""My husband and I are deeply touched by our welcome here."" " Ma'am?" " Yes." "How long do we have?" "We land in ten minutes." "No." "Martin." " Will there be a microphone?" " I'm sure, ma'am." ""Little more than 50 years ago..."" ""My husband and I are deeply touched by our welcome here this morning." "Little more than 50 years ago, Nairobi was a savage place, the home of wild animals and uninhabited except for the occasional band of nomadic herdsmen." "Now, it is a modern, vibrant city, a striking tribute to the men and women of all races, who have made it a great center of commerce and finance." "Now, it remains only for me to pass on the apologies of my father, King George..."" "Who is, no doubt, very jealous indeed that I have come in his place." "He's getting stronger every day." "And he will be here with you all again very soon." "Your Royal Highness, may I present" "Senior Chief Waruhiu wa Kung'u of the Kikuyu." " Hello." " Chief Sironka of the Kipsigis." " Hello." " Good morning." " Lembui of the Maasai." " Yes, hello." " Pelipel of the Turkana." " Such a pleasure." "Oh, gosh, look, I've got that one, and that one, actually." "Oh, Christ, I've got that one too." "Look!" "Oh, come off it, where did you steal that one from, eh?" "Independence is sweeping across the continent." "Their support is important more than ever." " Yes, thank you." " Oh, like the hat." "It's not a hat." "It's a crown." "Breathe in, Your Majesty." "And out." "Well, well." "I tell you, I woke up this morning feeling like a new man." "I think you should enjoy it, sir." "Enjoy every minute while you can." "Well, I intend to." "And I'll head straight to Sandringham if you give me the all-clear to shoot." "Consider it given." " Sorry, ma'am, can I help you?" " Oh, Venetia Scott." "I'm new." "It's all right." "She's with me." "Come along." "Thank you." " He's awake." " Yes, sir." "Actually, he's asked to see you." "Oh." "Uh..." "Um..." " Prime Minister?" " Is that the new girl?" " Yes, sir." "Venetia." " Louisa?" " Venetia." " Venetia." "Have they told you terrible things, your colleagues downstairs?" "Go on." "Be candid." "It is said... you can be difficult." "I can be a monster." "Did they say that?" " Yes, sir." " It's true." "But you need to be a monster to defeat Hitler." " Did Jock give you my box?" " He did, sir." "What's in it?" " You'd like me to open it?" " Unless you have X-ray vision, you will need to open it, so as to be able to tell me what's in it." "Well?" " Some papers about rationing." " What else?" "Some papers from the Exchequer." "Anything from the Foreign Office?" "About America or the Soviet Union?" " No, sir." " Oh, very well." "Then start with the Exchequer." "Read it aloud." "Don't be alarmed if you hear no response." "I shall be making mental notes." " "The economic situation..." " What?" ""The economic situation we have inherited is worse than 1949... and, in many ways, worse... worse than 1947." "Confidence in Sterling is impaired." "And now our latest estimates suggest that in 1952..."" "...the United Kingdom will have a deficit on its general balance of overseas payments of between five and 600 million pounds." "Given these circumstances, I'd be interested to hear the PM's views regarding the chances for recovery." "Either we get rid of him now or we lose the next election and, quite possibly, lose power for a whole generation." "You must act, Anthony!" "This is your time." "The country needs a younger, more dynamic man." "And what do you expect me to do?" "Hmm?" "He's the party leader." "And he became party leader on our recommendation." "I can't just push him out." "Then you must go and see the one person who can." " Welcome to Sagana Lodge, ma'am." " Thank you very much." "Hello." "Are those for me?" "Thank you very much." " Karibu." " Thank you." "Apparently, there's a large breeding herd of elephants at Treetops." " So we've got to get there early." " Not too early, I hope." "And why?" "What else have you got in mind for our little holiday?" "Why does everybody think, just because we're royal, we like fine dining?" "Don't they realize we're savages?" "Good for nothing but school dinners and nursery food." "It's all right, you can use your fingers." " Philip." " Look, stop, watch." "Ma'am." "Your Royal Highness." "Kiss me." "Come on." "His Majesty will return from the shoot at 4 p.m." " Good afternoon, sir." " Good afternoon." "His Majesty wondered if you'd mind accompanying him on the shoot at Beecher's Club today." "No, not at all." "Still rather wet underfoot, I'm afraid, after the storms yesterday, but we can provide you with Wellington boots." " There's no need to worry." " What size are you, sir?" "Nine and a half." "Though my riding boots are a ten, and my trench boots were an 11." "Make of that what you will." "Much of this is just a function of age." "He focuses almost entirely on issues relating to America and the Soviet Union, so important domestic matters... are falling behind." "What do you suggest I do?" "Well, as sovereign, of course, there is nothing you can do from a constitutional standpoint." "But, as a friend... as Albert Windsor, you are the one person I can think of to whom he might listen." "Well, that is where we run into difficulties, I'm afraid." "I no longer am Albert Windsor." "That person was murdered by his elder brother... when he abdicated." "And, of course, Albert Windsor would dearly love to say to his old friend, Winston Churchill, "Take a step back." "Put your feet up." "Let the younger generation have a go now."" "But he is no longer with us and that void has been filled by George the VI who, it turns out, is quite the stickler, and..." "no more allow the sovereign to interfere with the Prime Minister than stand for office himself." "Even when it's in the national interest, sir?" "The national interests?" "Or Anthony Eden's interest?" "The reason I agreed to grant you an audience, not to hear your grievances about Mr. Churchill but to communicate mine about you." "Sir?" "The PM will step down in time." "And until then, as sovereign," "I do have the right to be consulted, to encourage, to warn." "It is better to be patient and get what you desire in the right time... than have high office thrust upon you when you are not ready." "I speak from personal experience." "Foreign Secretary." " Your Majesty." " Sir." "Shall we begin to walk back, sir?" "Use the accelerator, we'll be all right." "Thank you." " Are we on foot from here?" " Philip." "Philip." " Looks that way, sir." " Thank you." "Thank you." " Your Highness." " Thank you." "I'm your guide." "I'll take you to Treetops." "Jolly good." "Thank you." "Pass me my rifle." "Thank you." "And the shells." "But I must ask you to proceed in total silence from here on." "Do not speak unless absolutely necessary and then, only using a low voice." "Along the way, we may have to use some hand signals." "This means stop and this means freeze." "We'll move in small groups, single file, maximum three at a time." "It's alright." "We'll be fine." "After you, darling." "Stay close, please, arms length." "Tembo!" "White flag." "Go now!" "Well, well, well, look at you." "Move slowly around me." "They'll drop the ladder for you and I'll keep him distracted." "No, no, no." "You stay with the Princess." " Philip!" " Elizabeth, go." "Go!" "Right, Your Highness." "Stay close." "Hold onto my jacket." "It's all right, Elizabeth." "Easy, easy, hey, hey, hey!" "Hey, hey, hey!" "Over here!" "Over here!" "Here I am." "Your Highness, very slowly." "Easy, easy, stay with me." "Now keep going, Your Highness, keep going." "Quickly." "Hey, hey, stay with me." "Away!" "Away!" "Back away." "Back you go." "Easy." "You're the king." "Good boy." "Christ." " Excuse me, old chap." " Sir." "How can you do that?" " You're a bloody idiot." " I am." "Thank you." " I've been thinking." " Uh-oh." "If Papa's condition should continue to improve, well, I thought I'd ask if we might return to Malta." " You can resume your Naval career." " Really?" "Hmm." "I know you've missed our life there." "I have." "Well, I have too." "Very much." "I'll write to Papa." " No." " Yes." " No." " Yes." " Absolutely not." " Absolutely so." " No, no!" "No!" " Come on." "Just one." " Come on." "I just want a sloppy one." " No." "There's never just one!" " There is." " No!" " No!" " Shh." "Tembo." "Tembo." " Thank you." " Thank you." "Karibu." "Anyone not here, speak out!" " Right." " Morning, gentlemen." "Here we are." "Eight guns today, numbering from the right, moving up two each... each drive." "So, if you draw one or eight, not to worry, you'll be in the thick of it soon enough." "Two short blasts on the horn will indicate the drive's over." "So, when you're ready, into the vehicles." "Thank you very much." " Hello." " Room for one more?" "Always." " Right then." " Easy on the clutch, eyes on the road, not too fast." "Don't worry." "I'll be gentle with you, Papa." "Bravo!" "The crowd's cheers heralded the arrival of the King's car, bringing Their Majesties and Princess Margaret to the airport for a last farewell to the Royal travelers." "Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh were off on a Commonwealth journey." "Nineteen hours later, the Royal plane landed at Nairobi." "Ahead of them lay a 30,000-mile trip that will take them, in five months, to four continents." "The journey which, but for his illness, the King himself would have undertaken, was almost underway." "And, from there, the Royal couple will travel to Sagana Lodge..." "Good morning, Your Majesty." "7:30, sir." "Sir?" "Stay there." "I regret to inform you." "The King has just passed away." "No!" "No, no, no!" "Call the Foreign Secretary." "Tell him..." "Hyde Park Corner." "He'll understand." " Has the Princess been notified?" " If you mean the new Queen?" "My understanding is not." "Then I suggest we do so before it breaks on the wires." "We're trying." "We're not exactly sure where she is at the moment." "We're trying to contact the Governor in Nairobi." "Let's go!" " We need to go." " We can't." "We haven't had the all-clear." "You think any other reporters anywhere in the world will be waiting for an "all-clear"?" "I've had the BBC on the phone again." "The news is breaking everywhere." "They can't keep holding." " And no news on the Princess?" " No, sir." "Is it a "yes" to the BBC?" "It is." "And God help her." "They keep trying to start the engine." "All they have to do is make sure the fan is off and wait." "No!" "Stop!" "She's just..." "She's overheated." "No, can I have that?" "Thank you." "All you have to do..." "Is wait." "It's all right." "I was a mechanic during the war." "This is London." "It is with the greatest sorrow that we make the following announcement." "It was announced from Sandringham at 10:45 today..." " And then drive to Nanyuki." " Nanyuki." "Nanyuki, sorry." "In a closed car arriving at 10:30." "Morris!" "Reuters for you." " Yes." " 10:45, sorry." "There'll be a demonstration by units of the African Rifles." "Christ." "Hold on, would you?" "13:00 drive to Nanyuki airfield and board East African Airways C47 departing on a 13:30 scheduled flight to..." "As flags across the nation are lowered in tribute, and news spreads throughout our cities and villages, crowds gather to mourn King George VI." "We are comforted by the knowledge that he spent his final hours in the happy company of his wife and youngest daughter." "For it is as a devoted family man that we, as a nation, shall best remember him." "They don't know." "Sagana." "Now, man!" " How was Treetops?" " It was wonderful." "We saw elephants." " There is fresh lemonade." " Oh, that looks delicious." " Welcome back, ma'am." " Thank you." "Let's go." "Let's drive, shall we?" "Ready?" "Steady?" "Go." "Princess Elizabeth?" "The Princess?" "In here?" "Mhesihimwa, Duke." " Excuse me, sir." " What is it, Martin?" "The profound sense of grief felt amongst his people today stems from their respect." " I'm very happy to..." " No, no, no." " I should be the one to tell her." " Yes, sir." "The King, who retired to rest last night in his usual health, passed peacefully away in his sleep." "The BBC offers profound sympathy to Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal family." "Your Royal Highness, this stage of the embalming process... it may distress you." "Your Royal Highness." "For you, sir." "They're going to send you away, but I won't let them." "I'm going to tell my mother not to send you." "I won't." "It's all right." "You're not going." "I won't let you go." "Ma'am, may I have a word?" "It appears Miss MacDonald neglected to pack a black dress." "We've called ahead to London and something will be brought onto the plane before you disembark." "Right." "And a word of warning, ma'am." "A good many journalists outside." "Royal correspondents mostly, assigned to cover the tour." " Should I say something?" " No." "That won't be necessary." "Though it would help if we could decide here and now on your name." " My name?" " Yes, ma'am." "Your regnal name." "That is the name you'll take as Queen." "Your father took George." "Obviously his name is... was, Albert." "And, before he abdicated, your uncle took Edward, of course." "His name was David." " What's wrong with my name?" " Nothing." "Well, then, let's not overcomplicate matters unnecessarily." "My name is Elizabeth." "Then, long live Queen Elizabeth." "So sorry about the dress, ma'am." "All right." "Ready when you are, ma'am." "Shauri mbya kabisa." " It's the middle of the night." " I couldn't sleep." "No one in the country can sleep." "I know one shouldn't believe everything one hears..." "But?" "I was speaking with Jock Colville's wife." " Mary." "Margaret." " Margaret." "She said that Anthony went to see the King ten days ago." "What for?" "To express his concern about your age." "Your leadership." "Your incapacity." " To ask him to bid you stand down." " That's impossible." "The King would never engage in such treachery." "And Anthony would never dare." "I've been like a father to him." "I groomed him every step of the way." "Well, ignore me, then." "It's probably nothing." "Come on, it's probably nothing." " What are you up to?" " It's my eulogy for the King." "It's broadcast tomorrow and the right words keep eluding me." " They'll want you to fail, you know." " I know." "Anything less than perfect will be a disaster." "Anthony, eh?" "I can't sleep." "No." "I'm sorry." "You're sorry?" "I'm sorry." "I thought we'd have longer." "Ma'am." "Three hours to go now." " What do you think will happen?" " When?" "When we land." "What will happen then?" " Morning." " Morning." "The PM will not be joining us this morning." "He is very much tired from all the emotion of yesterday." " So, where is he?" " He's still asleep." "So, in his absence, as deputy, I will preside." " The Queen's flight..." " Wait a minute, Anthony." "If you're presiding over the meeting on behalf of the PM, shouldn't you be sitting in the appropriate chair?" "I don't think that's entirely necessary." "Very well." "So, the Queen's flight is now over Italy, having left the El Adem airfield in Libya at five this morning." "Sorry to disturb." "May I just say how very sorry I am that we'll not be working together anymore." "Why?" "I have to give way to Sir Tommy Lascelles." "As private secretary to the sovereign, he's my senior." "This is where I have to stand aside for the great man." "Martin... so sorry." "Ma'am." "What a nightmare." "Charteris at least had one foot in the real world." "And was your man, our man, on our side." "Whereas Tommy Lascelles... he's stuck in the land that time forgot." " You asked to see me, sir." " I did." " Will you sit?" " Thank you, sir." "I'd assumed that following the death of His Late Majesty, you would, at the earliest appropriate moment, be resuming your duties with the Royal Air Force." "Yes, sir." "I mentioned this to the Queen... the Queen Mother, this morning, who then asked me, quite unusually, to ask you whether you might like" " to reconsider such a departure." " Oh, sir?" "She felt that you had enjoyed an uncommonly close association with her late husband and earned not just his trust, but the trust and affection of the family." "Thank you, sir." "In the light of this, she wondered whether you might consider staying on in a new role, as comptroller of the Queen Mother's household." " I see." " A kind and generous offer." "As befits the widow of a kind... and generous man." "But, while I'm sure you're flattered," "I don't expect you to accept the post." "Hence my discouragement of the offer." "I didn't want Her Majesty to suffer the embarrassment of a refusal." "Why would I not accept, sir?" "Well, you're asking the wrong question, Townsend." "Why would you?" "You're a decorated war hero, still in your prime, and comptroller of the Queen Mother's household has no military associations." "It would take you away from your wife and children." "After all, the person with whom you enjoyed the uncommonly close understanding is deceased." "Unless I'm missing something." "Unless, there is someone else with whom you enjoy an uncommonly close understanding, which would make accepting this post more attractive." "I don't know what you're referring to." "Don't you, Group Captain Townsend?" "Husband and father." "No, sir." "You're probably telling yourself that because no one has confronted you about it, that no one can know." "Allow me to disabuse you of that delusion." "Within the close community of those that serve the family," "I regret to tell you, that talk, ugly talk, unbecoming tittle-tattle is of little else." "Now I'm well aware of the toll that round-the-clock service takes on the private lives of those that serve." "I am also aware of the feelings generated by continued close proximity to the people you are working for, but I would hate you to mistake those feelings for anything else." "Will you thank the Queen Mother for her kind offer?" "I should be delighted to accept." "There's no rush." "Take your time to think it over." "Seventy-two hours... a week." "I want you to make the right decision." "I already have, sir." "The answer is yes." " Gentlemen." " Winston." "Impeccable timing." "That's the one." "Your Majesty, I've been asked to give you this." "And this, Ma'am, from Her Majesty Queen Mary." "Thank you." "Thank you, Charteris." "I'll take over from here." " Thank you, Martin." " Thank you, sir." "Your Majesty." "Martin..." "Dearest Lilibet," "I know how you loved your papa, my son." "And I know you will be as devastated as I am by this loss." "But you must put those sentiments to one side now, for duty calls." "The grief for your father's death will be felt far and wide." "Your people will need your strength and leadership." "I have seen three great monarchies brought down through their failure to separate personal indulgences from duty." "You must not allow yourself to make similar mistakes." "And while you mourn your father, you must also mourn someone else." "Elizabeth Mountbatten." "For she has now been replaced by another person, Elizabeth Regina." "The two Elizabeths will frequently be in conflict with one another." "The fact is, the Crown must win." "Must always win." " Ready, ma'am?" " It's all right." "I'll escort her down from here." "No, sir." "If you don't mind, the Crown takes precedence." "Stand by, everybody." "This is London." "Three, two, one." "When the death of the King was announced to us yesterday morning, there struck a deep and somber note in our lives, which resounded far and wide," "stilled the clatter and traffic of 20th century life, and made countless millions of human beings around the world pause and look around them." "The King was greatly loved by all his peoples." "The greatest shocks ever felt by this island fell upon us in his reign." "Never, in our long history were we exposed to greater perils of invasion and destruction." "The late King, who assumed the heavy burden of the Crown when he succeeded his brother," "lived through every minute of this struggle with a heart that never quavered" "and a spirit undaunted." "In the end, death came as a friend." "And after a happy day of sunshine and sport, and after a goodnight to those who loved him best, he fell asleep," "as every man or woman who strives to fear God and nothing else in the world, may hope to do." "Now, I must leave the treasures of the past and turn to the future." "Famous have been the reigns of our queens." "Some of the greatest periods in our history have unfolded under their scepters." "Queen Elizabeth II, like her namesake, Queen Elizabeth I," "did not pass her childhood in any certain expectation of the Crown." "This new Elizabethan age comes at a time when mankind stands uncertainly poised..." "Wait." "...on the edge of catastrophe." "I, whose youth was passed in the august, unchallenged and tranquil glories of the Victorian era, may well feel the thrill in invoking once more the prayer and the anthem," "God Save the Queen." "God Save the Queen."