In the previous episode of Netflix’s The Crown, there was a major focus on Prince William (Ed McVey) as he tries to grieve the death of his mother. He became the star of the family, as he started to gain more attention when being out in public settings. Along with that, came a barrier between him and his father, Charles (Dominic West). The two of them weren’t able to see eye to eye on things, which caused tension within the family. The sixth episode, “Ruritania”, has a very different plot than the previous, “Willsmania.”
It’s Coronation Day. New Britain has a new family with the prime minister, Tony Blair (Bertie Carvel), being a new leader and becoming the King of Great Britain. The royal family attends the service, but Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Staunton) does not. Suddenly, the Queen wakes up signaling the coronation was only a nightmare. She goes about her day, visibly worried and stressed. Blair is not the new king but is working toward that goal.
She prepared focus groups nationwide to see people’s thoughts and opinions on the Royal Family. She feared that Tony Blair would be more popular and more in favor of leading Britain. The results came back with half of the results being fifty percent or higher, which resulted in the people viewing the family as uncompassionate, privileged, and unemotional beings.
Blair meets with the Queen at her home to discuss the current war. He believes that their army needs more weaponry and more advanced tools, but she feels it’s foolish for them to need more than what they already have. After their encounter, she meets with the United Kingdom Women’s Institute for a gathering in celebration.
The prime minister travels to Chicago, Illinois. He speaks on the war and tragedies of Europe, believing that NATO’s military decisions are accounted for. He urges the two countries to come together in hopes of putting an end to this war so that no more innocent people get hurt. As a result of how well his visit to America went, the Americans gave him a new nickname, ‘King Tony.’
The Queen and Blair have another meeting, in which she congratulates him on his success. The Queen tells him that at the moment he’s “the most celebrated leader on the world stage.”
She asks him for his advice on what he would do if he were the leader of the monarchy, and how he would change things and make them better for the people. As a result, he helps them put a plan of change together. The old rules of the institute are very old-fashioned and not necessarily fit for the modern world.
Blair tells the Queen about the changes that should be made. Although she did ask for his advice and to make a list of things, she was not approving of them. She didn’t understand that the current ways were outdated for society and unfair to others, nor were they important.
She and her advisor, Robert Fellowes (Andrew Havill), have interviews with all of the lead workers in each department throughout the Royal Homes. They not only tell the two of them what they do, but some of them show her, taking them to their work areas and giving them a clearer understanding.
Through these scenes, it’s visible that the Queen feels bad, being sympathetic toward these employees because of how enthusiastic they are and how important their work is to them. She tells Fellowes, “The longer it went on, the heavier my heart became.”
It is now the U.S. Presidential Election. Blair and Bill Clinton had formed a good friendship and were allies. He now has to build a new relationship with someone new, George W. Bush.
The Queen decides not to move forward with the changes Blair had written up. Fellowes requests to take a step down from private secretary, retiring from the job. Blair addresses the Women’s Institute but makes his speech political, which doesn’t go well with the audience.
This was an overall good, but fairly slow episode, focusing mostly on Queen Elizabeth and Tony Blair, which was enjoyable to see as this was Andrew Havill’s first and possibly only appearance in the show. He did a great job as the prime minister. As always, Imelda Staunton is incredible as the Queen, portraying her wit and independence.
Rating: 7.5/10