Ruritania

A master class synopsis of politics, british life and the monarchy!

History comes alive with the modern struggle between parliament and crown. The fine balance of tradition and constituent expectation is played out for the small screen by larger than life characters who play their part perfectly.

Thanks to the producers for such care with the script and casting. The locations and production values give us a real fly on the wall feel.

The fact that such ancient traditions can be sold and to the British peoples at home and abroad is a huge testimony to the quality of their forefathers despite the mixed history.

The Blair phenom was quickly resolved with the fickle nature of politics and such a great contrast to the continuity of the English crown.

The crown must always win & it does again here.

I have missed the spirit of the good old episodes of The Crown. Jumping out of the long row of episodes about Charles and Diana, finally we have a strong story about social problems and human values - with all allegorical mighty the show is proudly known for.

What if you were in the queen shoes? It's hard to ignore that people have strong doubts in your role and your institution as a whole. Imagine that you truly want to fix it, starting right from this day. Is it possible to get things better? Why do you need the watcher of swans? Should all things have rational meanings?

This episode raises a lot of questions and has very interesting dialogues. Also you can watch it as a separate movie - like the best episodes of The Crown too.

There is something schizophrenic in the people's wish to have a more "approachable" monarchy and then despise them when they behave like everybody else. As pointed out by the queen in this episode, the monarchy must remain a bit detached from reality. After all, the "people" did not love Diana for being normal, but for being "special"...

This episode is also funny, presenting Blair at his top popularity (King Tony) and some of the most bizarre "jobs" done for the crown. My favourite was the Swans Master, or whatever the title was.

Well made and entertaining and finally out of the shadow cast by Diana.

When you've established a monarchy over centuries, there are lots of things that become traditional foundations. Here, it has been decided that the Queen and her people have lost touch with the commoners. Really? For heaven's sake, they are the Royals. They are a separate entity from the government. Some come in and do surveys and listen to the thoughts of the people and consider whether something needs doing. In the middle of this is the young, handsome Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who seems nearly like royalty himself. He and the Queen meet and the results turn out to be interesting. The Queen is extremely popular and while the two coexist, there are some pretty solid factions. Nicely done, realistic episode.