the times | Monday November 16 2020 1GT 9
times
Did Thatcher defy the Queen’s
wishes for sanctions to be imposed
on South Africa?
TRUE
In 1985 48 countries of the
Commonwealth wanted to impose
sanctions on South Africa, but
Thatcher did not wish to do so. As
head of the Commonwealth, the
Queen was inclined to support the 48.
In this episode they concentrate on
the differences between the sovereign
and the British prime minister. On this
there were obvious differences.
The Queen was dedicated to the
Commonwealth, one of the most
important missions of her reign.
Thatcher was not keen on it, and
preferred to focus on good relations
with the United States. On this issue
Thatcher saw no merit in sanctions,
believing that they hardened
opposition rather than reduced it.
The episode ends with one of the
explanatory captions they sometimes
employ — Nelson Mandela ending
apartheid and crediting sanctions with
making that possible.
Did the Queen wish the world to
know that she thought Thatcher was
“uncaring”, and was she therefore
responsible for placing a story in
The Sunday Times expressing this?
FALSE
Here they paint the Queen’s press
secretary, Michael Shea, as an
honourable man who would never
betray the Queen or in any way
impugn her political impartiality.
In this episode, set in July 1986, the
Queen tells Shea that just for once she
wants her views known. Therefore,
unwillingly apparently, he talks to
journalists and the story breaks in
The Sunday Times with the (real)
headline. “Queen Dismayed by
‘Uncaring’ Thatcher”. The ensuing
furore is such that Sir Martin
Charteris (who in real life had long
retired, remember) sacrifices Shea,
telling him to resign and take the
blame because a scalp is needed to
divert the media from the Queen.
The reverse was the case. Shea took
it upon himself to talk to The Sunday
Times. He then denied that he had
done so, and when finally forced to
own up, stated that he had been
misrepresented. The Palace got rid
of him by securing him a job with
Hanson plc. What Shea had done
was to relay his personal dislike of
Thatcher’s policies to the world.
The story of Shea has been exposed
by many distinguished authors, not
least Charles Moore in his authorised
biography of Margaret Thatcher.
Was Prince Charles irritated by
Diana’s surprise dance with Wayne
Sleep at Covent Garden in 1985,
which she intended as his 37th
birthday gift?
TRUE
There was a private gala at Covent
Garden in December 1985 (for some
reason they say November, and no
it wasn’t for his birthday) and at a
certain point Diana slipped away and
suddenly appeared on stage with
Wayne Sleep and danced to Billy Joel’s
Uptown Girl. This was meant to be a
gift to her husband, but he took it
amiss (an incident omitted from
Dimbleby’s authorised
biography). Sleep got the
impression that Prince Charles
was somewhat put out, instead of
touched. In this episode Charles
berates Diana with some ferocity.Were Charles and Camilla
meeting regularly at Highgrove
by 1988?
TRUE
According to the evidence, Charles
and Camilla were seeing each other
again by 1986. This series takes
the Diana line that Charles and
Camilla were in touch all the way
through the marriage. Viewers
should be cautious to accept this
without question. They will see an
angry Prince Charles, sometimes
yelling at his wife, aggressive and
demeaning to her. What is largely
omitted is any account of Diana’s
well-documented distressing
behaviour, including tantrums and
insecurities. The Crown clearly
presents a one-sided portrait.Did Thatcher usurp the Queen’s
position by taking the salute at the
Falklands victory parade?
TRUE
In this episode Thatcher has an
audience with the Queen telling
her about the successful end of the
Falklands conflict, then announces
that she is off to attend the victory
parade at Mansion House, where
she, instead of the Queen, takes the
salute. It did not happen exactly like
that, of course.
Stanley was taken back on June 14,- The parade actually took place
in London several months later, on
October 12. However, Thatcher did
attend, while the Queen did not,
because she was on a tour of the
South Pacific at the time. There were
definitely hints in the media at the
time that Thatcher was becoming
presidential in her approach.Was the Queen angry when Thatcher
was ousted by her ministers in 1990?
TRUE
There is a genuinely moving scene
in The Crown in which the Queen
summons Thatcher to see her, and she
presents her with the Order of Merit.
I remember being told at the time that
the Queen was not pleased by the way
they got rid of Thatcher. So the line “I
was shocked by the way in which you
were forced to leave office” is spot-on.
People have persisted in thinking the
Queen and Thatcher did not get on.
The Order of Merit is in her personal
gift, as is clearly explained here, and
her gift of it is evidence of her respect
for her first female prime minister.
Thatcher was surprised and delighted
to be offered it.
If further evidence is required,
the Queen appointed her a Lady
Companion of the Order of the Garter
in 1995 — again her personal gift. Sheattended her 70th and 80th birthday
parties and was present at her funeral
in St Paul’s Cathedral in 2013. The
only other prime minister whose
funeral the Queen has attended was
that of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965.The Queen is frequently shown in
a magnificent uniform for various
Birthday Parades (Trooping the
Colour). Did they get that right?
FALSE
In the opening sequence of The Crown
the Queen is shown in the uniform of
colonel-in-chief, Grenadier Guards —
a grenade on the collar, a white plume
in her cap and buttons in ones. She
wears the Garter riband and star. It
pops up in several episodes.
The first trooping portrayed was
June 1979, when it was the colour of
the Scots Guards being trooped, so
they have dressed her in the wrong
uniform — it should have been a
thistle on the collar, no plume, and
buttons in threes. When the Scots
Guards colour is trooped, she wears
the dark green riband and star
of the Thistle. At the 1979 trooping
Prince Philip also wore the green
Thistle riband. In The Crown he
wears the Garter.
At the 1982 trooping the Queen
is shown riding along as a grenadier
again, so a grenade on the collar, and
buttons in ones. But this time they
give her the plume of the Welsh
Guards (white/green/white). It should
have been a Coldstream Guards
uniform, a Garter star on the collar, a
red plume and buttons in twos. With
their massive budget and their various
advisers, the film-makers could so
easily have tweaked these and got
them right.
In real life the Queen had five
Guards uniforms, one for each of the
regiments of which she was colonel-
in-chief — Grenadier, Coldstream,
Scots, Irish and Welsh (in that order).a
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in
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fu
t T a B C FFALSE
Diana demanded to change plans
for the 1983 tour of Australia
and New Zealand so as not to be
separated from Prince WilliamDid Charles feel overshadowed by Diana?
Continued from page 7
JOHN SHELLEY/REX/SHUTTERSTOCKTop left: Josh O’Connor
and Emma Corrin as
Prince Charles and
Princess Diana (top
right). Above left:
Olivia Colman as
the Queen