Pride & Joy

The Crown 1×8

— But sending the Queen on this forthcoming tour, in the current climate, would be to put the Sovereign in an unacceptable level of danger.
Winston Churchill: What is it you would have the Queen do? Stay at home in the wake of minor incidents prosecuted by an insurgent rabble? What kind of signal would that send? The Crown does not back down. If Britain had made a habit of backing down, the world would already be living under the yoke of fascist tyranny and we wouldn't have an empire at all.

— Then might I suggest we bypass Gibraltar altogether?
— It's an approach which I would favour too. She's not ready for something on this scale. She's not yet up to it. Especially with so many of our dominions demanding independence. We must be considerate of her.
Winston Churchill: Patronize her.
— No, that's not what I'm saying, sir.
Winston Churchill: Yes, it is.

Tailor: Bermuda. Jamaica. Australia. Ceylon. Uganda. It's going to be hot, Your Majesty. To that end, we've been working a great deal with organza, crepe de Chine and shantung silk. We also wanted to feature something particular to each location, so we thought sprigs of native wild flowers indigenous to each country that you're visiting. So, on Her Majesty's arrival in Sydney, we propose a white organza dress scattered with pale yellow wattle blossom.
Queen Elizabeth II: How many dresses are there?
Tailor: One hundred.
Queen Elizabeth II: One hundred. And hats?
Tailor: Thirty-six.
Queen Elizabeth II: Pairs of shoes?
Tailor: Fifty.
Queen Elizabeth II: Isn't this all a bit much? Couldn't we try to economize?
Tailor: It is. It was a directive from the government itself, from the very top of the government. To put our best foot forward for Great Britain. Our very best foot.

Philip, Duke of Edinburgh: It is an absurd pantomime, the whole thing. I don't know why anyone can't see beyond it. ... 20 years ago, Britain had influence and control over one-fifth of the world's population. You look where we are now in India, Pakistan, South Africa, Iraq, Jordan, Burma, Ceylon: all independent. But nobody wants to face it or deal with it, so... they send us out on the Commonwealth roadshow. Like giving a lick of paint to a rusty old banger to make everyone think it's all still fine. But it's not.
     The rust has eaten away at the engine and the structure. The banger is falling apart. But no one wants to see it. That's our job, that's who we are. The coat of paint. If the costumes are grand enough, if the tiara's sparkly enough, if the titles are preposterous enough, the mythology incomprehensible enough, then all must still be fine.

Queen Elizabeth: See you when you're back from the tour in...
Queen Elizabeth II: 23 weeks.

Princess Margaret: I'll try not to upstage you.
Queen Elizabeth II: How kind.
Princess Margaret: I can't promise I won't bring my own character to it.
Queen Elizabeth II: Well, I never expected anything less.
Princess Margaret: That's the advantage of having a character to bring.
Queen Elizabeth II: Too much character, an excess of character.
Princess Margaret: Now, look at me and tell me you didn't say that without a little bit of envy.
Queen Elizabeth II: Just remember who you're standing in for when I'm gone.
Princess Margaret: My characterless sister.
Queen Elizabeth II: Your Queen. Not a showgirl.

Winston Churchill: In his final months, the King told me many times that he could feel it all slipping away. The Empire, our place in the world. He saw this tour as a chance to keep each dominion close, preserving that Empire. So take him with you in spirit. Let his... Let his example guide you. His thoughts influence you.
Queen Elizabeth II: I will.
Winston Churchill: And, if I may... never let them see the real Elizabeth Windsor. The cameras, the television. Never let them see that carrying the Crown is often a burden. Let them look at you... but let them see only the eternal.

Winston Churchill: I'm sure Her Royal Highness appreciates... there'll be important people at the reception tonight. Different backgrounds, different sensibilities. The speech has been carefully calibrated to avoid giving offence. And I'd suggest to avoid entertaining too. It's not the Sovereign's place to entertain.
Princess Margaret: And I'm not the Sovereign.
Winston Churchill: I understand that but you will be there in her place.

Philip, Duke of Edinburgh: You know, there is a danger we might be overdoing it. Perhaps it would be prudent, to take a few things out. I mean, 57 Australian towns in 58 days. Maybe we don't visit all of them...
Queen Elizabeth II: No. No. We keep every appointment. No cancellations. Not one.

Philip, Duke of Edinburgh: This whole thing is a circus. It's a miserable circus. Trudging from town to town and we're the dancing bears.

Winston Churchill: Your Royal Highness... when you appear in public performing official duties, you are not you.
Princess Margaret: Of course I'm me!
Winston Churchill: .... And no one wants you to be you, they want you to be it.
Princess Margaret: A statue? A thing?
Winston Churchill: The Crown. That's what they've come to see. Not you. The minute you become yourself, you shatter the illusion, break the spell.
Princess Margaret: What people want is someone to inhabit it. Not be frightened of it. Make it flesh and blood. Bring it to life.
Winston Churchill: Your uncle, Edward VIII, threatened to do just that, impose his individuality on the institution. Bring it to life! And he almost destroyed it in the process!

Philip, Duke of Edinburgh: I told them we should pull out.
Queen Elizabeth II: Why?
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh: What do you mean, why? Because I don't much fancy shuffling the streets of Gibraltar like a sitting duck.
Queen Elizabeth II: No. Pulling out at this late hour would make us look weak. And it would be a great disappointment to the people of Gibraltar. I say we go.
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh: I say we don't.
Queen Elizabeth II: I am aware that I am surrounded by people who feel that they could do the job better. Strong people with powerful characters, more natural leaders, perhaps better-suited to leading from the front, making a mark. But, for better or worse, the Crown has landed on my head. And I say we go.

Winston Churchill: Congratulations, Your Majesty.
Queen Elizabeth II: Thank you, Winston.
Winston Churchill: An unqualified triumph.
Queen Elizabeth II: A narrow escape, I say. It could so easily have gone the other way.
Winston Churchill: But it didn't, and has put us right back where we belong. Higher, in fact. And, before the tour, our great nation was in danger of losing much of its status, our influence, our standing. Your courage and conviction prevailed.

Queen Elizabeth II: This time, perhaps. But, in time, they will, surely, grow tired of it. Grow tired of us.
Winston Churchill: Only if the Crown and the people representing the Crown make mistakes, errors of judgement.
Queen Elizabeth II: My dear sister?
Winston Churchill: Yes.
Queen Elizabeth II: What would you have me do?

Queen Elizabeth II: The brief was simple. Perform minor ceremonial tasks with a minimum of fuss. Not end up all over the newspapers.
Princess Margaret: I can't help it if they want to write about me.
Queen Elizabeth II: Well, it would help if you didn't give them what they crave.
Princess Margaret: Character and excitement.
Queen Elizabeth II: Instability and drama.
Princess Margaret: Well, at least I give them something. You give them nothing.
Queen Elizabeth II: I give them silence.
Princess Margaret: Silence is nothing.
Queen Elizabeth II: It's the absence of noise.
Princess Margaret: Emptiness. Blank page.
Queen Elizabeth II: Which allows others to shine.
Princess Margaret: But the monarchy should shine.
Queen Elizabeth II: The monarchy, yes. Not the monarch.

Princess Margaret: You have a role, a clear set of rules. All you have to do is follow them.
Queen Elizabeth II: Margaret, you have freedom. All you have to do is enjoy it.
Princess Margaret: You think that I am free? To be constantly in your shadow. Constantly the overlooked one.
Queen Elizabeth II: It looks like heaven to me. What you have looks like heaven to me.
Princess Margaret: Two sisters who envy one another...
Queen Elizabeth II: We wouldn't be the first.
Princess Margaret: Pride and Joy. Remember? What Papa called us.
Queen Elizabeth II: Yes. "Elizabeth is my pride and Margaret is my joy."
Princess Margaret: "But Margaret is my joy." I'm sorry. I have to claim the few victories I'm left with.

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