S1.E5

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Smoke and Mirrors

Episode aired Nov 4, 2016
TV-MA
55m

IMDb RATING

8.5/10

5.1K

YOUR RATING

Biography Drama History

Elizabeth rejects protocol by appointing Phillip to coordinate her coronation, but his ideas create conflict. The Duke of Windsor returns to London.Elizabeth rejects protocol by appointing Phillip to coordinate her coronation, but his ideas create conflict. The Duke of Windsor returns to London.Elizabeth rejects protocol by appointing Phillip to coordinate her coronation, but his ideas create conflict. The Duke of Windsor returns to London.

See production, box office & company info

IMDb RATING

8.5/10

5.1K

YOUR RATING

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Photos13

Alex Jennings and Lia Williams in The Crown (2016)

Matt Smith and Daniel Ings in The Crown (2016)

Matt Smith and Claire Foy in The Crown (2016)

Victoria Hamilton and Vanessa Kirby in The Crown (2016)

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The Duke of Windsor's nasty comments about his family are profusely documented in his letters to Wallis Simpson, which have been researched by historians.

Goofs
During the coronation scene, the bishop pours oil out from a container onto a spoon even though there is already oil on the spoon. Also, when he makes the pouring motion, nothing comes out of the container.

Quotes
Duke of Windsor: Oils and oaths. Orbs and sceptres. Symbol upon symbol. An unfathomable web of arcane mystery and liturgy, blurring so many lines no clergyman or historian or lawyer could ever untangle any of it.
Party Guest: It's crazy.
Duke of Windsor: On the contrary. It's perfectly sane. Who wants transparency when you can have magic? Who wants prose when you can have poetry? Pull away the veil and what are you left with? An ordinary young woman of modest ability and little imagination. But wrap her up like this, anoint her with oil, and hey, presto, what do you have? A goddess.

Connections
Featured in The Ringer's 100 Best TV Episodes of the Century (2018)

Soundtracks
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
(uncredited)
Composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

User reviews11

Review

Featured review

8/10

The Duke of Windsor - a deeply selfish, vulgar and self-pitying person

A wonderful episode, and having spent many hours researching Edward, Duke of Windsor years ago, I feel The Crown was pretty generous in its depiction of him. The British certainly dodged a bullet when this despicable person removed himself from the throne. I hope this series will encourage people to seek out facts about his life, his behavior, his treatment of others, and quotes of some of the horrendous things he said.

helpful•16