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The Queen
This docudrama focuses on five key events in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Combining narration, interviews, archival footage and dramatic recreations (with 5 different actresses portraying the Queen at different times in her life) the series focuses on several of the crises she has had to deal with. These include Princess Margaret's desire to marry a divorced member of the household staff; the need for additional funding at a time of major upheaval in British society; her disagreement with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher over trade sanctions against South Africa; the family challenges in 1992 of failing royal marriages; and Prince Charles' desire to marry Camilla Parker-Bowles.
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Season 1 Episode Guide See All
Episode 1
Margaret
50 mins
When King George VI dies, his elder daughter Elizabeth becomes the Queen of Britain. Younger sister Margaret, feeling sidelined, embarks on an affair with divorced palace employee Peter Townsend, sixteen years her senior. The Establishment opposes this and the Queen gives Peter a foreign posting to separate the pair. Margaret, backed by public opinion, is still keen to marry him, though she must renounce her claims to succession to the throne. Ultimately she chooses duty and privilege over love, though Elizabeth is perceived to have manipulated her.
