The Royals (2015–…): Season 2, Episode 7 - Taint Not Thy Mind, Nor Let Thy Soul Contrive Against Thy Mother - full transcript
Previously on The Royals...
Helena, we need to talk.
Please stay. Don't go.
All you need to do is find a way
to make amends with your children
before 30 years passes with them too.
If you truly don't have
much time left,
do something meaningful with it.
What do you really want to do?
I want to spend it with you.
This was around my neck
the night before the King was killed.
- What does it mean?
- We figure this out,
we figure out who's been
killing my family.
Why are you here?
What does that symbol
on my necklace mean?
Not now!
We're being watched.
Your Majesty.
My God, Truman, I can't
imagine it can get any worse.
It's your son.
There is one final thing
you can do for your Queen.
I killed the King of England.
- You killed Simon.
- No.
But we both know...
you did.
Mandy, why are you leaving?
Did he threaten you?
Fine. You won't tell her?
We came here to rob you.
- Mandy, is this true?
- Just let me the hell out of here!
No, it's not too late
to fix this.
You can come back
to the Palace with me.
Just tell her
that you changed your mind.
Tell her that this might have been
the original reason you came here but...
once you got here
and got to know her,
and you...
you fell in love with her...
..literally nothing else matters
because you will give up everything
just for a second chance with her.
You are so screwed.
There is only you.
I'm here because of you.
Not diamonds or some other girl.
None of that has power
over me now.
Only you. So...
♪ I don't have to mention
that I saw you today
♪ I shone the sun
into your eyes
I wish I could go back and
do everything differently.
I'm sorry.
Eleanor, I am so goddamn sorry.
Please...
Please forgive me.
I've changed.
Get over what happened and
get over here now before I...
♪ And what is ours is ours
to keep
♪ I know the thing you want
the most
♪ You hide it over there
♪ Safe at the dark end
of the street
Jasper?
Jasper?
Look, I've gone
over every frame.
You're sure she's the one
that put the necklace on you?
Absolutely.
Play it through again.
I've got to find this girl.
♪ Light up the dark in you
♪ Light up the dark in you
♪ Light up the dark in you
♪ Light up the dark in you
♪ It could be a spark
for everything
♪ Always plays
a first throughout
- Wake up, Helena.
- Oh!
The monarchy is a brand.
Promote it. Protect it.
Or go out of business.
Oh.
Duvet diving is not
an option for the Queen.
Oh, my God!
You slept in your make-up
and your clothes?
Do you really think people
are going to line up
- to wave at that?
- I don't feel well.
Hm. Well, try having
breakfast with Cyrus
while he fawns all over
a low-born bimbo
in between bites of kipper.
Oh! I am so not
into shipping virus.
The last fling of a dying man
can be dangerously sincere.
Come on, young lady.
Up and at 'em.
Oh, and of course, "young lady"
is just a turn of phrase.
Darling, you've got to start
wearing bigger earrings
to distract from the wrinkles.
♪ I could be undone
♪ For anything
♪ And you could hush
the voice of burning doubt
♪ Come on, easy rider
♪ It's about to sing
The only thing more
offensive than you throwing
a bottle of Vodka at my head
is this paltry brand.
Go to hell!
- It's your birthday.
- Whoo!
I thought you might like
to go see Charlie Jones.
There.
One of the champagne girls.
Holden's champagne girls.
He crashed here last night.
Print it out.
Oh, hell of a party,
if I do say so myself.
Dom '93.
What? Did you want the widow?
Not the booze, Holden.
The girl. Do you know her?
No. But I know
the other one.
Known her a few times, actually.
Can you get in touch with her?
Zoe, do you know this girl?
Yeah, I know her.
"King of Bling takes a swing."
"Demonstrators protest
monarch's bad behavior."
I would call it bold not bad.
- There is a way to make it all better.
- No!
I won't be going on telly
to tell them what I'm going through.
A king does not beg for
compassion. It's not his job.
- You're only human.
- No. I'm a king.
Violet, I love you but
your plan is simply naive.
I know what I'm doing.
You have to trust me.
Did you just say, "Love"?
Yes. I love you.
I'm 45-years-old.
I know what my feelings are.
This tyrant is in love with you.
I only met her last night.
What's her name?
I can't remember.
All we did was share a smoke break.
What did you guys talk about?
Tattoos.
She was well into it.
Anything else?
Anything specific?
Only her ink. I asked her
where she got it done.
Where?
Er... Oh, yeah.
A place down in Bow.
Charlie Jones!
I remember 10 years ago today
when we gave you that horse.
The look on your face
was pure joy.
- Good old friend.
- You jumped right on.
Utterly fearless.
And you galloped away.
I don't think I ever really
got you back.
Oh, yeah. It was me
who left you in the dust.
People are always telling me what an
ungrateful, spoilt little brat you are.
You have been given all the material
things in life, that's true.
But, perhaps I should have
given you more of myself.
So... that's today's gift,
mother-daughter time.
So you got me nothing?
Shut up, Princess.
Come on. Let's ride.
- It's not the Dark Ages.
- More's the pity!
You've completely lost touch.
I never had touch.
Thank God!
And yet, for reasons
that I cannot fully fathom,
the irrational totem
of majesty that you personify
actually matters to the world.
The pound is down, two trade
agreements have gone up the spout
and students in Oxford
are threatening to riot.
Sounds like a bunch of "you" problems...
acting Prime Minister.
How about this
for a "you" problem.
Abolishment.
Your brother put a bug
in the people's ear about it.
All I have to do
is call it up for a vote.
Like the sound of a
constitutional crisis much?
You need to do something
major to show the monarchy is back
in its pretty... little... box.
And you need a good shag.
Simon never wanted you
to have your own horse.
- It's only because of me...
- I know. I know.
You argued with him
on my behalf.
Remember the arguments?
He cared about me.
He thought you needed coddling.
I knew you needed freedom.
Oh, you say, "freedom"?
See, I say, "abandonment".
Consider yourself lucky.
I prayed for my mother to
give me some "abandonment".
The Duchy rocks.
She could break the spirit
of any animal... human or otherwise.
You've never seen that side
of your grandmother.
Believe me, her anger
could be terrifying.
Whooo! Bully for her.
I never resorted
to my mother's methods.
I never wanted
to crush your spirit.
And, as a result, you fight me
instead of doing my bidding.
Hold on to all that fight
in you, Eleanor.
It's what's going
to protect you.
It's going to save you from this world
you've been born into.
A diamond world...
sparkling and cold and hard.
I'd rather you fight your
mother than be her machine.
Oh, hey there.
Glad you could make it, Ted.
Thanks ever so much for coming.
I'm just making soup.
You're gonna love it.
Soup's getting cold.
What is all of this?
Hearty leek and potato.
Delicious.
You have 10 seconds to tell
me exactly who you are,
why you brought me here,
and what you want.
All fair questions.
But the thing you really
want to ask me
is how I knew
that you killed Simon.
Nine.
And you can't ask directly.
Too incriminating.
This could be
a Scotland Yard sting.
Eight.
If all the King's horses and all
the King's men couldn't put it together
how did I know?
Six.
You're not going
to shoot me, Mr. Pryce.
Because you don't know
who else I've told.
So drop the gun and the act.
What's that sound?
A helicopter overhead?
A battering ram?
The jingle of handcuffs
as they come to get me?
No, I don't hear any of that.
You came here alone.
And every minute an assault
team doesn't show up at my door,
I'm proven right.
You killed Simon.
How did I figure it out, you ask?
I'm a student
of human nature, Ted.
Once I figured out motive, I poked
and I pushed a few buttons
to see what you'd do.
I saw the pain in your face
at the museum.
And I saw the fear in your
eyes when I said you killed the King.
That's how I knew.
The human body has
a vast number of "tells".
- You're no exception.
- You don't know anything!
Technically, I don't.
No hard evidence at least.
Just a hunch and a bluff.
But I don't need
irrefutable proof, Ted.
Because I'm not arresting you.
And I'm not trying
to poison you either.
I need you.
So either shoot me or eat
some soup and hear me out.
No, no. Come on.
Leave, leave. I'll be Mother.
There.
I've been dying to ask.
Are the boobs real?
Since when have you been
squeamish about details?
I've been living vicariously
through your exploits for years.
Oh, come now. You still have a few
exploits of your own now and again.
- Or so I hear.
- Oh, well...
A lady never tells.
Oh, and... uh...
speaking of exploits...
yours have upset the people.
Since when is a wolf
concerned with the opinions of sheep?
A wolf cannot feast on lamb
alone if the flock has bolted.
You suggested a push for power.
I have always had an iron
fist in a velvet glove.
You took the gloves off
and that was a grave mistake.
You need to subjugate
your subjects.
And I, luckily for you,
have a plan.
- You always do.
- Yes.
- Get rid of the girl.
- Oh!
You need the support
of the aristocracy.
And they consider your
silly little floozy a joke.
Do you want to be feared or a fool?
Ditch the bitch.
Violet. My Violet.
You underestimate
that delicate bloom.
Unlike you, she lacks artifice,
self-interest and...
- A brain?
- She has a remarkable intelligence.
As it happens, she suggested
an excellent plan of her own
as regards to my
relationship with the people.
And I shall be putting it into action
before the end of the day.
Well, I can't wait to hear
what she has to say.
And yet, you will have to.
You're on a need-to-know
basis only from now on.
Now, if you'll excuse me,
I've got some
very real boobs to go fondle.
And a speech to write.
So tell me more about the Duchy.
Did she sleep
with your boyfriends too?
I'm sorry for what I did.
And you should know, it was
me who initiated not Jasper.
- I forced his hand.
- Not just his hand.
I could see you were about
to throw your heart away.
At marriageable age, the
stakes are just too high.
So much more if you're royal.
But if I'd told you not
to see him
or if I'd had him fired,
you would have wanted him
even more.
You'd have gone to the ends
of the earth for him.
And Jasper Frost
didn't seem worthy.
Certainly not trustworthy.
You did it to hurt me.
And to, once again, show me
that I was making a mistake.
Well, perhaps I was wrong.
No, you weren't.
Design books are over there.
Let me know if you want
your own thing.
I was thinking about this.
That's an interesting design.
Can't say I've ever seen that before.
This the kind of thing
you're looking for?
No.
Got my heart set on this.
Look this girl up.
She might be able to help you.
Any more information?
Perhaps a number, address?
That's all I've got.
Good luck.
Hm.
It's an interesting dilemma, yours.
If you ask the questions you
need to ask, you imply guilt.
And if you don't,
you get no answers.
I want to know what you
think you're accomplishing
by all of this and why
you've deluded yourself
into thinking I can help you.
Counter transference.
Good ploy. Well played. Okay.
Answers. Fine.
Well, it's quite a story.
I think you're going to like it.
What a delightful surprise.
Come on. Come in.
Piled high with Hobnobs.
Just the way your dad liked.
A king's old equerry
never forgets.
So... What brings the Prince
to my humble abode?
You're the only person
I can truly trust
who knew my father
when he was young.
Does this mean anything to you?
Well, this is gonna be
a rather different conversation
than I'd imagined.
You knew her?
Indeed.
I looked online.
There wasn't much to go on.
But, from what I can tell, it seems like
she knew my family a long time ago.
Dominique Stewart.
She was your father's true love.
She was...
My sister.
She was kind and... clever.
And elegant.
Everyone loved her.
But no one more than Simon.
You understand.
The minute he ascended the throne,
the powers that be started
compiling a list
of appropriate brides for him.
All of them worthy, all of
them attractive and well educated.
"They can have their list
but I've got my own list.
And there's only one name on it."
That's what he said.
By the way, she was on their
list but he didn't care.
What she and your father
felt for each other was much bigger.
And... uh... rightly so.
I would venture to say
that they were...
a perfect match.
Destined.
Not just because she was the
right age and well-mannered
and beautiful, but because
of our family line.
A truly noble line
that dates back to Alfred the Great.
And that mattered
a great deal, of course.
It didn't matter a bit to your dad
who the Stewarts were, of course.
Ancient blood lines
and all that.
No, he was just a boy
in love with a girl.
Choose love.
Wait here.
- When was this taken?
- Oh, it's 30-odd years ago.
She was a showjumper?
Oh, not Olympic level.
Nothing like that.
Just local fun.
Sometimes, your dad would go
along and cheer on Dominique.
When I was little,
I couldn't pronounce her name.
So I called her Domino.
Where was my mother
during this time?
There was a time when I had
real undeniable love in my life.
That Henry guy you spoke
about on the TV?
No. That was a lie.
This isn't.
He worked on our farm.
I would go out riding
just to catch a glimpse
of him in the fields.
God forbid my family
should have found out.
Helena's family was
coming up in the world.
One way or another,
your gran got Helena onto the list
of girls for Simon.
Lord knows how she did it but Helena
certainly qualified as a great beauty.
The young king would dance with her
at all your grandmother's parties.
Infamously extravagant parties
expressly designed to match
her daughter with royalty.
We were planning to elope.
The boy that I loved
couldn't afford a diamond
so I picked out a pebble
from the shore near here.
And we were going to have it
set into an engagement ring.
A pebble?
You didn't know me then.
Maybe he would have bought
me a diamond one day,
but honestly, Eleanor,
I didn't care.
I was in love.
And that meant much more
to me. Much more.
I thought my life was set.
But the thing about love
and life...
it rarely goes according to plan.
Domino? Domino!
Fate didn't care what I'd planned.
Domino!
Fate didn't care
that I'd fallen in love.
She was thrown from her horse...
coming back
from competition that day.
She died just a few hours
after that picture was taken.
So tragic.
As flies to wanton boys
are we to the gods.
They kill us for their sport.
He loved her.
Nonetheless, he had a duty
to continue the line.
The heir and the spare.
Hm. A bachelor king
would never do.
No. So he hid his private
pain and... uh... publicly carried on.
The country was in a recession.
Something was needed
to restore public morale.
And what better than
a royal wedding?
That's the drill. The economy
sorely needed a boost.
Especially after Black Friday.
That day was well named.
I'd never seen my father cry before.
He'd always kept everyone in
the dark about family finances
but Black Friday finished us off.
After that, all the family's
hopes were pinned on me.
I told my mother I was
in love with someone else
but that was less of an option.
The most eligible bachelor
in the world was interested.
All of the diamonds...
I would have been
happy with a pebble.
And I said yes
to my mother's plan.
And became Queen.
Glamor and the status.
Yes.
After a while, it mattered.
I became a different person.
But the girl who wanted the freedom
to choose for herself...
and a pebble set
in an engagement ring...
all she wanted was love.
Well, you made
the right call, Mum.
To hell with love,
it's a loser's game.
Darling, I told you my story
so that you could be happier than me.
I want you to have a chance at love.
That's nice, Mum, really.
I don't have a chance.
I've seen the way
Jasper Frost looks at you.
There's only one man who
ever looked at me that way.
He wasn't rich or royal.
He was only the help.
But he was my love.
And I messed it up. Royally.
- So if you have feelings...
- I don't.
Okay?
People just love me
for what I am, Mum,
they don't love me for who I am.
That's just not true!
Eleanor, look at me.
Are you saying
no one will ever love you
for who you really are?
Someone already does.
I do.
I always have.
And I always will.
My sister's death destroyed my family.
And my sister's death
was not an accident.
There was only one person standing
between the current Queen
Consort and that throne.
Dominique.
I assume there was
an investigation.
We went to Scotland Yard
but the aristocracy closed ranks.
The more fuss my parents made,
the worse it got.
Debts were called in,
our prospects destroyed.
We lost everything...
including our honor.
Our noble family discarded
and smashed into the dust.
Our families deserve
justice, Ted. Yours and mine.
And they deserve to be punished.
The damage that's been done.
Your wife gone. Your daughter
raised as a motherless child.
Stop! Stop.
Just suppose for a moment
that you're correct...
and that I killed Simon.
If I'm the man you think I am,
I'm doing your dirty work.
Why not just let me carry on?
Maybe the Queen was next.
Death is too easy for her.
What I have in mind is
so much more appropriate.
She will live in a constant
hell of grief and regret,
poverty, shame and fear.
People will spit in her face
when she walks down the street
instead of waving and bowing
and handing her flowers.
They wanted a legacy?
We'll give them one,
the one they earned.
Your sister died
a long time ago. Why now?
Until Prince Robert was killed,
also called an "accident"...
I never knew I had
an ally inside the Palace.
Isn't it a relief to finally
meet someone who understands?
I don't know what you've done
that could possibly be worse
than what I know,
but you need to find a way
to make it up to her.
She cares.
Deeply, I suspect.
Rally back, bodyguard.
Do something to make it right.
I'm rooting for you.
- Where have you been?
- With Eleanor.
Well, you've spent the day
with the wrong girl.
I spent the day with
my daughter on her birthday.
How's that so difficult
for you to understand?
Because, unlike you, I have
my priorities straight.
You see, while you were out
horsing around,
I went to visit my good
friend the Crown Jeweler.
And he told me that Cyrus
has picked out an engagement ring.
Now, if they are still
married when he dies,
she will be
the sole reigning monarch,
thanks to your brilliant
Bill of Succession.
I'm not close to you, Helena,
because you're my daughter,
I'm close to you
because you're the Queen.
So I'd better go and
cozy up to her.
Violet, oh, how very nice
to see you, my dear.
Mwah! Mwah!
Where the devil have you been?
Sorry, the Grand Duchess
had me for tea.
What?
She was so nice. She wanted
to know all about me.
She is not your friend.
Stay away from that witch.
Oh, stop. You're only ever
mean when you're nervous.
I'm not nervous talking
to the people.
Yes, you are.
We both know it.
Well, you know
what's not helping?
The fact that
you never said it back.
- I love you?
- It's a question not a statement.
You caught me off guard, that's all.
Those words are hard
for me to say.
It's okay if you don't.
You need to breathe.
One time when I was seven,
I had to sing a solo
at the school
Happy Christmas Fair.
- I was Rudolph.
- Of course you were.
And my grandmother told me
to relax and breathe.
And then she gave me
something that made it all better.
I'm going to get it for you.
I want you to have it.
Wait. I need you here
not your things.
You don't need me, honey,
but it's nice you say you do.
I'll be back before
the broadcast. I promise.
And the answer is yes.
Of course I do.
My father loved her.
Come with me.
She was my aunt.
I was named after her.
My whole life
I've been taught to hate you
- and everything about you.
- Okay.
That night we followed you
and put the symbol on you,
you really didn't seem
like a bad person.
You seemed broken.
I was.
Sometimes I still am.
And that speech you gave
at the memorial.
- I don't know what to think of you now.
- You said, "We."
Who's "we"? Why are you
supposed to hate me?
Please, stop with the riddles
and tell me what this is about.
- Who is always watching?
- My father. Her brother.
The symbol on my necklace...
Tumbling dominoes.
What's gonna come tumbling down?
Your family.
Domino was her nickname.
The day she died, she was competing
in a showjumping event.
Yes.
She rode home to give
the horse a cool down.
My father was waiting for her.
When the horse returned,
it was all jumped up and hyper.
- In a foaming sweat.
- It was drugged.
They didn't test for that
until five days afterwards.
By which point,
the drugs would have passed
through the horse's system.
She was an expert rider.
She and that horse
were totally in sync.
Liam, your mother's family
hosted the event.
They planned the whole thing,
invited Dominique.
She and your mother were rivals.
That's one hell
of an accusation.
My dad, his whole family
were destroyed.
Emotionally, financially.
Everything.
Proving Dominique was
killed, getting justice...
it's the family business.
And you're part of it
by choice or just born and bound?
Born and bound but...
Until you can find a way
to be free,
you gotta do what you gotta do.
- I'm sorry. I've got to go.
- One last question.
Is it justice your father
wants or revenge?
My father and my brother are dead.
We had nothing
to do with that. Nothing.
Your Majesty, we just need
to do a quick sound test
then we'll be live
to all major networks.
I won't start till the Lady
of the Privy Chamber is here.
She said she'd be back by now.
She's the frigging maid.
You're late.
I was doing what you told me to do.
And?
He knows what he needs
to know now.
He's charismatic, isn't he?
The Prince.
He's okay.
We are live in...
five, four, three...
The night King Simon
was attacked,
what time did he arrive back
at the Palace gates?
♪ Time is much quicker now
♪ It never used to...
♪ ...move so fast
♪ Guess we're all grown up
- Hey.
- Hey.
Oh, uh... happy birthday.
Yeah.
♪ I never used to
What's the matter?
♪ Guess I'm all grown up
She was so young there.
What?
Liam, you're scaring me.
I think Mum killed someone.
Some of you don't like
the way I've been behaving recently.
You're unsettled.
Maybe you feel threatened.
These are dark times.
Friends can be false.
Alliances shift.
People are covetous and wicked.
I see it all.
I know everything.
And in no uncertain terms...
let me promise you
from the bottom of my heart,
if I find out that anyone
has done anything
which goes against
the will of my rule...
then rest assured, things are about
to get a whole lot worse.
♪ Like it doesn't
even matter
Long live The King!
♪ The way it was
♪ The rush of blood
♪ You gave it all up
♪ You're acting like it
doesn't even matter
♪ Like I don't even matter
Helena, we need to talk.
Please stay. Don't go.
All you need to do is find a way
to make amends with your children
before 30 years passes with them too.
If you truly don't have
much time left,
do something meaningful with it.
What do you really want to do?
I want to spend it with you.
This was around my neck
the night before the King was killed.
- What does it mean?
- We figure this out,
we figure out who's been
killing my family.
Why are you here?
What does that symbol
on my necklace mean?
Not now!
We're being watched.
Your Majesty.
My God, Truman, I can't
imagine it can get any worse.
It's your son.
There is one final thing
you can do for your Queen.
I killed the King of England.
- You killed Simon.
- No.
But we both know...
you did.
Mandy, why are you leaving?
Did he threaten you?
Fine. You won't tell her?
We came here to rob you.
- Mandy, is this true?
- Just let me the hell out of here!
No, it's not too late
to fix this.
You can come back
to the Palace with me.
Just tell her
that you changed your mind.
Tell her that this might have been
the original reason you came here but...
once you got here
and got to know her,
and you...
you fell in love with her...
..literally nothing else matters
because you will give up everything
just for a second chance with her.
You are so screwed.
There is only you.
I'm here because of you.
Not diamonds or some other girl.
None of that has power
over me now.
Only you. So...
♪ I don't have to mention
that I saw you today
♪ I shone the sun
into your eyes
I wish I could go back and
do everything differently.
I'm sorry.
Eleanor, I am so goddamn sorry.
Please...
Please forgive me.
I've changed.
Get over what happened and
get over here now before I...
♪ And what is ours is ours
to keep
♪ I know the thing you want
the most
♪ You hide it over there
♪ Safe at the dark end
of the street
Jasper?
Jasper?
Look, I've gone
over every frame.
You're sure she's the one
that put the necklace on you?
Absolutely.
Play it through again.
I've got to find this girl.
♪ Light up the dark in you
♪ Light up the dark in you
♪ Light up the dark in you
♪ Light up the dark in you
♪ It could be a spark
for everything
♪ Always plays
a first throughout
- Wake up, Helena.
- Oh!
The monarchy is a brand.
Promote it. Protect it.
Or go out of business.
Oh.
Duvet diving is not
an option for the Queen.
Oh, my God!
You slept in your make-up
and your clothes?
Do you really think people
are going to line up
- to wave at that?
- I don't feel well.
Hm. Well, try having
breakfast with Cyrus
while he fawns all over
a low-born bimbo
in between bites of kipper.
Oh! I am so not
into shipping virus.
The last fling of a dying man
can be dangerously sincere.
Come on, young lady.
Up and at 'em.
Oh, and of course, "young lady"
is just a turn of phrase.
Darling, you've got to start
wearing bigger earrings
to distract from the wrinkles.
♪ I could be undone
♪ For anything
♪ And you could hush
the voice of burning doubt
♪ Come on, easy rider
♪ It's about to sing
The only thing more
offensive than you throwing
a bottle of Vodka at my head
is this paltry brand.
Go to hell!
- It's your birthday.
- Whoo!
I thought you might like
to go see Charlie Jones.
There.
One of the champagne girls.
Holden's champagne girls.
He crashed here last night.
Print it out.
Oh, hell of a party,
if I do say so myself.
Dom '93.
What? Did you want the widow?
Not the booze, Holden.
The girl. Do you know her?
No. But I know
the other one.
Known her a few times, actually.
Can you get in touch with her?
Zoe, do you know this girl?
Yeah, I know her.
"King of Bling takes a swing."
"Demonstrators protest
monarch's bad behavior."
I would call it bold not bad.
- There is a way to make it all better.
- No!
I won't be going on telly
to tell them what I'm going through.
A king does not beg for
compassion. It's not his job.
- You're only human.
- No. I'm a king.
Violet, I love you but
your plan is simply naive.
I know what I'm doing.
You have to trust me.
Did you just say, "Love"?
Yes. I love you.
I'm 45-years-old.
I know what my feelings are.
This tyrant is in love with you.
I only met her last night.
What's her name?
I can't remember.
All we did was share a smoke break.
What did you guys talk about?
Tattoos.
She was well into it.
Anything else?
Anything specific?
Only her ink. I asked her
where she got it done.
Where?
Er... Oh, yeah.
A place down in Bow.
Charlie Jones!
I remember 10 years ago today
when we gave you that horse.
The look on your face
was pure joy.
- Good old friend.
- You jumped right on.
Utterly fearless.
And you galloped away.
I don't think I ever really
got you back.
Oh, yeah. It was me
who left you in the dust.
People are always telling me what an
ungrateful, spoilt little brat you are.
You have been given all the material
things in life, that's true.
But, perhaps I should have
given you more of myself.
So... that's today's gift,
mother-daughter time.
So you got me nothing?
Shut up, Princess.
Come on. Let's ride.
- It's not the Dark Ages.
- More's the pity!
You've completely lost touch.
I never had touch.
Thank God!
And yet, for reasons
that I cannot fully fathom,
the irrational totem
of majesty that you personify
actually matters to the world.
The pound is down, two trade
agreements have gone up the spout
and students in Oxford
are threatening to riot.
Sounds like a bunch of "you" problems...
acting Prime Minister.
How about this
for a "you" problem.
Abolishment.
Your brother put a bug
in the people's ear about it.
All I have to do
is call it up for a vote.
Like the sound of a
constitutional crisis much?
You need to do something
major to show the monarchy is back
in its pretty... little... box.
And you need a good shag.
Simon never wanted you
to have your own horse.
- It's only because of me...
- I know. I know.
You argued with him
on my behalf.
Remember the arguments?
He cared about me.
He thought you needed coddling.
I knew you needed freedom.
Oh, you say, "freedom"?
See, I say, "abandonment".
Consider yourself lucky.
I prayed for my mother to
give me some "abandonment".
The Duchy rocks.
She could break the spirit
of any animal... human or otherwise.
You've never seen that side
of your grandmother.
Believe me, her anger
could be terrifying.
Whooo! Bully for her.
I never resorted
to my mother's methods.
I never wanted
to crush your spirit.
And, as a result, you fight me
instead of doing my bidding.
Hold on to all that fight
in you, Eleanor.
It's what's going
to protect you.
It's going to save you from this world
you've been born into.
A diamond world...
sparkling and cold and hard.
I'd rather you fight your
mother than be her machine.
Oh, hey there.
Glad you could make it, Ted.
Thanks ever so much for coming.
I'm just making soup.
You're gonna love it.
Soup's getting cold.
What is all of this?
Hearty leek and potato.
Delicious.
You have 10 seconds to tell
me exactly who you are,
why you brought me here,
and what you want.
All fair questions.
But the thing you really
want to ask me
is how I knew
that you killed Simon.
Nine.
And you can't ask directly.
Too incriminating.
This could be
a Scotland Yard sting.
Eight.
If all the King's horses and all
the King's men couldn't put it together
how did I know?
Six.
You're not going
to shoot me, Mr. Pryce.
Because you don't know
who else I've told.
So drop the gun and the act.
What's that sound?
A helicopter overhead?
A battering ram?
The jingle of handcuffs
as they come to get me?
No, I don't hear any of that.
You came here alone.
And every minute an assault
team doesn't show up at my door,
I'm proven right.
You killed Simon.
How did I figure it out, you ask?
I'm a student
of human nature, Ted.
Once I figured out motive, I poked
and I pushed a few buttons
to see what you'd do.
I saw the pain in your face
at the museum.
And I saw the fear in your
eyes when I said you killed the King.
That's how I knew.
The human body has
a vast number of "tells".
- You're no exception.
- You don't know anything!
Technically, I don't.
No hard evidence at least.
Just a hunch and a bluff.
But I don't need
irrefutable proof, Ted.
Because I'm not arresting you.
And I'm not trying
to poison you either.
I need you.
So either shoot me or eat
some soup and hear me out.
No, no. Come on.
Leave, leave. I'll be Mother.
There.
I've been dying to ask.
Are the boobs real?
Since when have you been
squeamish about details?
I've been living vicariously
through your exploits for years.
Oh, come now. You still have a few
exploits of your own now and again.
- Or so I hear.
- Oh, well...
A lady never tells.
Oh, and... uh...
speaking of exploits...
yours have upset the people.
Since when is a wolf
concerned with the opinions of sheep?
A wolf cannot feast on lamb
alone if the flock has bolted.
You suggested a push for power.
I have always had an iron
fist in a velvet glove.
You took the gloves off
and that was a grave mistake.
You need to subjugate
your subjects.
And I, luckily for you,
have a plan.
- You always do.
- Yes.
- Get rid of the girl.
- Oh!
You need the support
of the aristocracy.
And they consider your
silly little floozy a joke.
Do you want to be feared or a fool?
Ditch the bitch.
Violet. My Violet.
You underestimate
that delicate bloom.
Unlike you, she lacks artifice,
self-interest and...
- A brain?
- She has a remarkable intelligence.
As it happens, she suggested
an excellent plan of her own
as regards to my
relationship with the people.
And I shall be putting it into action
before the end of the day.
Well, I can't wait to hear
what she has to say.
And yet, you will have to.
You're on a need-to-know
basis only from now on.
Now, if you'll excuse me,
I've got some
very real boobs to go fondle.
And a speech to write.
So tell me more about the Duchy.
Did she sleep
with your boyfriends too?
I'm sorry for what I did.
And you should know, it was
me who initiated not Jasper.
- I forced his hand.
- Not just his hand.
I could see you were about
to throw your heart away.
At marriageable age, the
stakes are just too high.
So much more if you're royal.
But if I'd told you not
to see him
or if I'd had him fired,
you would have wanted him
even more.
You'd have gone to the ends
of the earth for him.
And Jasper Frost
didn't seem worthy.
Certainly not trustworthy.
You did it to hurt me.
And to, once again, show me
that I was making a mistake.
Well, perhaps I was wrong.
No, you weren't.
Design books are over there.
Let me know if you want
your own thing.
I was thinking about this.
That's an interesting design.
Can't say I've ever seen that before.
This the kind of thing
you're looking for?
No.
Got my heart set on this.
Look this girl up.
She might be able to help you.
Any more information?
Perhaps a number, address?
That's all I've got.
Good luck.
Hm.
It's an interesting dilemma, yours.
If you ask the questions you
need to ask, you imply guilt.
And if you don't,
you get no answers.
I want to know what you
think you're accomplishing
by all of this and why
you've deluded yourself
into thinking I can help you.
Counter transference.
Good ploy. Well played. Okay.
Answers. Fine.
Well, it's quite a story.
I think you're going to like it.
What a delightful surprise.
Come on. Come in.
Piled high with Hobnobs.
Just the way your dad liked.
A king's old equerry
never forgets.
So... What brings the Prince
to my humble abode?
You're the only person
I can truly trust
who knew my father
when he was young.
Does this mean anything to you?
Well, this is gonna be
a rather different conversation
than I'd imagined.
You knew her?
Indeed.
I looked online.
There wasn't much to go on.
But, from what I can tell, it seems like
she knew my family a long time ago.
Dominique Stewart.
She was your father's true love.
She was...
My sister.
She was kind and... clever.
And elegant.
Everyone loved her.
But no one more than Simon.
You understand.
The minute he ascended the throne,
the powers that be started
compiling a list
of appropriate brides for him.
All of them worthy, all of
them attractive and well educated.
"They can have their list
but I've got my own list.
And there's only one name on it."
That's what he said.
By the way, she was on their
list but he didn't care.
What she and your father
felt for each other was much bigger.
And... uh... rightly so.
I would venture to say
that they were...
a perfect match.
Destined.
Not just because she was the
right age and well-mannered
and beautiful, but because
of our family line.
A truly noble line
that dates back to Alfred the Great.
And that mattered
a great deal, of course.
It didn't matter a bit to your dad
who the Stewarts were, of course.
Ancient blood lines
and all that.
No, he was just a boy
in love with a girl.
Choose love.
Wait here.
- When was this taken?
- Oh, it's 30-odd years ago.
She was a showjumper?
Oh, not Olympic level.
Nothing like that.
Just local fun.
Sometimes, your dad would go
along and cheer on Dominique.
When I was little,
I couldn't pronounce her name.
So I called her Domino.
Where was my mother
during this time?
There was a time when I had
real undeniable love in my life.
That Henry guy you spoke
about on the TV?
No. That was a lie.
This isn't.
He worked on our farm.
I would go out riding
just to catch a glimpse
of him in the fields.
God forbid my family
should have found out.
Helena's family was
coming up in the world.
One way or another,
your gran got Helena onto the list
of girls for Simon.
Lord knows how she did it but Helena
certainly qualified as a great beauty.
The young king would dance with her
at all your grandmother's parties.
Infamously extravagant parties
expressly designed to match
her daughter with royalty.
We were planning to elope.
The boy that I loved
couldn't afford a diamond
so I picked out a pebble
from the shore near here.
And we were going to have it
set into an engagement ring.
A pebble?
You didn't know me then.
Maybe he would have bought
me a diamond one day,
but honestly, Eleanor,
I didn't care.
I was in love.
And that meant much more
to me. Much more.
I thought my life was set.
But the thing about love
and life...
it rarely goes according to plan.
Domino? Domino!
Fate didn't care what I'd planned.
Domino!
Fate didn't care
that I'd fallen in love.
She was thrown from her horse...
coming back
from competition that day.
She died just a few hours
after that picture was taken.
So tragic.
As flies to wanton boys
are we to the gods.
They kill us for their sport.
He loved her.
Nonetheless, he had a duty
to continue the line.
The heir and the spare.
Hm. A bachelor king
would never do.
No. So he hid his private
pain and... uh... publicly carried on.
The country was in a recession.
Something was needed
to restore public morale.
And what better than
a royal wedding?
That's the drill. The economy
sorely needed a boost.
Especially after Black Friday.
That day was well named.
I'd never seen my father cry before.
He'd always kept everyone in
the dark about family finances
but Black Friday finished us off.
After that, all the family's
hopes were pinned on me.
I told my mother I was
in love with someone else
but that was less of an option.
The most eligible bachelor
in the world was interested.
All of the diamonds...
I would have been
happy with a pebble.
And I said yes
to my mother's plan.
And became Queen.
Glamor and the status.
Yes.
After a while, it mattered.
I became a different person.
But the girl who wanted the freedom
to choose for herself...
and a pebble set
in an engagement ring...
all she wanted was love.
Well, you made
the right call, Mum.
To hell with love,
it's a loser's game.
Darling, I told you my story
so that you could be happier than me.
I want you to have a chance at love.
That's nice, Mum, really.
I don't have a chance.
I've seen the way
Jasper Frost looks at you.
There's only one man who
ever looked at me that way.
He wasn't rich or royal.
He was only the help.
But he was my love.
And I messed it up. Royally.
- So if you have feelings...
- I don't.
Okay?
People just love me
for what I am, Mum,
they don't love me for who I am.
That's just not true!
Eleanor, look at me.
Are you saying
no one will ever love you
for who you really are?
Someone already does.
I do.
I always have.
And I always will.
My sister's death destroyed my family.
And my sister's death
was not an accident.
There was only one person standing
between the current Queen
Consort and that throne.
Dominique.
I assume there was
an investigation.
We went to Scotland Yard
but the aristocracy closed ranks.
The more fuss my parents made,
the worse it got.
Debts were called in,
our prospects destroyed.
We lost everything...
including our honor.
Our noble family discarded
and smashed into the dust.
Our families deserve
justice, Ted. Yours and mine.
And they deserve to be punished.
The damage that's been done.
Your wife gone. Your daughter
raised as a motherless child.
Stop! Stop.
Just suppose for a moment
that you're correct...
and that I killed Simon.
If I'm the man you think I am,
I'm doing your dirty work.
Why not just let me carry on?
Maybe the Queen was next.
Death is too easy for her.
What I have in mind is
so much more appropriate.
She will live in a constant
hell of grief and regret,
poverty, shame and fear.
People will spit in her face
when she walks down the street
instead of waving and bowing
and handing her flowers.
They wanted a legacy?
We'll give them one,
the one they earned.
Your sister died
a long time ago. Why now?
Until Prince Robert was killed,
also called an "accident"...
I never knew I had
an ally inside the Palace.
Isn't it a relief to finally
meet someone who understands?
I don't know what you've done
that could possibly be worse
than what I know,
but you need to find a way
to make it up to her.
She cares.
Deeply, I suspect.
Rally back, bodyguard.
Do something to make it right.
I'm rooting for you.
- Where have you been?
- With Eleanor.
Well, you've spent the day
with the wrong girl.
I spent the day with
my daughter on her birthday.
How's that so difficult
for you to understand?
Because, unlike you, I have
my priorities straight.
You see, while you were out
horsing around,
I went to visit my good
friend the Crown Jeweler.
And he told me that Cyrus
has picked out an engagement ring.
Now, if they are still
married when he dies,
she will be
the sole reigning monarch,
thanks to your brilliant
Bill of Succession.
I'm not close to you, Helena,
because you're my daughter,
I'm close to you
because you're the Queen.
So I'd better go and
cozy up to her.
Violet, oh, how very nice
to see you, my dear.
Mwah! Mwah!
Where the devil have you been?
Sorry, the Grand Duchess
had me for tea.
What?
She was so nice. She wanted
to know all about me.
She is not your friend.
Stay away from that witch.
Oh, stop. You're only ever
mean when you're nervous.
I'm not nervous talking
to the people.
Yes, you are.
We both know it.
Well, you know
what's not helping?
The fact that
you never said it back.
- I love you?
- It's a question not a statement.
You caught me off guard, that's all.
Those words are hard
for me to say.
It's okay if you don't.
You need to breathe.
One time when I was seven,
I had to sing a solo
at the school
Happy Christmas Fair.
- I was Rudolph.
- Of course you were.
And my grandmother told me
to relax and breathe.
And then she gave me
something that made it all better.
I'm going to get it for you.
I want you to have it.
Wait. I need you here
not your things.
You don't need me, honey,
but it's nice you say you do.
I'll be back before
the broadcast. I promise.
And the answer is yes.
Of course I do.
My father loved her.
Come with me.
She was my aunt.
I was named after her.
My whole life
I've been taught to hate you
- and everything about you.
- Okay.
That night we followed you
and put the symbol on you,
you really didn't seem
like a bad person.
You seemed broken.
I was.
Sometimes I still am.
And that speech you gave
at the memorial.
- I don't know what to think of you now.
- You said, "We."
Who's "we"? Why are you
supposed to hate me?
Please, stop with the riddles
and tell me what this is about.
- Who is always watching?
- My father. Her brother.
The symbol on my necklace...
Tumbling dominoes.
What's gonna come tumbling down?
Your family.
Domino was her nickname.
The day she died, she was competing
in a showjumping event.
Yes.
She rode home to give
the horse a cool down.
My father was waiting for her.
When the horse returned,
it was all jumped up and hyper.
- In a foaming sweat.
- It was drugged.
They didn't test for that
until five days afterwards.
By which point,
the drugs would have passed
through the horse's system.
She was an expert rider.
She and that horse
were totally in sync.
Liam, your mother's family
hosted the event.
They planned the whole thing,
invited Dominique.
She and your mother were rivals.
That's one hell
of an accusation.
My dad, his whole family
were destroyed.
Emotionally, financially.
Everything.
Proving Dominique was
killed, getting justice...
it's the family business.
And you're part of it
by choice or just born and bound?
Born and bound but...
Until you can find a way
to be free,
you gotta do what you gotta do.
- I'm sorry. I've got to go.
- One last question.
Is it justice your father
wants or revenge?
My father and my brother are dead.
We had nothing
to do with that. Nothing.
Your Majesty, we just need
to do a quick sound test
then we'll be live
to all major networks.
I won't start till the Lady
of the Privy Chamber is here.
She said she'd be back by now.
She's the frigging maid.
You're late.
I was doing what you told me to do.
And?
He knows what he needs
to know now.
He's charismatic, isn't he?
The Prince.
He's okay.
We are live in...
five, four, three...
The night King Simon
was attacked,
what time did he arrive back
at the Palace gates?
♪ Time is much quicker now
♪ It never used to...
♪ ...move so fast
♪ Guess we're all grown up
- Hey.
- Hey.
Oh, uh... happy birthday.
Yeah.
♪ I never used to
What's the matter?
♪ Guess I'm all grown up
She was so young there.
What?
Liam, you're scaring me.
I think Mum killed someone.
Some of you don't like
the way I've been behaving recently.
You're unsettled.
Maybe you feel threatened.
These are dark times.
Friends can be false.
Alliances shift.
People are covetous and wicked.
I see it all.
I know everything.
And in no uncertain terms...
let me promise you
from the bottom of my heart,
if I find out that anyone
has done anything
which goes against
the will of my rule...
then rest assured, things are about
to get a whole lot worse.
♪ Like it doesn't
even matter
Long live The King!
♪ The way it was
♪ The rush of blood
♪ You gave it all up
♪ You're acting like it
doesn't even matter
♪ Like I don't even matter