It's interesting how tradition rises above all else in a monarchy. Elizabeth, now the queen, is, on the one hand, the greatest cause celebre of her time, but, by the same token, a neophyte. King George never really trained her to be his successor, despite his awareness of bad health (or denial, if you will). This episode focuses greatly on a couple things. One the need for Phillip to make the family name, Mountbatten, his family, versus the House of Windsor (not normally give to a queen in succession). The second has to do with Edward, who abdicated to marry Wallace Simpson, but who wants to still be part of the royal family. The wife of George has no time for him and makes that known all the time. Edward has been living off an allowance and the is said to be diminished in the future, probably out of pique by the "cold hard" family. We see the tussles with Parliamanet and the crown, specifically with the aging Winston Churchill (played masterfully by John Lithgow), and his connection with the young Elizabeth. There is some drawing room intrigue going on, which, for me, is rather distracting, involving Princess Anne. Ultimately, it falls in the lap of the new queen, and her word goes. I also agree with a previous reviewer that the cinematography is masterful.