In the first episode of “The Crown’s” fourth season, it’s clear that Queen Elizabeth II and Britain’s first female prime minister are headed toward a tense relationship.
Margaret Thatcher quickly disabuses the queen of any idea that, as women born just six months apart, they will find an easy mutual understanding. “I have found women in general tend not to be suited to high office. They tend to become too emotional,” she tells her.
There is a gulf between them, according to the show, one of class: one woman born into privilege; the other owing her position to merit, effort and drive. The tone is set in the second episode at the Scottish royal castle of Balmoral where Mrs. Thatcher and her husband Denis struggle with the arcane customs of the royal tribe. They even tip the staff like they were in a hotel!
Of course, the two women are alike. They are both used to getting their own way. Each admires her father, has a husband who supports her, indulges a wayward son, is guided by a Christian faith and is motivated strongly by duty.
But it’s easy to see why a screenwriter would home in on their class differences—we’re talking about Britain here, after all. “The Crown” dramatizes the royal family’s place in a country that is becoming less deferential, supposedly more meritocratic and ever more obsessed with celebrity.
