which any enduring marriage

must surely be founded.

A network of brothers, sisters,

mothers and fathers,

cousins and relations.

A filigree of a thousand tiny threads,

woven together

by blood, kinship and trust.

Only there,

within that crucible of family relationships,

can a successful union

between two people be forged.

Fealty, allegiance,

obedience and devotion.

These are Christian values

that sustain a marriage...

and that bind a family together.

To realize that elusive state of being a happy family

is a tireless struggle, a battle...

but it is a battle worth fighting

for there is nothing in life to match it.

The right kind of partnership...

with the right kind of partner

is the foundation on which a successful family must rest.

Marriage is a proposition

some in the modern world would question...

but it is a proposition about which, when asked,

I can reply, plainly and unequivocally...

"I am for it."

[sobs]

[audience applauds]

Thank you.

["Starman" by David Bowie]

♪ Didn't know what time it was And the lights were low ♪

♪I leaned back on my radio ♪

♪ Some cat was layin' down Some rock 'n' roll ♪

♪ "Lotta soul," he said ♪

♪Then the loud sound did seem to fade ♪

♪ Came back like slow voice On a wave of phase ♪

♪ That weren't no DJ That was hazy cosmic jive ♪

♪ There's a starman waiting in the sky ♪

♪ He'd like to come and meet us But he thinks he'd blow our minds ♪

♪ There's a starman waiting in the sky ♪

♪ He's told us not to blow it 'Cause he knows it's all worthwhile ♪

♪ He told me "Let the children lose it ♪

♪ Let the children use it ♪

♪ Let all the children boogie" ♪