The Crown (2016–…): Season 3, Episode 6 - Tywysog Cymru - full transcript

Prince Charles is sent to Aberystwyth to learn Welsh from an ardent nationalist in preparation for the ceremony for his investiture as Prince of Wales.

Around the ragged rocks
the ragged rascal ran.

Copper pot, coffee pot,

copper pot, coffee pot.

- Around the ragged rocks...
- Copper pot...

- the ragged rascal ran.
- coffee pot. A proper cup of coffee

in a proper copper coffee pot.

A proper cup of coffee
in a proper copper coffee pot.

Copper pot, coffee pot.

Hollow crown...

rounds the mortal temples of a king...

keeps Death his court
and there the antic sits.



In my capacity as Earl Marshal,

I've always abided
by one guiding principle,

which has served me extremely well
until now.

Which is?

Wherever possible,
change absolutely nothing.

Do things exactly the same way
as they were done before.

In the case of Prince Charles's
investiture as Prince of Wales,

I can see no reason
not to repeat in every detail

the investiture of the previous
Prince of Wales in, uh, 1911.

And to those of us
who've not had the opportunity...

Or the interest, frankly.

To familiarize ourselves with
the details of the earlier investiture...

A deployment of 15,000 troops,

a Devonshire-class cruiser positioned
off the coast of Holyhead,



21 gun salutes,
a battery of Royal Field Artillery,

a landing party supplied
by the bluejackets and the Royal Marines,

two squadrons of cavalry of the line,
a detachment of the...

He went on and on.

And what he described
was less an investiture

and more like an invasion!

And the feeling is
we have a golden opportunity here

to be more sensitive, inclusive,

for the ceremony to feel...

less like a feudal imposition,

and more like the confirmation

of a true native son of Wales.

But my son isn't Welsh,
so gestures are all we have.

But gestures can be powerful.

What if he went there, studied there,

learned enough Welsh to address
the country in their native tongue?

Prince Charles is currently at Cambridge
and content there, finally,

in his studies and his personal life.

He likes acting.

Acting?

Yes.

It's how he can express himself.

It's a very delicate stage
in his development.

I appreciate that.

But we're in a very delicate stage
for the union too.

The Security Service have been
picking up some murmurs, ma'am.

Well, more than murmurs, actually.

Growls.

Separatist stirrings,
nationalist stirrings

in a region that has long felt aggrieved,

overlooked, undervalued.

And the government's thinking was,

why not pull him out of Cambridge
and send him to Wales?

For a term.

We think it could be enormously helpful.

The government proposed,
and we agree,

that you should spend a term at the
university there to learn the language.

- But...
- No buts.

But I'm really rather happy at Cambridge,

not to mention I've just been cast
in a wonderful role.

- I know, but...
- I thought no buts.

But sometimes duty requires one
to put personal feelings...

- And frivolity.
- aside.

Good. That's settled then.

Come. Foxy, come here.

Why is she never like that with you?

Vile and cold like that.

Because I'm irrelevant.

I rather wish
she would be like that with me.

It would suggest I have significance.

Trust me, you wouldn't like it in reality.

I would.

I'd bully her right back.

Fancy swapping, then?
Fancy being the heir?

Not if it means going to Wales.

These are dark times for Wales.

Never before
has the country faced tougher challenges.

And never before
have the Welsh people been so powerless

to make the changes we want and need.

The time has come for this country
to have home rule.

For decisions about Wales

to be made in Wales

and by the Welsh, in Welsh!

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, friends.

- Ah, morning, Bethan.
- Morning, Tedi. Good luck.

- Good luck? Why?
- You'll see.

Ah!

Tedi.

You know the president
of the university, Sir Ben Bowen Thomas.

- Mr. Millward.
- Morning.

- And, uh, this gentleman...
- Michael Adeane.

Is from the royal household.

Tedi.

We have a special visitor coming
to Aberystwyth this term to learn Welsh.

His Royal Highness Prince Charles.

And we'd like you to be his tutor.

You're joking.

Uh...

In case you've forgotten,
I'm the vice president of Plaid Cymru.

I'm a republican nationalist.

You know my feelings
about the office of the Prince of Wales,

that it's a princehood
illegitimately imposed upon us

by an oppressive imperial conquest.

Aberystwyth...

is the University of Wales.

Our Welsh language department
is the finest in the land,

and you its best and brightest teacher.

Now, you claimed it was possible to learn
a considerable amount of Welsh

in a relatively short period of time.

That was for Welsh citizens.

We were told
you had a certain technique.

- Where else would he go?
- He can go to Fred Jarman in Cardiff.

- No.
- He can go to Caerwyn Williams in Bangor.

You can't make me do this.

It would violate every belief in my body.

I don't understand.

Welsh nationalism is the article of faith,
the shared belief

that underpins our whole marriage.

And now you elect to go
and serve the thing,

the very thing, we have been fighting!

That was my first reaction too,
but think about it.

The Labour government has actually
persuaded them to make the speech...

in Welsh.

Do you have any idea
how many people will see the broadcast?

This could be a huge step
for our movement.

"Welcome to Wales."

Hello, hello.

Thank you. Hello!

Thank you for coming.

- Your Royal Highness.
- Hello. It's lovely to meet you.

- Welcome to Wales, Your Royal Highness.
- Thank you.

This way, sir.

Hello! Thanks for coming.
Thank you. Thanks.

Go home, Carlo!

- Sir? This way, sir.
- You are not Welsh!

And you never will be!

Your Royal Highness.
Mr. Edward Millward.

How do you do?

- Charles.
- Your, uh...

His Royal Highness.

Hmm, if you don't mind,

I'd rather we set out on the same terms
as all my students.

I believe I'm also expected
to bow my head,

but I hope this will suffice.

Please.

Well, I'll leave you to it then.

I'm very grateful for all this.

I hope you'll be able
to put your feelings to one side.

I gather you're a Welsh nationalist.

Hmm.

I'm an educator.

- Do you leave your politics at the door?
- No.

My politics are the reason why
I walk through the door every day,

and if I believe, and I do,

that anyone deserves
a university education,

then it would be hypocritical of me
not to extend that privilege

to those at the very top,
as well as the bottom.

But you don't approve of... me.

I've nothing against you personally.

But you wish my role didn't exist,
my family's.

I don't think of myself as against things.

I'm for things.

For my country, my culture,

and my language, most of all.

And you think that the Crown exists
in opposition to that.

I think it imposes a kind of uniformity

that by default, yes,
suppresses Welsh identity

with a ubiquitous Britishness.

But Wales is Britain.

Britain is Wales.

Historically, we always fought together.

- Henry V at Agincourt.
- Yes.

Welshmen have historically bled

for the conquests of your Crown,
and why, one might ask?

For what?

Look, I really didn't intend
to joust with you.

Hmm. It isn't fair.

You're here to learn Welsh.

Here we are.

- There.
- Thank you.

We learn through imitation.

Like anything in life,
if we pretend we're something long enough,

we may just become it.

Bore da.

Bore da.

- Good morning.
- Good morning.

- Beth ydych enw.
- Berth uder keno.

What is your name?

What is your name?

Ydych chi'n siarad Cymraeg?

A... A dickid nsharad cum-ayg.

Do you speak Welsh?

Do you speak Welsh?

Sut ydych chi?

Soota da kee?

How are you?

How are you?

♪ Hallelujah ♪

♪ Hallelujah ♪

- ♪ Hallelujah ♪
- Hello.

I miss Cambridge already.

And this place is a bit... gloomy.

It's Wales. What do you expect? Hold on.

Hold on.

Hold on, Charles.

How are the other students?

Short, hairy, and angry?

- What?
- Isn't that what the Celts are like?

Furry and furious,
big eyebrows, red faces,

stooped under the weight
of an ancestral grudge?

They're not very friendly, for sure.

I passed a sign on the way in.

"Welcome to Wales."

Might as well have read,
"Bugger off back home."

It's not for long.

An eternity. Three months!

It'll fly by.

Crawl by more like, on hands and knees.

You really are the most terrible Eeyore.

What are we going to do with you?

Getting me out of Wales might be a start.

- I'll come and visit.
- No, you won't.

No, you're probably right. I won't.

Chin up. Nobody likes a misery guts.

And though he be but another student

in the eyes of the faculty,

I'm sure he'll forgive us
this more bespoke welcome

to our university.

And we hope this is the beginning
of a long and happy partnership,

and perhaps, in time,
even his patronage as king.

The Prince of Wales.

- The Prince of Wales.
- Thank you. Thank you.

So, what do you think
of our facilities here, sir?

It's, uh, quite the archive we have
in our library, don't you think?

I confess I haven't actually made it
to the library yet.

Not been to the library?

I thought Mr. Millward was giving you
a full, rounded Welsh education.

He is. I mean, I am.

Uh, and like all students,
they're encouraged to...

conduct extra reading off their own bats.

Hmm. Ah.

How is the speech going?

You'll be channeling
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd himself

before long, no doubt!

I'm sorry, who?

Llywelyn...

Is he... an alumnus or...?

We'll be covering that this week.

Good morning, teacher.

I've translated the opening of your speech
that the palace sent me.

And? What did you think?

I'm not here to pass judgment
on the content.

You say whatever you like,
or whatever they tell you to.

The hardest pronunciation for you
will be the word "atmosphere."

Awyrgylch.

It's like a verbal assault course

of all your worst sounds scattered
one after another like traps.

Break them up.

So...

Ow-oo.

Ar...

Ow-oo.

- Ah...
- Oo...

Oo...

- Glide into the "ooh."
- I'm trying to glide into it. Ow.

Fine. Let's begin at the end.

Huh.

Back of the throat.

- Better.
- Hmm.

I see, it's like the fricatives.

- "Th," "ff," "sh," "ss" sounds.
- I know what fricatives are.

We do them as warm-up exercises
before we go onstage.

Hah, hay, hee, hay, hah,

haw, hoo, haw, hah.

Lah, lay, lee, lay, lah, law, loo.

Or in Welsh...

Ila, llay, llee, llay, llah, llaw.

Do you get it?

And the tongue twisters are my favorite.

Uh, to sit in solemn silence
in a dull, dark dock.

In a pestilential prison
with a lifelong lock

Awaiting the sensation
of a short, sharp shock

From a cheap and chippy chopper
on a big, black block.

A tutor who tooted the flute
tried to teach two young tooters to toot.

Said the two to the tutor,

"Is it harder to toot or to teach
two young tooters to toot?"

What a to-do to die today
at a minute or two to two.

A thing distinctly hard to say,
but a harder thing to do.

For they'll beat a tattoo at two today,
a ratatatat tattoo.

And the dragon will come
when he hears the drum,

at a minute or two at two today,
at a minute or two today!

I understand
it's all a bit of fun for you.

That was clear last night.

"Where is the library?
Who is Llywelyn?"

Do you have any idea

how embarrassing that was
for the rest of us?

How humiliating?

The fact you didn't know?

As your tutor,

I'm going to ask you a favor.

Pay us the respect.

And give us just the slightest impression

that you care about any of this

before you turn around again,

and never show up,
like the last Prince of Wales,

and the one before him.

What are you reading?

The investiture speech for Charles.

The Prime Minister thinks
it may be too dry, too rigid.

And given that it is effectively
his introduction to the world,

it might be an idea
to let Charles work on the speech himself.

That it reflect him more.

Do you think that's wise?

That speech has been composed
by diplomatic and constitutional experts.

Do you really want
Charles messing with that?

I adapted my own maiden speech
to the Commonwealth aged 21.

You remember.

I do.

You were in Cape Town.

- After they separated us.
- Yes.

Four endless months.

Hoping you'd fall out of love with me.

Fat chance.

Anyway...

that was you.

This is Charles.

A horse of a very different color.

Yes.

I... finally made it to the library.

Now I know who Llywelyn ap Gruffudd was.

The first, and true, Prince of Wales.

Given his title by the English
King Henry III...

murdered a few years later
by Henry's son Edward.

Edward I took the title
promised to Llywelyn,

and conferred it on his own son

at the gates of Caernarfon Castle.

Hmm.

The great betrayal.

But the ancient hope still remains.

A prophecy...

that one day, a prince will be presented
from Eleanor's Gate atop Caernarfon

and that he will be
a true Welsh-speaking son of Wales.

I can't ever be a son of Wales...

but I am working on
the Welsh-speaking part.

Hmm.

Good.

Well, I should let you get on
with whatever it is

a young prince, footloose and fancy-free,

does of an evening away from home.

Oh, yes. Well, I have, uh...

I'll most likely just go back to my room.

- Eat there.
- Alone?

Have you not, uh...

you know, made any...

It's fine, really.

I'm incredibly used to it.

They don't spend
much time together, thank God.

Come in.

I don't know how
Tedi can even bear to be in the same room.

Will you hold this, please?

Yes.

Yes, of course.

Go through.

Mrs. Millward.

Hello? Silvia?

What are you doing hiding there?

What were you thinking?

He has no friends. What was I supposed...

You're not his friend, you're his tutor.

He's just a kid, Silvia.

Oh, my God.

You like him.

I don't like him.

So what if I like him?

Tri.

- Pedwar.
- Pedwar.

Everything all right in here?

We're nearly up to ten.

He's a very good teacher.

Nearly his bedtime.

Aww.

Sleepy time, little man.

- I don't want to.
- Na...

No, but there's no choice, hmm?

Mammy and I will come up
to say good night.

Hmm? Come on.

Hmm?

- But I was teaching him Welsh.
- Two, three, four.

Dau, tri, pedwar.

And you did such a great job.

Next time, you can teach him
how to count to a hundred. Oh.

- Say good night.
- Good night.

Good night.

You haven't been
teaching him naughty words?

- No.
- Well, I hope not.

Is that how you met? On a march?

Hmm, hmm.

Something like that.

At a little town called Capel Celyn.

I have so many places to visit.

You wouldn't be able to visit anymore.

It's underwater.

Uh...

The government drowned it.

A new reservoir

to provide drinking water
for Liverpool, England.

And so one of the last fully
Welsh-speaking villages in the land

now rests quietly at the bottom of a lake.

No wonder you feel so strongly.

And no wonder so many people want to...

stop me.

Revenge.

I don't think it's revenge.
At least, it shouldn't be.

What people really want
is self-determination.

Not being spoken down to. Dominated.

Governed by those so remote,
they don't even know you.

Know who you are,
or what you think or need.

Yes.

I know how that feels.

What do you think he meant by that?

I don't know.

And when we took Andras to bed,
did you see the look on his face?

Hmm.

I don't think he's ever seen
a mother and father do that.

Put their child to bed. Together.

Hmm.

How did he look?

Shattered.

See?

You do feel sorry for him.

Not sorry, no.

So what if I did feel sorry for him?

Hmm.

Remember not to rush through
your "atmosphere."

Awyrgylch.

- Awyrgylch.
- Awyrgylch.

They kindly sent me an invitation
to attend the investiture.

I must tell you, there are certain things
I draw the line at.

- I still have my beliefs.
- Of course.

There is just one other thing.

My speech

was written for me by people
who don't know me.

So, of course, it doesn't reflect
who I actually am or what I think,

or, indeed, what I have come to learn
having been here in Wales,

and there are one or two tiny additions
I'd like to make in my own voice,

which actually come from me.

Like what?

I've written them in English.

They'd need translating.

Here.

I'll take a look.

Good afternoon. This is the BBC.

We welcome you here
to this royal principality of Wales,

where eager crowds await the investiture

of Prince Charles

as Prince of Wales

on this historic day.

Yes.

Come on then.
Can't keep your audience waiting.

Good morning to you,

and bore da
from inside Caernarfon Castle

where the preparations are now complete
for the arrival of Her Majesty

and, of course, the young man
who will one day succeed her.

It's a large turnout for the Prince today,

and the mood among the gathering crowds
is one of anticipation, excitement,

and, some might say,

palpable tension.

You're going to be fine.

Charles! Charles!

A good response from the onlookers.

Only a few boos could be heard,

and otherwise the Welsh people
showing enormous support.

Two minutes, Your Royal Highness.

I, Charles...

Prince of Wales...

to become your liege man
of life and limb...

and of earthly worship...

and faith

and truth,

I will bear unto thee...

to live and die
against all manner of folks.

It is with great pride...

that I undertake this privilege today,

in this historic location

and in the spectacular fortress
we see around us.

Truly, the...

atmosphere...

and the emotion is enough
to make a man tremble.

It was a great honor...

- Shh! Keep the noise down!
- to be welcomed to Wales...

- and to have my eyes opened...
- Shh!

To the Welsh perspective.

Wales has a history to be proud of,

and it is completely understandable
that the Welsh

wish to hold on to their heritage,
their native culture,

their identity, their disposition

and their personality as a nation.

It is important we respect that.

Wales has her own identity.

Her own character.

Her own will.

Her own voice.

Ah, hello.

Before I left,
I just wanted to say thank you.

- For everything.
- Oh, pleasure.

Andras, look who's here.

And to give you this.

Oh, thank you.

How are you, Andras?

Very good. Thank you, Charles.

Very good.

What now?

Straight back to England?

No, a four-day tour of Wales
to visit every town, shake every hand.

And listen.

Good for you.

You've done well.

I had a good teacher.

Stay here.

Charles.

Uh, I'm curious.

How did the changes you made to the speech
go down with your family?

Well, that's the beauty
of having done it in Welsh.

They won't have understood a word
of what I actually said!

Goodbye.

Goodbye.

Goodbye, Andras!

Goodbye!

Well, I believe
congratulations are in order, sir.

Thank you, Stephen.

I saw it on the television.
You looked very, very dapper.

- Grand, wasn't it?
- Yes.

Now, sir, would you like a spot of supper?

I...

- Where's the Queen?
- Just retired for the night, sir.

Stephen, might you ask if she'll see me?

Very good, sir.

Her Majesty hoped
it might wait until morning, sir.

But if not,
she will see you briefly in her bedroom.

Come in.

Is that it?

Is that the welcoming committee?

What more is to be said?

How about, "Thank you," or, "Well done"?

If we all had to thank one another
every time we did anything in this family,

we'd never get anywhere.

I've just been on a very challenging
post-investiture tour of Wales.

It went better than anyone expected.

Thank you.

You were sent to Wales to show respect,

and heal divisions,
not inflict them on your own family.

I did nothing of the sort.

I've had the opportunity now to read
the translation of what you actually said,

and the inferences you made.

The similarity between Wales's suffering
and yours was clear.

- Was it?
- Unmistakable.

Only to you.

To all Wales, apparently.

"If this union is to endure,"

then we must learn
to respect each other's differences.

Nobody likes to be ignored,

"to not be seen or heard or listened to."

Well, am I wrong?

Isn't there a similarity
between my predicament and the Welsh?

Am I listened to in this family?

Am I seen for who and what I am? No.

Do I have a voice?

Rather too much of a voice for my liking.

Not having a voice is something
all of us have to live with.

We have all made sacrifices
and suppressed who we are.

Some portion of our natural selves
is always lost.

That is a choice.

It is not a choice.

It is a duty.

I was a similar age to you
when your great-grandmother, Queen Mary,

told me that to do nothing,
to say nothing, is the hardest job of all.

It requires every ounce of energy
that we have.

To be impartial is not natural,
it's not human.

People will always want us
to smile or agree,

or frown or speak,

and the minute that we do, we will
have declared a position, a point of view,

and that is the one thing
as the royal family

we are not entitled to do.

Which is why we have to hide
those feelings, keep them to ourselves.

Because the less we do,
the less we say or speak or agree or...

Or think...

or breathe...

or feel or exist.

The better.

But doing that is perhaps
not as easy for me as it is for you.

- Why?
- Because I... have a beating heart.

A character.

A mind and a will of my own.

I am not just a symbol.

I can lead not just by wearing a uniform,
or by cutting a ribbon,

but by showing people who I am.

Mummy, I have a voice.

Let me let you into a secret.

No one wants to hear it.

Are you talking about the country...

or my own family?

No one.

For within the hollow crown

rounds the mortal temples of a king

keeps Death his court

and there the antic sits,

scoffing his state
and grinning at his pomp...

allowing him a breath...

a little scene to monarchize.

Be fear'd and kill with looks...

infusing him
with self and vain conceit...

as if this flesh which walls about
our life, were brass impregnable...

and humor'd thus comes at the last

and with a little pin...

bores through his castle wall,

and farewell king!

Cover your heads...

and mock not flesh and blood

with solemn reverence...

throw away respect,

tradition,

form and ceremonious duty...

for you have but mistook me all this while

I live with bread like you,

feel want...

taste grief...

need friends...

subjected thus,

how can you say to me...

I am a king?

♪ I've a little friend
Who lives in Buckingham Palace ♪

♪ And Carlo Windsor is his name ♪

♪ Last time I went to knock on his door ♪

♪ His mother answered and she told me ♪

♪ Oh, Carlo, Carlo ♪

♪ Carlo's playing polo today, today ♪

♪ Carlo, Carlo ♪

♪ Carlo's playing polo
With Daddy, Daddy ♪

♪ Join in the song ♪

♪ People old and young ♪

♪ Finally we have a "Prince" ♪

♪ In the land of song ♪

♪ Oh, Carlo, Carlo ♪

♪ Carlo's playing polo today, today ♪

♪ Carlo, Carlo ♪

♪ Carlo's playing polo
With Daddy, Daddy ♪

♪ Join in the song ♪

♪ People old and young ♪

♪ Finally we have a "Prince" ♪

♪ In the land of song ♪