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A few thoughts about Season 4, Episode 8 of #thecrown 48:1 about the Queen and the Commonwealth
48:1 #thecrown begins with a flashback of the future Queen Elizabeth II (portrayed by Claire Foy) on her 21st birthday, giving a famous speech on the 1947 South Africa tour, pledging a lifetime of public service to the the people of the Commonwealth. https://www.royal.uk/21st-birthday-speech-21-april-1947
The future Queen Elizabeth II's 21st birthday speech took place in a garden but #thecrown places her behind a desk in front of a stately building, perhaps to create visual continuity with scenes of the older Queen behind her desk, reviewing state papers & meeting officials.
The future Queen Elizabeth II's 1947 21st birthday speech marked a period of transition from Empire to Commonwealth as she references both "our place in the world-wide commonwealth" and "our great imperial family to which we all belong." #thecrown
In his short biography of King George VI in the Penguin Monarchs series,Philip Ziegler discusses the the 1947 South African tour political context, the only overseas tour undertaken by George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth&Princess Margaret as a family of four. #thecrown
Throughout Season 4 of #thecrownthe timeline is altered for dramatic effect-The Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Nassau took place in 1985,the articles about tensions between the Queen and Margaret Thatcher were published in 1986.Longer timeframe than shown in episode.
Here is the analysis of the 1985 Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting and the subsequent press coverage in 1986 in @philipvmurphy's excellent book, Monarchy and the End of Empire. The Queen was a key unifying figure for the Commonwealth at this time. #thecrown
In Queen of the World (another book that I strongly recommend), @hardmanr describes the tensions at the 1985 Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting and the measures that were eventually adopted. #thecrown
The title of the Commonwealth episode is 48:1 but not nearly enough Commonwealth Heads of Government are introduced in #thecrown.As a Canadian,I was particularly bothered by the omission of Canada's key role in 1985 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/12/05/nelson_mandela_thanked_brian_mulroney_for_canadas_antiapartheid_pressure.html
“[The Queen] & I became quite close during the fight to free Mandela. She was very unhappy,as you know, with the British government’s position, as articulated by Margaret (Thatcher),” [Canadian PM Brian] Mulroney recalled in an interview with the Star’s Susan Delacourt. #thecrown
In #thecrown, Mark Thatcher's business interests are a motivation for Margaret Thatcher's stubborn opposition to sanctions on the apartheid regime. @hardmanr's research in his book Queen of the World indicates that Denis Thatcher was a key influence on the PM on this issue.
The behind the scenes conversation in #thecrown are fictionalized. The series depicts the Queen taking the initiative to make her views known but the actual circumstances behind the 1986 press coverage are more complicated.See Michael Shea's obituary here: https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2009/oct/21/michael-shea-obituary
In #thecrown, the press coverage of the Queen's conflict with Thatcher is shown as overshadowing the Duke and Duchess of York's wedding in 1986 - the royal wedding in fact received plenty of press coverage. Difficult to believe today, but the Yorks were popular at the time.
In Season 4 of #thecrown, Charles, Prince of Wales refers the Duke and Duchess of York as "fringe royals" and expresses interest in streamlining the royal family. This theme should have been saved for a later season when there would be more scandal surrounding the Yorks.
Here's an example of global press coverage of the Yorks around the time of their marriage. They celebrated their 1st anniversary in Canada in 1987 with a canoe trip. (The Canadian Canoe Museum "officially concluded its relationship" with Andrew in 2019.) https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1987/7/27/fabulous-fergie
A key theme in #thecrown is Diana's feelings of isolation as a member of the royal family. As a result, there are no scenes in Season 4 depicting Diana speaking with her sister-in-law Sarah Ferguson though they were friends for a time and the press wrote of a rivalry.
After the fall of the apartheid regime in South Africa, the Queen developed a strong friendship with South African president Nelson Mandela-here is an article I wrote at in December 2013. Prince Charles represented the Queen at Mandela's funeral. #thecrown https://www.thewhig.com/2013/12/13/this-wonderful-man----the-queen-and-nelson-mandela/wcm/609b4b45-1842-4ddb-4915-7c6df8ab3d70
For more on the history of the Queen and Commonwealth, read Monarchy and the End of Empire by Philip Murphy, The Queen by Ben Pimlott and Queen of the World by Robert Hardman. #thecrown
My #thecrown tweets will resume with episodes 9&10, probably next week. Thanks for reading!
