This brilliantly crafted episode weaves together two themes from the life of Lilibet. On the one hand, her education has been neglected in not providing her a breadth of knowledge about mathematics, science, and literature. On the other, her focus on a study of the constitution has steeped her in the principles of England's constitutional monarchy. By the end of episode, Lilibet's lack of confidence in superficial matters is balanced by the wisdom that has come from her training at Eton.
The time is 1953, the momentous occasion for the Soviets' testing of the hydrogen bomb in the Kazakh Desert. A major summit meeting is in the works with President Eisenhower to meet with Churchill. But both foreign secretary Antony Eden and Churchill suddenly become incapacitated. Eden will require gall bladder surgery in Boston. Churchill suffers a series of strokes, the details are kept away from the Queen.
The episode now moves into the crisis facing Lilibet when she realizes that vital information is being withheld from her, in violation of the trust at the heart of the British constitution. In a subplot, Lilibet is being pressured to accept the senior member of the royal household as her private secretary when Tommy Lascelles is stepping down. Lilibet believes she should be able to choose her own staff and prefers a junior member of royal bureaucracy.
The lesson that unfolds from the episode is how the young Queen is learning to use power. The character who steals the show is her tutor, Professor Hogg. The professor recognizes that Lilibet does not need to learn algebra or study nuclear fission. Rather, she needs to call her ministers before her "give them good dressing down from a nanny." He assures her that they will take their punishment with only a whimper because "they are British, male, and upper class."
And the professor is right! A contrite Lord Salisbury and Winston Churchill are taught the lesson of "scientia potentia est": "Knowledge is power"!
The time is 1953, the momentous occasion for the Soviets' testing of the hydrogen bomb in the Kazakh Desert. A major summit meeting is in the works with President Eisenhower to meet with Churchill. But both foreign secretary Antony Eden and Churchill suddenly become incapacitated. Eden will require gall bladder surgery in Boston. Churchill suffers a series of strokes, the details are kept away from the Queen.
The episode now moves into the crisis facing Lilibet when she realizes that vital information is being withheld from her, in violation of the trust at the heart of the British constitution. In a subplot, Lilibet is being pressured to accept the senior member of the royal household as her private secretary when Tommy Lascelles is stepping down. Lilibet believes she should be able to choose her own staff and prefers a junior member of royal bureaucracy.
The lesson that unfolds from the episode is how the young Queen is learning to use power. The character who steals the show is her tutor, Professor Hogg. The professor recognizes that Lilibet does not need to learn algebra or study nuclear fission. Rather, she needs to call her ministers before her "give them good dressing down from a nanny." He assures her that they will take their punishment with only a whimper because "they are British, male, and upper class."
And the professor is right! A contrite Lord Salisbury and Winston Churchill are taught the lesson of "scientia potentia est": "Knowledge is power"!