8 glittering quotes from “The Crown”
There are many reasons to fall in love with the Netflix series “The Crown.” There’s the character development, the deference to historic detail, the gorgeous settings, the lavish costumes, the British refinement, the strained politeness.
But it’s the sharp-witted, hard-hitting dialogue that makes the show a writer’s dream. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the series.
1. “I’ve been queen barely 10 years, and in that time I’ve had three prime ministers, all of them ambitious men, clever men, brilliant men. Not one has lasted the course. They’ve either been too old, too ill, or too weak. A confederacy of elected quitters.” — Queen Elizabeth II to Prime Minister Harold Macmillan
2. “No, it is not my job to govern. But it is my job to ensure proper governance. But how can I do that if my ministers lie and plot and hide the truth from me? You have prevented me from doing my duty. You have hampered and bamboozled the proper functioning of the Crown. How could you?” — Queen Elizabeth II to Cabinet Minister Lord Salisbury
3. “There is one thing I’ve learned in fifty-two years of public service is that there is no problem so complex, nor crisis so grave that it cannot be satisfactorily resolved within twenty minutes.” — Winston Churchill
4. Philip: “Are you my wife or my queen?” Elizabeth: “I am both and a strong man would be able to kneel to both.” — Queen Elizabeth II to her husband Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
5. “I am aware that I am surrounded by people who feel that they could do the job better. Strong people with powerful characters, more natural leaders, perhaps better-suited to leading from the front, making a mark. But, for better or worse, the Crown has landed on my head.” — Queen Elizabeth II
6. “Pathetic, weak, contemptible fool. I never even wanted to marry you. You were only ever an act of charity. Or desperation. And now you insult me? You? People like you don’t get to insult people like me. You get to be eternally grateful. You’ve quite the way with women. Take a look at this face. A picture of disappointment and disgust. This is the look that every woman you ever know will come to share. This is what the next forty years of your life will look like.” — Princess Margaret, breaking her engagement to Billy Wallace
7. “I would ask you to consider your response in light of the respect that my rank and my office deserve, not that which my age and gender might suggest.” — Queen Elizabeth II to Winston Churchill, asking if he’s healthy enough to continue serving as prime minister.
8. “That’s the thing about unhappiness. All it takes is for something worse to come along and you realize it was actually happiness after all.” — Queen Elizabeth II
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