The Crown (season 2)

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The Crown (2016–2023) is an English historical drama airing on Netflix about the life of Queen Elizabeth II, beginning with her marriage to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in 1947 and ending in the 21st century.

Misadventure [2.1]

Queen Elizabeth II: The rumors still haven't gone away. I think we both agree, it can't go on like this. So I thought we might take this opportunity, without children, without distraction, to lay our cards on the table and talk frankly, for once about what needs to change to make this marriage work.

Prince Philip: All right. Who goes first? Stupid question. If I've learned one thing by now, it's that I go second.

Queen Elizabeth II: If I am to go first, that's where I'd start. Your complaining.

Prince Philip: My complaining?

Queen Elizabeth II: It's incessant. Whining and whingeing like a child.

Prince Philip: Are you surprised? The way those god-awful mustaches that run the palace continue to infantilize me.

Queen Elizabeth II: Perhaps if you weren't behaving like an infant...

Prince Philip: Giving me lists, sending me instructions. Can you imagine anything more humiliating?

Queen Elizabeth II: Yes. As a matter of fact, I can. I've learned more about humiliation in the last few weeks than I hoped I would in a lifetime. I've never felt more alone than I have in the past five months.

Prince Philip: And why do you think that was?

Queen Elizabeth II: Because of your behavior.

Prince Philip: Because you sent me away.

Queen Elizabeth II: Yes, and why do you think that was?

Prince Philip: I don't know, Elizabeth. You tell me.

Queen Elizabeth II: Because you're lost. You're lost in your role, and you're lost in yourself. Look, I realize this marriage has turned out to be something quite different to what we both imagined.

Prince Philip: Understatement.

Queen Elizabeth II: And that we find ourselves in a...

Prince Philip: Prison?

Queen Elizabeth II: A situation which is unique. The exit route which is open to everyone else...

Prince Philip: Divorce.

Queen Elizabeth II: Yes, divorce. It's not an option for us. Ever.

Prince Philip: No.

Queen Elizabeth II: So, what would make it easier on you? To be in, not out. What will it take?

Prince Philip: You're asking my price?

Queen Elizabeth II: I'm asking what it will take.

---

Queen Elizabeth II: Margot, is it possible that you're still drunk?

Princess Margaret: Do you know, I think I might be, slightly.

Queen Elizabeth II: You need to be more careful.

Princess Margaret: Yes, quite right. Grain and grape don't mix.

Queen Elizabeth II: No. I meant about where you're seen. And with whom. You're drinking far more than you used to.

Princess Margaret: Why do you think that is? Because I'm unhappier than I used to be. And why is that? Because I am still unmarried. And why is that? Oh, because you denied me my perfect match.

Queen Elizabeth II: That's not fair. As your sister, I would have been perfectly happy for you to marry Peter.

Princess Margaret: What?

Queen Elizabeth II: It was the Crown that forbade it. Not to mention the fact that he was a little old. Not really from the right...

Princess Margaret: No, no, no, no. Don't you dare say "background."

Queen Elizabeth II: Well, I just think it might have all come back to haunt you.

Princess Margaret: What, did Philip's Nazi sisters come back to haunt him? Or his lunatic mother? Or his womanizing, bankrupt father?

---

Anthony Eden: In the early hours of this morning, the Israeli army launched an attack into Egyptian territory, the Sinai Peninsula, and is rapidly approaching the Suez Canal. The Egyptian army has mobilized a retaliatory force and is about to engage. Her Majesty's government has now issued a deadline to both Israel and Egypt to halt all acts of war and to allow Anglo-French forces into the country to preserve the peace. The Israelis have expressed a willingness to comply if the Egyptians do, but alas, President Nasser has thus far refused.

Queen Elizabeth II: When does the deadline expire?

Anthony Eden: Tomorrow morning, ma'am.

Queen Elizabeth II: And the next step, in your view, would be?

Anthony Eden: Military intervention, ma'am.

Queen Elizabeth II: War?

Anthony Eden: Indeed. But to keep the peace. It is the correct thing to do, ma'am. Nasser is playing roulette with the stability of the whole world.

Queen Elizabeth II: Well, thank you for your explanation. [Eden rises to his feet and turns to leave] Before you go, I do have one or two questions. [Eden, caught off guard, stops and faces Elizabeth] When you mentioned that the Israelis had launched an attack, you didn't seem surprised.

Anthony Eden: Why would I seem surprised?

Queen Elizabeth II: Unless I'm mistaken, the Israeli position has always been that they would, under no circumstances, launch a full-scale attack by themselves for fear of diplomatic isolation. And yet they've gone on to do precisely that, indicating that either they changed their mind, or there'd been some kind of collusion. Have we?

Anthony Eden: Have we what?

Queen Elizabeth II: Colluded with Israel? In any way?

Anthony Eden: [after a long pause] Six days ago, this government met with representatives of the French and Israeli governments in a small village on the outskirts of Paris, where a document was signed. The Sèvres Protocol, which outlines plans for a coordinated offensive against Egypt, whereby the Israeli army would attack the Egyptian army near the Suez Canal, thus allowing the intervention of Anglo-French forces.

Queen Elizabeth II: Who else knows about this?

Anthony Eden: Individual members of Cabinet. Senior members.

Queen Elizabeth II: But not Parliament?

Anthony Eden: No.

Queen Elizabeth II: Or the United Nations? When does all this begin?

Anthony Eden: Airstrikes begin tomorrow.

Queen Elizabeth II: You don't want to give it more time?

Anthony Eden: No, ma'am. The right thing to do is to go in now and to go in hard. I was right about Mussolini, I was right about Hitler, and I am right about this fella! Do I have your support?

Queen Elizabeth II: The Prime Minister always has the sovereign's support.

Lisbon [2.3]

Anthony Eden: First of all, I must thank you for the way in which you have all carried on without me ... and for the manner in which Rab has very competently stood in for me in my absence. You've kept me informed of all the major decisions that had to be taken. In all these months, we have been a united government. And we shall remain a united government.

Harold MacMillan: But we're not a united government, are we, Anthony? The war you insisted on has left us as divided as Caesar and Pompey and the country in chaos. There is no petrol in the pumps. There are no tins on the shelves. Our allies are aligned against us. Our international reputation is in tatters.

Anthony Eden: How adroitly your weather vane spins, Harold. You were for the war, as I remember.

Harold MacMillan: Only as long as it was legal.

Anthony Eden: You liar. [slams his fist down on the table] Liar! You wanted it every bit as much as I did! You'd have torn off Nasser's scalp with your own fingernails given the chance, taken the oil from that canal and set the Middle East ablaze!

Harold MacMillan: You've lost the trust of the people and of the party. It's the end of the road.

Anthony Eden: A road which you willingly led me down!

---

Anthony Eden: I'm sorry if I, uh, disappointed you.

Queen Elizabeth II: Did I suggest that you had?

Anthony Eden: No, but I, I think you thought it.

Queen Elizabeth II: I ... I did think that the decision to go to war was rushed. And I was sorry to see you lie to the House, when you told them that you had no prior knowledge of the Israelis' intentions. We both know that to be untrue. But, wrong though it was, I did have sympathy for you. To have waited in the wings for so long and to have supported a great man like Winston so patiently, so loyally. And then to finally have your opportunity to measure yourself against him. To do nothing is often the best course of action, but I know from personal experience how frustrating it can be. History was not made by those who did nothing. So, I suppose it's only natural that ambitious men, driven men want to go down in history.

Anthony Eden: Or make history by going down.

---

Harold MacMillan: With Eden's war, we've discarded the moral advantage or any goodwill we once held. Not to mention the dire economic situation. It's really been quite ruinous.

Queen Elizabeth II: But it wasn't just Eden's war, was it? It was a war prosecuted by a government of which you, as chancellor, were a major constituent part. I also seem to remember that you were one of the loudest voices in support of the war in the beginning. One always has to accept one's own part, I believe, in any mess.

Beryl [2.4]

Princess Margaret: You pathetic, weak, contemptible fool. I never even wanted to marry you. You were only ever an act of charity. Or desperation. And now you insult me? You? People like you don't get to insult people like me. You get to be eternally grateful. You've quite the way with women. Take a look at this face. A picture of disappointment and disgust. This is the look that every woman you ever know will come to share. This is what the next forty years of your life will look like.

---

Princess Margaret: It was the first room I've ever been to where nobody got up, bowed, curtsied. Some just carried on having conversations, as if I wasn't there at all. Those that did talk to me did with such indifference or nonchalance, it verged on impertinence. There was this one in particular. Tony.

Queen Elizabeth II: Anthony, surely?

Princess Margaret: No, he insisted. Tony. Armstrong-Jones. He's this photographer.

Queen Elizabeth II: Like Cecil?

Princess Margaret: Oh, no, nothing like Cecil. Couldn't be less like Cecil. Well, maybe a bit like Cecil, in that he's obviously queer. Though interestingly, Elizabeth denies it.

Queen Elizabeth II: Elizabeth who?

Princess Margaret: Cavendish. I called her when I got home last night and interrogated her. "What are the five most important things I need to know about that man?"

Queen Elizabeth II: Why five?

Princess Margaret: I don't know. Felt like the right number.

Queen Elizabeth II: Why not three?

Princess Margaret: He's more interesting than three.

Queen Elizabeth II: So, what did she say?

Princess Margaret: One, that he's Welsh.

Queen Elizabeth II: Is that interesting?

Princess Margaret: No, not particularly. That he had polio as a child. That he has a passion for inventing things. And he would never dream of being anything as straightforward as "simply queer."

Queen Elizabeth II: What on earth does that mean?

Princess Margaret: I'm not altogether sure. But I'm also not incurious to find out.

Queen Elizabeth II: What was number five?

Princess Margaret: That was five.

Queen Elizabeth II: No, Margaret, that was four.

Princess Margaret: All right. Five is I liked him.

Queen Elizabeth II: Yes, I can tell that.

Princess Margaret: There's a contempt in him.

Queen Elizabeth II: What for?

Princess Margaret: For me. For us. For everything we represent. I actually think you'd like him. That's what's so dangerous about him.

Marionettes [2.5]

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: The history of the monarchy in this country is a one-way street of humiliation, sacrifices and concessions in order to survive. First, the barons came for us, then the merchants, now the journalists. Small wonder we make such a fuss about curtsies, protocol and precedent. It's all we have left. The last scraps of armor as we go from ruling to reigning to...

Queen Elizabeth II: To what?

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: To being nothing at all. Marionettes.

Vergangenheit [2.6]

King George VI: We all suspected it.

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: These papers must never see the light of day, Winston. Ever.

Winston Churchill: Publication could do grave harm to the national interest.

King George VI: The gravest. What is written here brings the greatest shame upon this family. Our people would, rightfully, never forgive us.

---

Queen Elizabeth II: We all closed our eyes, our ears to what was being said about you. We all dismissed it as fabrications, as cruel chatter, in light of your decision to give up the throne. But when the truth finally came out ... The truth! It makes a mockery of even the central tenets of Christianity. There is no possibility of my forgiving you. The question is: how on earth can you forgive yourself?

Matrimonium [2.7]

Tommy Lascelles: I hope Your Majesty understands the context in which this discreet reconnaissance work was done, and that it in no way represents a prurient, moralistic or censorious position. Mr. Armstrong-Jones is perfectly entitled, in his private life, to make those choices he wishes. Indeed to live as he wishes. However, as with a great many artists, the conventional approach to life doesn't appear to fit. It seems that what makes his work notable is his willingness, his appetite to break barriers and conventions as he pushes his medium, uh photography, I believe, to its boundaries. And, um, as in art, so, it would appear in life.

Queen Elizabeth: I see.

Tommy Lascelles: The narrow path, the straight, Christian path is not to his taste. [long pause] To the best of our knowledge, he is currently conducting no fewer than three other intimate relationships.

Queen Elizabeth: What? With whom?

Tommy Lascelles: [handing over photographs] With a Miss Jacqui Chan, an oriental dancer and singer, with Gina Ward, an actress, and with Miss Robin Banks, his former assistant.

Michael Adeane: These, we should add...

Tommy Lascelles: ...are just the natural ones.

Dear Mrs Kennedy [2.8]

Jackie Kennedy: I've often wondered how someone who hates attention as much as I do ended up in a goldfish bowl like the White House. But I realize there's actually a perverse logic to a cripplingly shy person ending up in this position.

Queen Elizabeth II: Oh, you'll have to explain that one to me.

Jackie Kennedy: Well, a shy person will seek out someone strong to protect them.

Queen Elizabeth II: Yes. I'm with you so far.

Jackie Kennedy: And a strong character's often one who enjoys public life. Who thrives on it. And then, before you know it, the very person you've turned to in order to protect you is the very reason you are exposed. Jack's idea of heaven is a crowd. Campaigning, fund-raising, speechmaking. That's when he comes alive. He'd far sooner speak to ten thousand people under the glare of spotlights than be alone... with me.

---

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother: Didn't you say how unhappy she was? In the marriage?

Queen Elizabeth II: Yes. That's the thing about unhappiness. All it takes is for something worse to come along and you realize it was actually happiness after all.

Paterfamilias [2.9]

Louis Mountbatten: You may hate him now, but one day, God willing, you will be a father yourself. And you will fall short, as all parents do. And be hated. And you will know what it is to pray for the forgiveness from your own son.

Mystery Man [2.10]

Harold Macmillan: I hope you haven't come to dissuade me. The situation is quite hopeless.

Queen Elizabeth II: That's not my understanding. The doctors told me that the tumor was benign.

Harold Macmillan: It was the size of an orange.

Queen Elizabeth II: While that causes inconvenience and discomfort that largely...

Harold Macmillan: I'll still require a long period of convalescence, not be in a fit state to undertake the arduous duties as PM. I'm afraid my decision to resign is final.

Queen Elizabeth II: That's very disappointing, especially after our conversation.

Harold Macmillan: As to who should succeed me, as sovereign you have the prerogative to consult, but there's only one man, in my opinion. The Earl of Home.

Queen Elizabeth II: Alec? Yes, we're all very fond of him, but...

Harold Macmillan: He's the right man. A decade younger than me, steel painted as wood, and the old governing class at its best. I would call Alec to the palace right away, ma'am. No sense dragging things out.

Queen Elizabeth II: Is that an order, Mr. Macmillan?

Harold Macmillan: It would be my advice, ma'am.

Queen Elizabeth II: Do you know, I've been Queen barely ten years. And in that time, I've had three Prime Ministers. All of them ambitious men. Clever men. Brilliant men. Not one has lasted the course. They've either been too old, too ill, or too weak. A confederacy of elected quitters.

---

Prince Philip: There are two types of people in life. Those whom one imagines to be trustworthy and reliable, who turn out to be treacherous and weak, like Mr. Macmillan. And those who appear to be complex and difficult, who turn out to be more dependable than anyone thought. Like me. I know exactly what my job is. Your father made it perfectly clear. You are my job. You are the essence of my duty. So here I am. Liegeman of life and limb. In, not out.