Hyde Park Corner 

With King George too ill to travel, Elizabeth and Phillip embark on a four-continent Commonwealth tour. Party leaders attempt to undermine Churchill.

Director:

Stephen Daldry

Writers:

Peter Morgan (created by), Peter Morgan

Stars:

Claire Foy, Matt Smith, Victoria Hamilton

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Claire Foy	...	Queen Elizabeth II
Matt Smith	...	Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Victoria Hamilton	...	Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Jared Harris	...	King George VI
Vanessa Kirby	...	Princess Margaret
Jeremy Northam	...	Anthony Eden
Eileen Atkins	...	Queen Mary
Harriet Walter	...	Clemmie Churchill
John Lithgow	...	Winston Churchill
Clive Francis	...	Lord Salisbury
Nicholas Rowe	...	Jock Colville
Pip Torrens	...	Tommy Lascelles
Harry Hadden-Paton	...	Martin Charteris
Ben Miles	...	Peter Townsend
Lizzy McInnerny	...	Bobo Macdonald

Storyline

The early life of Elizabeth II at the point of her marriage in late 1947 during King George VI reign. Through the point in English history when Winston Churchill was elected for a second time as Prime Minister in 1951. The young Elizabeth Begins to understand and learn the responsibilities of the crown. The series explores the relationship of marriage and British leadership beginning with episode 1.

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Plot Keywords:

eulogy | death of a king | ascension to the throne | safari | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 November 2016 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Shoreham Airport, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Left Bank Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

61 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

American born John Lithgow graduated from Harvard college. Lithgow attended Harvard College, and graduated with an A.B. magna cum laude in 1967, in history and literature. He lived in Adams House as an undergraduate. After graduation, Lithgow won a Fulbright Scholarship to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art situated in west of London, United Kingdom.

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Goofs

Despite what courtier Martin Charteris says, it isn't really true that the Queen's uncle King Edward VIII changed his regnal name from David. Edward VIII's full name was Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, and before he was King he had been known to the general public as Prince Edward. Only his family and friends called him David.

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Quotes

Philip, Duke of Edinburgh: [to African dignitary] Oh, like the hat.
Queen Elizabeth II: It's not a hat. It's a crown.

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Soundtracks

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
(uncredited)
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Lorenz Hart
Performed by Jared Harris and Vanessa Kirby

User Reviews

This is where the plot begins.

I admired the first episode for how it hooked me without much actually doing much. It was really just a prologue, driven solely by character. In this one, the plot felt more like an actual narrative, rather than a series of interconnected character moments. A major event about halfway through the episode sets the plot of the series in motion. Most of the episode focuses on that event and its effects.

Philip and Elizabeth spend most of the episode in Kenya, on their commonwealth tour. These scenes are light and whimsical, yet also show the arrogance of British colonialism and the tensions it creates in the modern world. On the topic of arrogance, Churchill displays quite a bit of that in this episode. I really enjoy John Lithgow's portrayal of him. I've been a big fan of John for a while now and I think that approaching Churchill from the perspective of an American actor is quite interesting.

This episode makes it quite clear that these first two have just been a prologue, that the real story begins next episode. It's a more eventful episode than the pilot, yet also a slightly more conventional one. I look forward to watching more.