The Crown Recap: Episode 6 'Gelignite'

gel·ig·nite

ˈjeləɡˌnīt/

noun
a high explosive made from a gel of nitroglycerine and nitrocellulose in a base of wood pulp and sodium or potassium nitrate, used particularly for rock blasting.

So QEII is finally crowned and we now get to the juicy part of the series, the revelation of Princess Margaret’s relationship with Group Captain Peter Townsend. A reporter at one of the tabloids is working on a story speculating on the relationship between the two. See, he saw the Princess pick a piece of fluff of the Captain’s uniform at the coronation. The editor is not sold, but the reporter insists that where there is smoke, there is fire. Actually he calls the article 'gelignite' since it seems that the name of the episode has to be referenced at least once. Picking the fluff off a man is a gesture even more intimate than a kiss because it suggests that the kissing has already happened. When the owner of the paper is appalled that the editor is planning on running the story but he doesn’t put the kibosh on the story. Tommy Lascelles (played by Pip Torrens who is so brilliant and evil as George Warleggan’s Uncle Cary in Poldark) is miffed that the owner didn’t tell his editor to kill the story. In real life, the American papers were actually the first ones to report on Princess Margaret’s relationship, which is what also happened in the 1930’s with King Edward VIII’s relationship with Wallis Simpson. The British papers were late to the game in both instances. Tommy informs the Queen Mother who wants to issue a denial but is talked out of the idea.

We finally get to see the Queen at the races in this episode. She attends the Epsom Derby with Prince Philip. It’s nice to see the show finally acknowledge one of the great passions of the Queen’s life, her horses. We get a lovely scene of Margaret watching the coverage on telly while canoodling with Peter Townsend. One wonders if the Queen Mum was so worried about the relationship, why she left Margaret and Peter alone together so often! They talk about the Queen's popularity. Margaret says that she doesn't care because she has Peter and they are going off to Rhodesia on tour. Yes, the tour is really the Queen Mum and Margaret, but these two seem to be able to find lots of time to sneak off together. 

In case you were wondering, Philip is still being an alpha hole in this episode.  He’s spending time with his equerry Mike Parker at a lunch club where they drink a lot, ogle the waitresses and talk about current affairs.  Yes, really, we are treated to a short lecture on what is going on in Egypt with Nasser (which will come up in later episode).  Philip points out to Elizabeth all the unrest going on around the world that she should be aware of. Earlier Princess Margaret rings up the Queen to invite her to dinner and we are treated to the logistics of the effort it took to connect Clarence House with Buckingham Palace. It is a nice reminder of what was life was like back in olden times. Claire Foy managed to give a simple word like ‘Oh,’ any number of meanings.  At dinner, Margaret and Peter announce that they would like to get married. Elizabeth is taken aback that the relationship has gone this far. Elizabeth informs Margaret that she needs to take advice but that as her sister, she would never try to prevent it. (In real life, everyone knew about Princess Margaret's relationship with Peter Townsend at this point).

While Elizabeth isn’t enthused about the marriage, Philip is downright hostile. He finds Peter to be boring and dreary. He thinks the best thing would be for Peter and Margaret to forget the whole idea and for Peter to reconcile with his wife. The Queen suggests that Princess Margaret get married in Scotland where they could get married in a church (Princess Anne remarried in Scotland) since it is not possible to marry in the Church of England if the divorced person still has a spouse living. Margaret is overjoyed.  The Queen is brought swiftly down to earth however by the Queen Mother and Tommy Lascelles.  Apparently the Queen was not aware of what the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 actually entailed.  This another ham-fisted way that show shares information with the audience. It is incredibly clunky but whatever! Tommy informs the Queen that Princess Margaret has the Queen’s permission to marry if she is under 25 and given that the Queen is the head of the Church of England, it would be unwise. However, if Margaret waits until she is 25, then she no longer needs the Crown’s permission. They suggest that it would be better for Peter and Margaret to wait out those two years in separate countries given the media frenzy. Margaret is not happy especially since Peter will not be able to accompany her and the Queen Mother on their tour of Rhodesia (I swear the first time I watched this episode, I had no idea what country she was talking about! Her upper class accent was so hard to understand). We finally get another intimate scene between the Queen and her sister, unfortunately it is one where she is bringing bad news. It is a lovely scene but it makes one wish that there had been more of them. Peter is just happy that he will be in Brussels where he can at least be close enough to see his sons.

The Queen promises Margaret that she and Peter will be able to have a few days together when she returns before he leaves to take up his new job as air attaché. She also asks Peter to accompany her and Prince Philip on a tour of Northern Ireland.  Unfortunately, the press is more interested in the Group Captain, then they are in the Queen. Peter also sticks his foot in his mouth when he sidles up to the Queen on the plane and calls her Lilibet, her childhood nickname, used only by close friends and her family. When Tommy comes to see her, Elizabeth tells him to make sure that Peter has to leave early for his new job, despite what she promised her sister. When Peter is told the news by Tommy and Martin Charteris, he tells them that they are making a mistake, the press are on their side. Tommy ‘the moustache’ Lascelles will not be threatened by a peasant like Townsend.

Here is where I have a problem with this episode.  All of a sudden, Peter Townsend seems to have turned into some sort of smarmy bounder who is drunk on his own press. It goes back to the episode where he refused to leave royal service, despite Tommy’s best efforts. It came across than as rather self-serving and that is not the impression that I have gotten over the years in the various biographies I have read about Princess Margaret and the royal family.  Did he overstep by falling in love with Princess Margaret? Maybe, he was older and married, but I also got the sense that he was surprised to find that Princess Margaret returned his feelings. What the show does well is illustrate just how immature Princess Margaret is compared to Peter Townsend who has a much more realistic view of life. This is also an episode that could have benefited from some flashbacks to Prince Philip’s courtship of Princess Elizabeth as a contrast to Margaret’s relationship with Peter. Instead we’re just told about it.

Margaret receives a telegram in Rhodesia telling her that Peter won’t be in London when she returns. She is furious and yells that she needs to speak with her sister immediately. There is a bit of comedy as switchboard tries to locate the Queen at one of her many residences. She’s finally located at Sandringham where she is examining one of her horses. Margaret unloads on her, telling her that since the Queen didn’t protect her, she won’t protect the Queen. “You reap what you sow.” The episode ends with a montage of various people reading the latest article on the royal romance. We start with Philip and Elizabeth, move on to Churchill and Clemmie and end with the Duke of Windsor and Wallis practically crowing over the article. 

What this episode did well is demonstrate that Elizabeth is beginning to learn that there is a clear distinction between the Queen in her private life, what she might want and do, and the public face of the monarchy and sometimes they don't coincide.  It is a painful lesson and one the Queen obviously never thought she would have to face, at least in Peter Morgan's version. We get a brief scene of party-loving Princess Margaret at Clarence House instead of in a night club where it might have been more appropriate.  I'm amazed that the Queen Mother didn't stomp in and try to shut it down. 

The Crown Recap: Episode 4 ‘Act of God’

This episode was all about the Great Smog of 1952 which I had never heard, but was apparently a really big thing.  Having experienced a little bit of London Fog in my lifetime, I can’t imagine what it must have been like to have to deal with the vat of pea soup that was served up in 1952.  I’m not going to lie, this episode felt like a bit of a placeholder, as if the writers wanted to hold off getting to the coronation as long as possible. I wasn’t sure where they were going with it.  What we got was a bit of a deeper glimpse at some of our main characters, particularly Sir Winston Churchill who does not come off very well in this episode.

We learn at the beginning of the episode that the whole thing could have been prevented.  Churchill was apparently warned by UK scientists that a great smog was a possibility. Instead, Churchill ignored the warnings by recommending that people continue to burn coal for fuel in an effort to boost the economy. Good intentions, bad idea.  Churchill is like the politicians who like to pretend that climate change isn’t really a thing. Unfortunately for Churchill, one of the government employees decides to go rogue and let former Prime Minister Clement Atlee know what’s what. He even throws Churchill under the bus by showing Atlee minutes from a Cabinet meeting that showed that Churchill ignored previous suggestions for precautionary measures or setting up a Clean Air Service.  Luckily for Churchill, Atlee tells Collins that they should sit on this information because they have no guarantee that the Great Smog is going to actually happen.  Cue smog! The entire city, not to mention the entire country, is blanketed in it.  The smog effectively grounded all the planes and halted any transportation save for walking It is so bad; they warn people to stay home because of the lack of visibility. A national crisis has arisen, and no one is prepared to deal with it.

Meanwhile Prince Philip is having a grand old time taking flying lessons with his new BFF Peter Townsend. This irks Churchill to no end. Instead of worrying about the smog and the damage it might cause, he spends an entire meeting with the Queen, informing her that Philip needs to give up his new hobby. The Queen puts her foot down and tells him that her family’s private lives are in no way a concern of the Cabinet.  Even the Cabinet wonders why Churchill is wasting their time on something so trivial.  They think the old man has finally lost his marbles. Meanwhile Atlee is still dithering about what to do. He’s totally in danger of throwing away his shot. Instead he prefers to wait for it (obligatory Hamilton references). This is why people get frustrated with politicians! It’s left to Lord Mountbatten to pay Elizabeth a visit, stating that no one has any confidence in Churchill anymore, not even his fellow politicians.  Unlike her father who refused to ask Churchill to resign, Elizabeth is made of sterner stuff, and is fully prepared to make the change.

In this episode, we spend a bit of time with Churchill’s secretary Venetia Scott and her roommate as they deal with the smog.  If this were any other series, Venetia would be our plucky heroine. She soldiers on to work every day despite the smog, while her roommate succumbs to illness and stays home. Venetia has a bit of a crush on the Prime Minister.  She finds a copy of one of her books and spends a delightful evening reading it.  I’m surprised that she didn’t sleep with a picture of him under her pillow, although she does gaze rather fondly at a photo of him as a young man at various points in this episode. She’s such an intriguing character, so of course, she doesn’t make it through the episode. Apparently I’m not allowed to have nice things.

Somehow the Queen manages to find her way through the fog on foot to Marlborough House to have a deep conversation with her grandmother Queen Mary. Elizabeth asks her grandmother if this smog is an Act of God, and what role the divine plays in the monarchy. Queen Mary gives her a speech about how “God Put Us Here to Give Ordinary People Something to Strive for.” Which is great in the long run but not very helpful in the here and now. It is a prime example of just how little actual power the Queen has. I suppose nowadays, her press people would have suggested that she do a broadcast or something to assure the people. 

Churchill must have been born under the luckiest star on the planet, because just when you think he is done for, he manages to pull a rabbit out of the hat.  After he learns about what happened to Venetia, he high tails it to the hospital and is appalled by what he finds.  London’s hospitals are understaffed and under equipped to deal with the influx of patients. He calls an impromptu press conference, writes his speech on a prescription pad, and delivers an uplifting speech to the nation, saving his bacon once again. It’s inspiring but one gets the sense that Churchill has just used up his last lifeline. The sad thing is, if Venetia hadn't died, would Churchill have done anything? The episode implies that he was so out of touch, that the answer might have been yes! Of course now the Queen can’t ask him to resign, but she does manage to get him to let up on Prince Philip and the flying lessons although he has to have permission from the Cabinet before he does anything crazy.

And like a miracle, just as Churchill and Elizabeth finish their meeting, the smog lifts.  I ended up liking this episode a lot after initially being like ‘WTH?’  It was a nice respite after the gloomy atmosphere of the past two episodes.  The viewer is left wondering, like Elizabeth, what would have happened if the fog hadn’t lifted when it did, if it had gotten worse before it got better? What if Atlee had acted on the information that he’d been given, instead of acting like a gentleman? One of the nicest bits in the episode is when Venetia quotes Churchill to the man himself, reminding him of who he once was.  I got the impression that Churchill felt that the people of England had survived worse during the war, so how much could a little smog hurt compared to the Blitz! In this episode, Churchill is clinging to power by his fingernails. I get it, he led the country admirably during WWII, only to be turfed out of office after the war.  And now, once again he held the highest political office in the land but times had changed and it is not clear that Churchill had changed with them. I wasn’t sold on John Lithgow as Churchill initially, he’s way too tall, but this was his episode and he knocked it out of the ballpark.

The Crown Recap Episode 3: ‘Windsor’

This episode was slightly different from the previous two episodes with a focus on the Duke of Windsor.  We get a flashback to Edward VIII signing the act of abdication on December 10, 1936 with Wallis Simpson looking over his shoulder and then giving his radio broadcast to the nation. The Duke is played by Alex Jennings who played Prince Charles in the film The Queen (also written by Peter Morgan), as well as Anthony Eden in Churchill’s Secret. He does an excellent job of portraying a man who still acts like a small child even in middle-age, but it also shows some sympathy towards him, cut off from his family. He strikes a rather sad and pathetic figure. Historically, Wallis was not with the Duke when he made his radio broadcast, she’d decamped to the south of France to keep out of the line of fire. There are some lovely moments between the Wallis and Edward in this episode, and the actress playing the role is dressed divinely. 

Meanwhile the young Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret are freely playing with their parents, not aware yet of how their young lives are about to change. Flash-forward to 1952 and the Duke is heading to Britain for his brother’s funeral. This episode peels back even more layers of the onion by letting the audience in on exactly how the Royal Family felt about David’s decision to eschew his duty for love. It’s a nice bit of foreshadowing since later on in the series we will see Princess Margaret grappling with the same decision and making an altogether different choice. Things are still frosty between the Duke of Windsor and his family.  The Queen Mother blames the Duke for George VI’s early death.  Queen Mary is not feeling to warm towards her elder son either, she too blames him for George’s death and for shirking his duty.

They move on to the revelation of the Duke of Windsor’s secret nicknames for his royal relatives. The Queen Mother is ‘Cookie’ (ostensibly because of the rumors that Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was the daughter of the family cook. Lady Colin Campbell goes into these rumors in more detail in her rather nasty biography of the Queen Mother. Also for being fat and common which is rich given that he married a twice- divorced woman!) and the new Queen is “Shirley Temple.’ When confronted by Queen, the Duke tries to save face by telling her that it was because she was so sweet, and cute and good just like Shirley Temple. Nice save HRH! When the Duke finally meets up with his mother, she spends most of their time together praising his younger, brother. “So wonderfully thoughtful and caring, an angel to his mother, his wife, and children.  I honestly believe he never thought of himself at all. He really was the perfect son.” The implication being that Bertie was everything that David was not. His meeting with the Queen Mother, Elizabeth and Princess Margaret is just as cold. The Queen Mother can barely stand to look at him, let alone let him touch her.  Afterwards, he writes a letter to Wallis, calling his family “a bunch of ice-flamed monsters,” and that’s one of the kinder things that he says about them! Still the Duke has an ulterior motive, he needs to try and keep communication open, because of his allowance, which the Queen Mother was just as soon end.

He tells his mother, Queen Mary, a sob story about hard it is for them to make ends meet. Living at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York and in a mansion just outside of Paris is expensive! He and Wallis need to be kept in the style to which they have become accustomed. It’s rather sickening to see the Duke pleading poverty when England was still going through rationing in 1952. While the Duke is trying to mend fences with his relations, Elizabeth is about to have her first meeting with Churchill. Before the meeting, Philip reminds her of two things: 1) The children will have his surname and 2) They will continue living at Clarence House.  After all, he spent so much time renovating it.

Of course neither of those two things get discussed.  Instead, Churchill and Elizabeth disagree about her coronation.  Elizabeth would like to have it sooner rather than later and Churchill thinks that 16 months from now is a grand idea.  “A long period between accession and coronation was of great value to your father.”  Elizabeth reminds Churchill that actually her father had 5 months since the date of Edward VIII’s coronation had already been set.  Later in the episode, Elizabeth brings up the two matters with Churchill who is aghast at both of them.

Meanwhile Lord Mountbatten is having a party where he exhorts his guests to raise a toast to the House of Mountbatten which is fairly cheeky and might smack of treason. Prince Ernst of Hanover (who is either the father or grandfather of the current Prince Ernst, husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco) scurries over to Queen Mary to tell her the news.  This scene is done partly in German as the Duke of Windsor listens in.  It was a nice reminder that not only Queen Mary but also the Duke were fluent in German. Queen Mary is also aghast that they should be drinking champagne when her son has just recently died! Tommy Lascelles tells Peter Townsend that the Queen Mother has asked for him to comptroller of her household.  He suggests not so subtly that Townsend should think about going back to the RAF. Apparently there are rumors that Townsend is a little too close to a certain brunette member of the household. Townsend basically tells him to stuff it. Later he informs Margaret that his wife is leaving him.

He tells her that it would be a grave mistake to change the name of the Royal House to Mountbatten. He reminds her that Prince Philip’s real last name was Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg of the Royal House of Greece and Denmark. Elizabeth is not one to be swayed, she may be a Queen but she is also a wife and a mother. Remember that she did promise to obey Philip at their wedding. Elizabeth is not dumb either, she knows that there are people who think that Churchill is past his prime and would like to see him resign, giving way to a young man like his nephew-in-law Anthony Eden. She tries to bargain with him, she will agree to the delay in her coronation, if he will support her in the matter regarding her husband’s name, and staying at Clarence House.  Good luck with that! The cabinet is totally not on board with either of those decisions.  Instead of telling the Queen himself, Churchill pawns off breaking the bad news to the Duke of Windsor.  In exchange, Churchill will push for Elizabeth to reinstate the Duke’s allowance.  Sneaky! Of course, the Duke has to ruin everything by trying to get Wallis the HRH.  He complains that it has been 17 years since the abdication, why are they still being so cruel to his wife? Edward really has no concept of what he did by abdicating, the lives he damaged. All he cares about his money and Wallis.

When the Duke meets with his niece, on the surface she is all smiles, but there is steel underneath. She gets her own digs in during their idle chatter, dissing his love of pugs and their gassiness and confronting him about the cruel nicknames like Shirley Temple.  The Duke realizes he has underestimated his niece, especially when she points out that he has never apologized to her for changing her life irrevocably. For the first time in the entire episode, The Duke is actually ashamed regarding his behavior.  He apologizes to her and then gently tells her that the two things that she wants (or really her husband wants) can’t be.  The House of Windsor will remain the house of Windsor and the whole clan must debunk to Buckingham Palace. The episode ends with the Duke heading back to his wife as crowds cheer him at the dock.  While his family may not love, the people still have some affection for him.

Philip is not please and acts like a whiny baby about the whole thing. “What kind of marriage is this? What kind of family? You’ve taken my career from me, you’ve taken my home, you’ve taken my name.” In real life, Philip remarked that he felt like a bloody amoeba. Upset by the whole drama, Philip convinces Peter Townsend to teach him how to fly.  See he really wanted to be in the RAF, but his uncle Mountbatten convinced him to join the Navy instead like his uncle and grandfather. Peter and Margaret had been having a rendezvous in his office when Philip arrives. Margaret hides but Philip notices a woman’s purse and teases Peter Townsend about it, not realizing that the woman in question is his sister-in-law.

This episode had pace and moved the story along nicely, as well as revealing more about the participants behind the scenes.  I still quibble with the portrayal of the Queen Mother, so far the portrait that we are given is of a very dour woman.  She has none of the joie de vivre that Helena Bonham Carter brought to the role in the Queen’s speech. Claire Foy is growing in the part as she assumes more of the mantel of responsibility.  The other big disappointment in this series thus far is also the portrayal of Prince Philip. Yes, Philip could stick his foot in his mouth, and yes being a Prince Consort had to suck at times, but I wish we could see more of him trying to find his footing in the role.  I mentioned this is my previous recap but Lord Mountbatten needs to be used for more than just a plot point. It’s real waste of Greg Wise, who thus far, has had little more to do than just show up and be handsome, which he does very well.

Other recaps: Tom and Lorenzo