The Balmoral Test

Diana was like the fairy tale 'Cinderella', cooking and cleaning for her elder sister, the gorgeous red head debutante, Sarah Spencer, who was dating the Prince of Wales. Diana was told to remain out of sight whenever the Prince visited, and that she'd not be going to the ball. 'Cinder-diana' even had a cat and 'mice' (hamsters) for pets, cat was named 'Marmalade' (and not 'Lucifer').

And an 'evil' Stepmother (Raine Spencer), who pushed Diana out of her family home. Diana moved to a flat in London and worked at a kindergarten. Dressed plainly, she lived an ordinary life, till one day her Prince Charming (Charles) came along and asked her out. To Balmoral, to meet the Family.

The Queen was like the fairy Godmother granting Diana her wish to go to the Palace and marry the Prince. Her fairy tale Royal Wedding to Prince Charles at St. Paul's cathedral in 1981 was watched by 750 million people on TV and stunned the world. Overnight, she became the greatest sensation.

(Excellent performances from lookalikes Diana (Emma Corrin), Prince Charles (Josh O'Connor) and HM the Queen (Olivia Coleman)).

A very interesting parallel between the privileged life and normal life; which is kept up throughout as Diana excels and Thatcher fails. Wonderful acting, and a good storyline.

This episode and the one after it play out like gothic horror - Jane Eyre or Rebecca. The mood with the gloomy castles the metaphor of killing the animal are mesmerising. Diana's isolation in the large palace rooms is effective. Very well done scenes with the nightmare lunch with Camilla and callous behaviour of Charles towards Diana before the wedding. A scathing indictment of them.

This episode not only exposes the privilege of The Royal Family and their acknowledgement of their privilege, but it also portrays it in an amusing, yet silly and humorous manner. Thatcher's lack of awareness of all the policies was comical, yet very awkward to witness. It was also compelling to witness the contrast between Thatcher and The Royal Family during their hunt.

Marriage for love is a relatively new concept, especially when it comes to royalty. Charles needs to marry. He is in love with Parker-Bowles but can't have her. So because he has had a good time with Diana and she is young and pretty, she falls to him. Margaret Thatcher has taken the government by storm and has an off with their heads mentality. Her visit to Balmoral is a disaster. The problem with this whole episode is that Diana would have had lots of experience with the trappings of the royal family. Also, why wouldn't Thatcher have some knowledge of what she would face on this outing? The story is interesting but is sitting on a weak foundation.