The Queen

Scene 9: Change of Heart (1.09.20 – 1.18.10)

The Queen and the family are seen leaving Balmoral. As they stop the cars and venture out at the gates to survey some of the flowers that the Scottish citizens have placed, a motorcycle speeds past on a small laneway, and backfires. Charles is startled, still believing he is under threat.

The subheading reads Friday. It’s the day before the funeral and real CNN footage informs us that the Queen will be addressing the people that evening. In talks, the Queen hears from Philip that the stag has been caught and shot. She has a sudden inclination to go and see the corpse, and since it had been shot by a corporate suit on a hobby jaunt, she travels to the neighbour’s farm and there and asks to see the corpse. The man leads her to a small stone priory on his property and inside is a cold circular slaughter bench and drain drop where the majestic animal has been unceremoniously hung upside down on a hook in order for the blood to drain from its neck stump. The beast has been beheaded and the Queen studies its face for a time. Noticing the bullet hole shot clean through the cheek of the animal, the man explains that the animal had been wounded and that the hunters had to follow him for miles to finish him off. The Queen expresses that she ‘hopes he didn’t suffer too much’ and as if realising how silly it was that she has been moved by such an event, composes herself and leaves.

A close up shot of the newspaper reads ‘Palace bends knee to Blair’ and it’s unfortunate that the press have interpreted this move as a weakness from the Monarchy. Real footage is shown as the Queen’s entourage pulls up outside Buckingham Palace and the royal family (the Queen, Philip, Charles and the boys) exit and walk along the gates, fettered with flowers and tributes. The crowd is silent, except for the ever-present soundtrack of the paparazzi capturing their newest shot. The camera focuses on some of the tributes, many of which are condemnatory.

As this happens, and the city watches on, Blair and his office watch in awe as well. Alastair, ever the sarcastic government employee, makes a comment about the upcoming Queen’s speech and Blair berates him. He defends the Queen insisting that she has had to make a gesture, to a country which has been so terribly unforgiving of her, for a woman (Diana) who has been nothing but vindictive to her from the start.

Scene 9 Quote

‘Yes, he’s a beauty, isn’t he? An Imperial, Ma’am. Fourteen pointer. I’m afraid the stalkers had to follow him for miles – to finish him off.’
(Elizabeth’s voice cracks) ‘Let’s hope he didn’t suffer too much.’
(The Gillie and Elizabeth speak over the carcass of the dead stag) Scene 9

Scene 10: The Queen’s Tribute (1.18.10 – 1.24.05)

The Queen deviates and greets a little girl in the crowd. Believing the bouquet of flowers she cradles is for a tribute, the Queen offers to place it for the girl and she refuses, finally admitting that they are meant to be for the Queen. Elizabeth is taken aback by the gesture.

In Buckingham Palace, preparation for the much-anticipated speech has begun and the room is anxious. Janvrin brings some last minute suggestions from Downing Street which will add a softer touch to the speech such as adding the word grandmother in one of the sections. All efforts are being made to humanise Elizabeth and gain back some of the country’s favour.

Cherie and Blair watch the Queen’s speech from their kitchen. Despite Cherie’s interjections Blair is dumbfounded and although his wife dismisses it as a simple infatuation that most men seem to have over Her Majesty, he acknowledges that the speech is one gesture symbolising many that the royal family have taken to ensure their survival through the years.

The scene ends with real footage of Diana’s coffin being moved to Kensington Palace in the evening before the funeral. The newsreaders narrating the footage are still in disbelief.

Scene 10 Quotes

‘I made a couple of changes. So it sounds like it comes from a human being.’ (Alastair about the Queens speech) Scene 10

‘That woman has given her whole life in service to her people – fifty years doing a job she NEVER wanted – a job she watched kill her father. She’s executed it with dignity, honour and, as far as I can tell, without a single blemish – and now we line up baying for her blood…’ (Blair defending the Queen to his office) Scene 10

‘We have all been trying in our different ways to cope. The initial shock is often succeeded by a mixture of other feelings. Disbelief, incomprehension, anger and concern for those who remain.’ (The Queen’s speech) Scene 10

Scene 11: Saviour of the Monarchy (1.24.05 – 1.32.36)

The subheading reads Saturday, the day of the funeral. There is real footage of people arriving to Westminster Abbey, famous faces such as Tom Cruise and his then wife Nicole Kidman, famous opera singer Pavarotti and global superstar Elton John. As horses draw the coffin through the streets from Kensington Palace to the Abbey, real footage of people crying and comforting one another is shown. In real life, walking behind the hearse was Diana’s brother Charles Spencer, Charles, Prince of Wales, Diana’s two boys, William and Harry, and Prince Philip. From inside the church the Queen listens to Charles Spencer’s speech, a glorification of her deeds throughout her life and an acknowledgment that she will live forever on in our memories, which is met with a resounding applause from inside the church and outside where the ceremony is relayed using projectors.

The subheading reads two months later and Blair is attending the palace for his regular meetings with the Queen. She still maintains a decidedly unimpressed demeanour with him and initially their conversation is difficult. The camera angle provides a straight shot, insinuating that the authority between them has levelled out and they have both learnt something from each other in the last few months. When prompted, Blair assures Her Majesty that most people will not remember the events that have passed whereas she insists that it has damaged the monarchy. She warns him that he will soon feel the wrath of the press and that when it comes, it will be sudden. As they walk down the corridor together, the Queen has the opportunity to explain her reticence and admits that ‘the world has changed’ and she was not ready for what it required of her to do in a time like that. As they walk down the corridor together, there is the sense that it’s the beginning of a prosperous relationship that will thrive in candidness, built on a difficult foundation of what happened just months earlier.

Scene 11 Quotes

‘I hope she shows you some respect this time. It’s quite a debt of gratitude she owes you… Mr “Saviour of the Monarchy.”’ (Cherie to Blair as he gets ready to visit the Queen two months after the funeral) Scene 11

‘I still believe History will show it was a good week for you.’
‘And an even better one for you, Mr Blair.’
‘But there are fifty-two weeks in a year, Ma’am. And two and a half thousand in a half century.’
‘And when people come to assess your legacy, no one will remember those few days.’
(Blair and Elizabeth after the events have passed) Scene 11

Scene 12: End Credits (1.32.36 – 1.38.46)

The credits begin rolling when they reach the garden together, the Queen’s trademark Corgi dogs bustling around her feet. As they stroll together you can hear snippets of Blair discussing his new agendas and the camera draws back. The lush gardens provide the backdrop for a few moments of the rolling credits and then the screen goes black.