It’s anchors aweigh forThe CrownSeason 5, the first episodes since the death of Prince Phillipand Queen Elizabeth herself, and boy, was it a wave of nautical metaphors. To honor the episode and Britain’s rich maritime tradition, I’ll do my best to unleash a fleet of my own in this recap.
CreatorPeter Morganframes Episode 1, “Queen Victoria Syndrome,” around whether to update the aging royal yacht Britannia, which desperately needs repairs. It’s a fitting (if on-the-nose) choice considering Britain’s heritage as an island nation and an obvious metaphor for the season’s central theme. Has the monarchy, an aging relic of a former age, outlived its usefulness? And more importantly: is it worth saving?
The season opens with a mid-century newsreel of a younger Queen Elizabeth (Claire Foy) at the Brittania’s naming/launch ceremony. She gives a brief speech to a large and passionate crowd, where she espouses how she hopes this ship, like their new queen, will “weather any storm” (ahoy, our first nautical metaphor!). It’s heavy foreshadowing, both in how the crowd erupts at her self-reference (an enthusiasm that will have dissipated by the 1990s) and the future upheaval Season 5 will depict within the House of Windsor. After all, the 1990s was a chaotic period for the monarchy, where it struggled to stay afloat (too easy!) as not one, not two, but three royal marriages fell apart — most prominently Prince Charles’s and Princess Diana’s (this season portrayed byDominic WestandElizabeth Debicki, respectively).
Next is an introduction to a now older Queen Elizabeth, played byImelda Staunton(who was, and forever will be, Professor Dolores Umbridge for people under 35 like myself). Like a battle-hardened ship (hey hey hey), she’s still steady and stalwart. When her doctor tells her to stay off her feet, she declines (“occupational hazard, I’m afraid”) and commits to losing the half-stone she’s gained in the last year by the end of summer (despite the obvious explanation that she’s getting older). It’s an explanation she’s struggling to absorb despite the lackluster crowds she now draws or the growing public sentiment she’s out of touch.
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On the other hand, Charles is all too aware of her declining popularity and is keen to seize the opportunity to take the throne. When advised his likability is surging (and will be highlighted in an upcoming Sunday Times article), he begrudgingly admits that it is partially (if not totally) due to the public’s infatuation with his wife. To quell rumors of the discontent within his marriage (and continue to chart a course towards the throne), Charles elects to organize a two-week holiday to Italy, marketed as a “second honeymoon” to the press.
This foray is dead in the water from the get-go. Diana and Charles are locked in an icy Cold War and only keep civil for photo opportunities (which they do at the start of the trip on, you guessed it, another boat!). For the first shot across the bow (can’t stop won’t stop), Charles elects to invite his friends on this so-called honeymoon, a move Diana perceives as a slight due to their closeness with Camilla Parker Bowles (Olivia Williams), his not-so-secret mistress. When Charles lays out a history-heavy itinerary for their trip, Diana openly mocks him in front of their guests, asking if they will do anything “fun” like shopping. He retaliates by dismissing “retail for recreation” as vapid, only to be trounced by their firstborn William, who announces he would like to go shopping too. Later, Diana rewards William for “sticking up for her” with video games. It’s another example of how Morgan remains committed to showing both Charles and Diana’s ugliness and shared culpability in their divorce. Charles may be droll, power-hungry, and unfaithful, but Morgan portrays Diana as childish, petty, and frivolous. Two incompatible halves in an unsustainable whole.
Speaking of sinking ships (somebody stop me!), the Queen and Prince Phillip (Jonathan Pryce) are increasingly worried they might be on one (literally). After investigating an alarming noise from the engine room on the Britannia, Phillip discerns that their royal yacht needs around $15M in repairs to remain seaworthy. Phillip points out again something that Elizabeth is not ready to admit regarding the ship or, by extension, herself. It may be time for a replacement.
When the Sunday Times article hits the press, it’s much more pointed than Charles could have hoped, calling for the Queen to abdicate outright in favor of her son. Thrilled, Charles abruptly ends the trip to leave for a clandestine meeting with John Major (Jonny Lee Miller), where he hopes to capitalize on the article and convince the Prime Minister to support his campaign to replace his mother on the throne. Diana is less than enthused by his departure, and a fight erupts between them. Another shot to the hull (zing!) of their precarious marriage.
Princess Anne (Claudia Harrison) has arrived back on the Britannia, and the Queen’s staff elect to hide the Sunday Times article from her and the Queen (painfully aware of her sensitivity to her relevance). Determined to lose that previously mentioned half-stone, Elizabeth opts to go ashore with Anne and visit one of the last-manned lighthouses in Scotland. Here Anne alludes to discontent in her marriage, explaining how she’s always liked lighthouses because they’re a beacon of hope for “the lost and forgotten” (so. many. maritime. metaphors). To further drive the point home, she also straight-up ogles one of her mother’s staff (Commander Timothy Lawrence, whom she will eventually leave her husband for). Once again, Elizabeth refuses to acknowledge the turmoil fermenting within her family, even when it’s staring her in the face.
Later, Charles sits down with the Prime Minister, eager to feel out if he might support his bid for the throne. After a lengthy speech where he complements the PM’s comfort with contractions, he slyly proposes another paradox — in the name of tradition and honor for the crown, it’s time for his mother to step aside so he can become King. Major doesn’t bite, dismissing the article and, seemingly, Charles’ aspirations with a steely poker face. Charles punts on the issue, suggesting that at the upcoming Ghillies Ball at Balmoral, Major should meet with the Queen and judge for himself whether she is fit to rule.
The family begins to arrive at Balmoral for the ball, and after the aging Queen Mother mentions the article, Elizabeth finally gets her staff to come clean about the Sunday Times article. Her sudden awareness of the questions around her viability tees up a sit down with the Prime Minister, in which Elizabeth politely asks for the funds necessary to repair the Britannia. When he demurs due to the unsightly optics of the British government paying $15M to repair the royals’ luxury yacht in the middle of a global recession, Elizabeth explains how the ship is highly personal to her and is the only “mansion” she feels actual ownership of. She further explains how the Britannia is an extension of herself and the monarchy and, in doing so, effectively hangs a lantern on Morgan’s ongoing metaphor. The Queen is not requesting the funds — she’s coolly demanding support (and, in light of the article, defense) for the institution she’s helped steer for half a century. Again, Major keeps a poker face, simply acknowledging that he “understands.”
This leads to the climax of the episode, the Ghillies Ball at Balmoral, where we see the entire royal family (and their dysfunction) together in the same room for the first time. Morgan wisely stages the scene through the eyes of Major, as one by one, each royal exemplifies the disarray within the House of Windsor. First, an inebriated Princess Margaret (Lesley Manville) gives him context on the Ghillies Ball, making a classical reference she somewhat condescendingly implies might be over his head. To her surprise, he understands it completely — our first hint after a series of Major’s wooden interactions with the royals that he is more intelligent than he lets on (and further proving the royals themselves are increasingly out of touch). Next, Prince Phillip defends his wife’s wishes by berating Major for not agreeing to cover the cost of the Britannia’s repairs, which Philip views as an insult to the monarchy. The first chance Charles gets, he pulls Major aside to ask about the sitdown with his mother and warns how poorly the public would receive the government’s decision to pay for her ship’s repairs. Finally, in a petty move no doubt meant to sink Charles’ royal aspirations, Diana privately confesses to Major that all of their marriages will last “no more than six months.”
The episode ends with Major looking out onto the drunken family and their servants on the lawn, watching in horror as they mindlessly carouse and ecstatically fire off gunshots into the night. He laments to his wife about how broken the monarchy is and how there is doubt his time in office will be dragged down by the inevitable eruption of this “feckless and out-of-touch” family. For all the talk of boats, lighthouses, and storms throughout the episode, it ends on a prescient note. Of all the supposed leaders of men depicted inThe Crown, Major is the only skipper who sees the squall brewing off the coast (!!!) that will define this next phase of the monarchy.
