To Play the King

I do enjoy these visits to the Palace.

A glass of sherry, a little verbal fencing,

and a bracing dose of hatred and contempt. Most invigorating.

And today a little extra treat - no, I won't spoil it. Wait and see.

- Do go in, Mr. Urquhart. - Thank you. Hello, Mycroft.

- He's onto something. - What did he say?

Nothing. Just that smile of his. Crocodiles smile like that.

It's some weeks now since you hinted at a general election.

- Yes, Sir. - I'd be glad of some idea of the date.

I'm sure you would, yes.

And you will be the first to be informed,

but there are some imponderables

and parliamentary business to be enacted.

- What business, if I may ask? - Of course you may, Sir.

We... We thought about taking another look at the Civil List,

amongst other things.

After a full-scale review only a year ago?

Yes, we thought about having another look.

- I trust you're not being vindictive. - Not at all, Sir.

Far be it from us to lop another million off a deserving royal family

on the pretext of babies starving in the streets

That sort of cheap remark's unworthy of you.

I hear you've been having secret talks with Opposition leaders

and one or two of the less trustworthy members of my own party.

I have a perfect right. It is my duty to inform myself

of all shades of political opinion.

That hardly extends to conspiring in Chelsea restaurants

and trying to organise a bloodless coup against the elected government, does it?

Consultation doesn't mean conspiracy.

- It isn't a criminal activity, is it? - We know what you've been up to.

And my advice on that little venture is pack it in. It won't work.

- It'll all end in tears. - What are you frightened of?

If my views are wrong, they'll be seen to be wrong.

If not, you should welcome them.

I understand you're preparing a television programme now.

- May I see a copy of the text? - No. It's still in preparation.

I should think very carefully about all this, if I were you, Sir.

Well, I have done, Prime Minister, and I shall continue to do so.

What I would prefer is that he'd give up thinking.

Kings aren't supposed to think.

It was a great mistake sending him to university

with architects, philosophers

and comely young black activists.

- Thank you, Miss Carmichael. - A pleasure.

He's far too fond of the sound of his own voice.

The trouble is, others like it too.

I do hate confrontations. Somebody always gets hurt.

Time for a visit to the House of Wounded Feelings.

We have to keep our options open.

- Your Royal Highness. - Mr. Urquhart.

What do you want this time?

To assure you of my government's continuing interest in your welfare.

And to inquire if there is any way in which I could be of service to you.

Thank you. Look,

it's very good of you to take the trouble,

but are you planning to spend

one of those meaningless half-hours saying nothing?

If you were planning something like that,

I'd just as soon leave it out.

- I've sort of had all that. - Yes, indeed.

Yes, indeed.

Thank you.

Any chance of my asking simple questions and getting straight answers?

- You could try, ma'am. - I want to know what he's up to.

In my view, he's playing a dangerous game.

He's playing politics.

His usual Line, but he's taking it further.

He's coming into direct conflict with the elected government.

And his advisors, who should be restraining him,

seem to be egging him on.

I take it you no longer have any influence there?

- I never had. - Pity.

- Or anywhere else. - There you are too modest.

What's going to happen, Mr. Urquhart?

I'm afraid that by his actions His Majesty is going to injure himself.

You mean you're going to injure him.

Do you really want to destroy the monarchy?

I do not want to destroy the monarchy. You have nothing to fear from me.

Nor does your son. You need friends, ma'am.

You need strong friends whom you can trust.

I sought no quarrel with your husband.

I wished to be his friend and now I wish to be yours.

The breach between him and me can be healed if he wills it.

Whether he does or not, you and your son will not suffer.

I think you understand me, don't you?

Yes, I do.

But can I trust you?

You know you can.

- Mother? - Yes, darling?

I VOW TO THEE, MY COUNTRY)

''Look, stranger, on this island.

''Now the leaping light for your delight discovers.

''Stand stable here and silent be, That, through the channel of the ear,

''May wander like a river The swaying sound of the sea.''

I love my country, but I fear for what is happening to it.

Pollution is the word that comes to mind.

- Wow! That's really, really bad news. - Oh, come on, Charlie.

- The man's telling the truth. - Oh, Quilly, what do you know?

The man's making a stand. Got to respect that.

Pollution in the most literal sense of our seas and rivers,

of our roads, our cities,

caused by cynical exploitation of natural resources,

but also a deeper, more insidious form of pollution.

Moral pollution.

What one might almost call pollution of the soul.

This permits the cynical exploitation of human resources,

the waste of human talent, the destruction by design or by neglect

of human hopes and aspirations.

The erosion of human dignity

and those values I have always felt

to be peculiarly ours, ours in these islands.

The values of fairness, of human kindness,

that sense that we are all equal in the eyes of God.

That to be human means to be bound together

in mutual trust and dependency.

That sense that what will survive of us is love.

Love in its broadest sense.

Nowadays I find that I sleep badly.

And my waking hours are troubled by a pervasive sense of unease.

There is a new spirit abroad,

a deeply disturbing and depressing spirit.

We are beginning not to care about each other anymore.

Some of us who have jobs and homes and money regard the unemployed

as a little less human than ourselves,

the homeless as a little less human than ourselves,

the very poor as a little less human than ourselves.

We begin not to notice them, to harden our hearts,

even to blame them for their hardship

as if they weren't quite human,

as if they didn't feel pain and hunger quite as we do, but they do. They do.

I don't want to rule over a country where people

don't care about each other.

I'm not a political animal, but it seems to me

that we must find a new way

to live together in this land of ours.

Things are going to have to change, I want to be part of that change.

Let us begin to make that change...now.

The excitement outside 10 Downing Street

is scarcely less than that outside the Palace.

The King's broadcast has brought out a truly extraordinary public response.

Crowds are out in the streets in London and all major cities

in support of the King's opposition

to Francis Urquhart's hard-line policies on welfare.

We're just waiting now for the Prime Minister

to arrive from Chequers.

And here he comes now.

Good morning! Nice to see you up so early.

- Could you give me a few words? - Happy to.

Is there a complete breakdown between the Palace and Downing Street

following the King's savage criticisms?

Absolute nonsense. His Majesty and I enjoy excellent relations

based on a free and frank exchange of views.

That is not the way it's being seen by Buckingham Palace.

- They see it as close to civil war. - They may think that if they're silly.

Here's the way I see it.

His Majesty is as much entitled to his views as you or I.

He's an idealist. I like him all the better for it.

He's actually a very nice man.

- I want a full report on this! - Which aspect?

- All aspects. Where's Mr. Stamper? - Waiting for you. And Mrs. Harding.

Right. I want no calls for the next hour.

Out! Out!

- What's the damage? - We've underestimated him.

- It was first-class propaganda. - What are the polls saying?

- 10% swing against the government. - 10%?

People are so very fickle. They don't appreciate what I've done for them.

It's just a temporary blip.

Come the election, they'll vote for low taxes.

I hope they will, Tim.

So far your efforts have been remarkably unsuccessful.

What is Brynford-Jones playing at?! ''Time for a change of heart''!

I thought he was neutered!

Bullerby's rag has lost its brains! ''King of hearts''!

- Well, you know the pit bull... - No, I left that to you.

I'm extremely disappointed!

You can have my resignation any time.

I just want you to do the job I thought you were capable of!

Could we have a word in private?

No, I don't think that'll be necessary.

And I've got rather a lot to do this morning.

Perhaps we should consider the possibility

SDthat he may be in the right.

Stamper?

The King.

He may be right, Sarah.

But he's not right.

What he said had no intellectual content, no thought.

It's compassion babble.

Go on.

Well, no one likes distress and poverty.

But he'd plunge the whole country back into debt.

We'd be back into subsidising indolence and apathy,

Dand penalising talent and industry.

He's put it on the agenda, though. Compassion, I mean.

He's really done it, I'm afraid. Compassion's here to stay.

Is he, um, very angry?

You could say that,

yes Forget about that knighthood, for a start.

Do you know, I don't think

I thought about that at all when I was writing that leader.