- Location
- Toronto, ON, CA
@moth asked me to post this on here, enjoy!
This Other Eden,
by Monroe Templeton
—
This Other Eden is a British historical drama miniseries, created by Patrick McLean and adapted from his novel, Bloody Prince Charlie, produced by BBC Streaming for Rainbow. First broadcast in June 2020, the eight-part series covers the period of Charles Windsor’s 1972 investiture as Prince Protector, to the disintegration of the Second Commonwealth following Lord Protector Harold Macmillan’s death and Charles’ attempts to guide the country from dictatorship to democracy before the Sea-King Revolution.
The series was acclaimed by critics, who in particular singled out the performances of John Whishaw as Charles and Danny Delaney as Alexei Sayle for praise, although some criticism was reserved for historical inaccuracies and amalgamations, with the family of Alexei Sayle accusing the series of glorifying the Macmillanite regime. At the 22nd BAT Awards, it received twelve nominations, winning for Best Mini-series and Best Historical Drama, while Whishaw, Delaney, David Macfadyen, and Isobel Clarke received acting nominations. At the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards, the series won Best Foreign Production, and Whishaw won Best Actor Overall.
The title of the series is taken from John of Gaunt’s line in Richard II:
This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise…
— Richard II, act 2, scene 1
Episode 1: "The Prince or the Pauper"
Directed by: Yvonne Mikado
Written by: Patrick McLean & Julia Dubois
Original Release Date: 28 June, 2020
1972. On the eve of his 78th birthday, and the 25th anniversary of the end of the British Civil War, Lord Protector and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan falls ill. Believing his ill health at first to be the result of a murder plot, Macmillan orders a purging of Jews within the civil service. Upon discovering it to simply be a recurrence of his prostate cancer, at the urging of his chief advisors, Chancellor Jack E. Powell and Home Secretary Harold Wilson, the ageing Lord Protector considers his succession.
Across the Atlantic in Ottawa, Prince Charles, Duke of Quebec, attends the coronation of his uncle, King Henry IX, head of the exiled House of Windsor. Resentful of his cousin, the crown Prince of Wales, William, Charles considers abandoning his claim to the Throne to pursue political aspirations in Canada. However, through his late uncle Edward VIII’s Queen Consort, Lady Furness, Charles learns that Macmillan wishes to name Charles as his personal successor, ignoring King Henry and skipping Charles’ mother, Elizabeth, Duchess of York.
At the protest of his family, Charles personally meets Macmillan in Washington D.C. Macmillan offers to make Charles, as George V’s eldest male descendent, Prince Protector of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and heir apparent, the Monarchy restored upon Macmillan’s death under Charles. The move is endorsed by Secretary Ingersoll, who expresses the need to avoid a destabilising chaos and warns of a communist coup in England if the matter is not settled.
Returning to Ottawa, Charles informs his mother of Macmillan’s offer, and is summoned by an the ailing King Henry, who reveals Furness had extended the same offer to Prince William and Charles’ younger brother, Andrew, but Charles was the only one of the three to seriously consider it. While informing Charles that he plans to exile him to be a ‘sort-of-King’ as Governor-General of Australia, Henry suffers a fatal stroke. Visiting the Ishpatina Ridge shortly after King William V’s Coronation, Charles considers Macmillan’s offer, calling the American consulate to confirm he will take it.
Episode 2: "Rivers of Blood"
Directed by: Yvonne Mikado
Written by: Patrick McLean & Kit Graham
Original Release Date: 28 June, 2020
1973. Charles makes his first public appearance beside Lord Protector Macmillan, where he is announced as Prince Protector and Macmillan’s heir. Protests by left-wing and republican elements of the New Social Movement break out, overshadowing Charles investiture ceremony. Despite rumours of a challenge by Chancellor Powell, Powell proclaims his support to Charles, while Secretary Wilson demurs his allegiance. Charles in turn proclaims his support for Macmillan’s New Social Movement Government and is appointed to the Cabinet as Minister of the Civil Service, promoting King William to publicly disown his cousin, stripping him of the Dukedom of Quebec, and accusing him of treason.
Icelandic fishermen storm and seize a British shipping vessel, prompting Macmillan to deploy the Commonwealth Navy. Charles offers to make diplomatic overtures to Iceland to prevent war, but is rebuked by Macmillan. Confiding in Powell, Charles admits that he is unsure if his choice to come to Britain was the right one. Powell confides in Charles his dream to have first been Viceroy of India and later the Lord Protector in his own right, explaining that duty to the country comes before personal ambition. Morose despite Powell’s advice, Charles spends his time indulging in the arts, and at an amateur’s performance of Richard II, becomes infatuated with actress Camilla Shand.
Tensions heighten between the Commonwealth and Iceland. Charles increasingly delegates his duties as Minister to his personal secretary, the Viscount Stangate, to pursue a relationship with Shand. Powell breaks protocol and rallies the country to go to war with Iceland and ‘liberate’ Reykjavík. He confesses to an outraged Macmillan that he still maintains aspirations to be Lord Protector, and believes another civil war will break out if Charles is crowned. Macmillan dismisses Powell, provoking public outcry, appointing Edward Heath in his place.
In Ealing, a train derails. Having been at Shand’s apartment nearby, Charles arrives as one of the first on the scene. Pictures of Charles helping to rescue survivors are seized on by the state propaganda machine, dramatically improving support for Charles. Powell is killed by a car bombing by anti-war protestors.
Episode 3: "Teach a Horse to Sing"
Directed by: Yvonne Mikado
Written by: Patrick McLean & Art Weber
Original Release Date: 5 July, 2020
1975. Anne, Lady of Manitoba, is married in a grand ceremony at the Citadelle of Quebec. Charles watches the ceremony with Shand at their love nest, upset that he cannot be there to see his sister married, taking the choice of location as a personal slight against him. Two years into Commonwealth operations in Iceland, Charles unveils a statue of Powell in Birmingham, now viewed as a martyr by the people, and awards several soldiers with the Commonwealth Cross. Macmillan, learning of Charles’ relationship with Shand, orders Secretary Wilson conduct a full investigation into her background. Wilson confides to his wife that he plans to leverage this investigation into forcing Macmillan to dismiss Charles as Prince Protector, leaving succession open to him.
Through her uncle George, Duke of Kent, Anne reveals to Charles that she and her husband would be honeymooning in Brittany, and offers to meet Charles in Quiberon, which Charles agrees to. This information is passed on to Macmillan by Wilson, who doubts the Prince’s commitments. Charles meets Anne in France, and the two reconcile. Anne implores Charles to return to Canada, telling him that King William will forgive him and let him live freely as a private citizen. Charles rebukes this, pointing out the wedding at the Citadelle, which Anne asserts was in homage to him.
The two discuss their diverging lives, and Charles confesses his desire to marry Shand. On their last day in Quiberon, Charles finally confides with Anne his unease at Macmillan’s regime, and expresses a desire to, like his ancestor King Charles II, repeal the excesses of the regime. Although supportive of his vision, Anne reminds Charles that King Charles was still a dictatorial absolute monarch, and that he will still be dictator of England. Charles returns to Britain and Anne to Canada, where she informs Duchess Elizabeth of her brother’s relationship. Elizabeth rebukes Anne for meeting Charles without the King’s consent, but declines to inform the King of Anne’s meeting.
Meanwhile, Wilson launches his investigation into Shand. Unable to find anything incriminating, Wilson instead falsifies a document that asserts Shand to be in proximity of Powell’s murderers. Macmillan, while not believing the report, nontheless has Shand arrested and exiled to Inverness, believing her to have too much influence over the Prince. Upon Charles return to London, the Lord Protector dines with the Prince Protector, and decides against telling him of Shand’s fate, instead informing him she died the day he left.
Episode 4: "Ruins of a Place"
Directed by: Yvonne Mikado
Written by: Patrick MacLean & Colin Champ
Original Release Date: 12 July, 2020
1976. A major heatwave strikes Britain, causing crop failures and water shortages. Charles, still heartbroken by Shand’s death, is recalled from a visit to occupied Iceland by Macmillan. While at a refuelling stopover in Inverness, Charles makes an impromptu tour of the city, narrowing missing Shand while talking to the people of the city.
In London, Macmillan secretly flees the heat to Chequers. The Houses of Parliament catches fire, prompting Secretary Wilson to launch a crack-down on republican elements blamed for alleged arson (the fire in fact having been caused due to light reflecting off a pair of glasses). Charles speaks at the ruins of Parliament, where he is assaulted by an angry mob demanding heat relief. Several days of rioting follows. Chancellor Heath privately pushes Macmillan to remove Wilson for William Whitelaw, asserting the Home Secretary has started to show signs of dementia. Macmillan dismisses the idea, but takes notice of Wilson’s declining faculties.
During this, Alexi Sayle, a former Civil Servant purged by Macmillan for being Jewish, visits his mother, a political prisoner, only to learn she was executed months before. Unemployed and near destitute, Sayle travels to Southampton to work, where he meets the local MP John Stonehouse. Unbeknownst to Sayle or the Government, Stonehouse is a spy for the Communist Bloc, using his position on the Broadcasting Committee to pass information to the Kremlin. Amused by Sayle, Stonehouse offers to help him gain a position in the Clark of Parliaments’ Office, and supposes one day that Sayle could be ‘master of ceremony’. Stonehouse later reports of this development to his handlers, promising Sayle will become a valuable asset.
A bruised Charles returns to Inverness and visits Glenfinnan, where he surveys the ruins of the Glenfinnan Monument. He muses to Stangate if things would have been better had Charles Edward Stuart succeeded and made his father King, but dismisses the idea after a second thought, and instead contemplatively watches the sunset over Loch Shiel.
Episode 5: Infinite Jest"
Directed by: Yvonne Mikado
Written by: Patrick McLean
Original Release Date: 19 July, 2020
1916: During a morning assault on German position at the Somme, a young Macmillan is wounded by machine gun fire, collapsing into a shell crater. Feigning death to German soldiers and reading Aeschylus’s Prometheus to pass the time, Macmillan is able to eventually return to his own lines.
1978: A patrol of Atholl Highlanders are killed by a roadside explosive outside of Húsavík, marking the first deaths of British servicemen in Iceland since the invasion in 1974. Fearing that British occupation has become to lax, Macmillan creates the Icelandic Office, headed by Airey Neave, the new Home Secretary. The move is widely perceived in and beyond Cabinet as a pretext for annexation.
Charles is sent to Washington to meet with President O’Neill, who signals American reluctance to continue supporting the Macmillanite regime in light of developments in Iceland. While in Washington, Charles encounters Prince Richard, his cousin and King William’s brother. Over dinner at the Watergate, Charles privately admits his crisis of conscious over Iceland and desire to work with O’Neill, while Richard confides with Charles that William has been diagnosed with porphyria, having suffered seizures while in Audience with the Canadian Prime Minister. Raising the spectre of abdication, Richard suggests that he would be inclined to ‘forgive and forget’ if Charles returns to Canada, relaying his mother and sister simply with to see him home. Declaring Britain to be home, Charles storms out.
Returning to England, Charles attends a state funeral for the slain Highlanders with Macmillan. Neave reveals he had Charles’ table at the Watergate bugged, and threatens to expose Charles’ doubts to Macmillan. Charles instead speaks to Macmillan himself, expressing his opposition to the Icelandic mission, and reluctently informs him of King William’s diagnosis. Macmillan dismisses him from Minister of the Civil Service, replacing him with John Stonehouse.
Attending Parliament, Charles briefly encounters Alexi Sayle, who, not realising who Charles is, jokes about Charles’ recent visit to the states, comparing American vocabulary to British vocabulary, and declares Charles a ‘seriously deranged git’. Amused, Charles tells Sayle he is a man of ‘infinite jest’. That evening, a joyous Stonehouse is killed when an assassin jabs him with a poisoned umbrella.
Episode 6: "To Play a King"
Directed by: Yvonne Mikado
Written by: Patrick MacLean & Julia Dubois
Original Release Date: 26 July, 2020
1931: Macmillan suffers a nervous breakdown upon learning his wife, Dorothy, is having an affair with fellow MP Robert Boothby. Travelling to Italy to recover his health, he meets Oswald Mosley, leader of the New Party. The two discuss a respect for fascism, with Mosley believing his corporatist New Movement will, like fascism for Italy, revive the British economy once elected at the 1934 election. Macmillan realises that he has romantic feelings for Mosley, though keeps this a guarded secret. Upon returning to England, Macmillan joins the New Party in Parliament, rising rapidly through the ranks following their election breakthrough, and after Mosley’s murder, becomes its Leader.
1980: Charles attends the inauguration of Björn Sveinsson Björnsson’s puppet regime. Flying back to Britain, Charles stops over at Inverness, where he discusses with Stansgate his frustrations that the now 86 year old Macmillan will not stand down. Stansgate reciprocates his frustrations, and pointedly suggests that it would be better if Charles seized power upon returning to London and establish a constitutional parliamentary republic. Charles is taken aback. Later that evening, Charles confronts Stangate, believing him to be one of Neave’s men trying to bait him into treason. Stansgate earns his trust by revealing to Charles the truth: Camilla Shand is alive and in Inverness.
Stansgate reunites the two in a cottage by Loch Dochfour. Shand reveals she has been in contact with American agents who wish to spirit her to Ireland, offering that Charles join her. Though tempted, Charles now believes that it is his duty to ‘play a king’ until he can overthrow the regime, and returns to London with Stangate, promising Shand that he will return. Before he leaves, the two are quietly married.
Upon returning to London, Charles learns that while he was in Iceland, his brother, Prince Andrew, was secretly ferried to Britain. Macmillan reveals that he intends to replace Charles with Andrew as his successor, as the younger Prince has proven more open to the New Social Movement’s ideals, and expresses his disappointment at Charles’ inability to support him and the regime. Charles confronts Macmillan over Shand, demanding Macmillan resign. Unimpressed by Charles’ demands, Macmillan summons his personal guards to remove him, however collapses of a sudden heart attack, dying. Unsure what to do and unaware of Macmillan’s intentions for Andrew, the guard proclaim Charles as King.
Episode 7 & 8: @The Rest is Silence@ (Parts 1 & 2)
Directed by: Yvonne Mikado
Written by: Patrick McLean, & Julia Dubois
Original Release Date: 2 August, 2020 & 3 August, 2020
1947: Macmillan, now Leader of the New Movement and allies, rests in his tent outside Buckingham. He is informed by his lieutenant Nye Bevan that King Edward has fled England with the Royal Family following the withdrawal of Franco-German support, and that the King’s Army, now leaderless following the King’s flight and death of Commander Winston Churchill at the Third Battle of Dundee, are surrendering en masse or defecting to fight Comrade Cripp’s Popular Front. Riding a tank to Westminster Hall, and is proclaimed as Lord Protector by his supporters.
1980: Charles, now King Charles III, oversees Macmillan’s lavish state funeral with Shand by his side. Stansgate is appointed Premier of Charles’ government, while Neave is sent into political exile. At the funeral, Charles declares he will continue Macmillan’s work, but splits the New Social Movement when he conveys the necessity of reforming the political status quo towards a ‘very British democracy’.
Neave remains in London depressed with his lose of status, but comes into contact with more reactionary elements of the NSM, creating the ‘Andrewite’ faction in support of Prince Andrew as King. Meanwhile, Stansgate’s programme to achieve a liberal democracy is viewed as widely radical within the NSM, and calls are made for Stansgate’s dismissal in favour of the more conservative Whitelaw. Charles indicates that he will dissolve Parliament and rule through decree if the NSM does not support him. Neave and the Andrewites meet with Admiral Callaghan, who indicates his opposition to Charles, but declines to support Andrew, deflating Neave’s hopes for a quick coup.
Charles makes a public proclamation of the return of democracy, lifting the ban on political parties, including the Communist Party, and the election of a Constitutional Assembly in the Autumn. Mass protests both in favour and in opposition break out, and several prominent opposition figures return from exile, including the radical liberal leader Michael Foot. Meeting with Foot, the King indicates his preference for a Foot led goverment, to the disquiet of Stangate, who confides with Sayle his anxiety that the new King may reject the chance for a truly transformative constitution.
Elections to the Constitutional Assembly are held, and Foot’s New Hope coalition wins a plurality of seats, ahead of the NSM and Neave’s Andrewite Better Tomorrow bloc. As Charles opens the Assembly at Buckingham People’s Palace, Neave-allied police seize and arrest members of the Assembly, but Charles escapes with Shand, and others including Sayle. Callaghan brings the Commonwealth Navy up the Thames, but makes no indication which side he plans to support. Regrouping, pro-democracy supporters build a barricade Admiralty Arch, while Trafalgar’s Square is quickly turned into a rallying point as thousands pour into central London to support the King.
Charles plans to make a plea against the coup attempt, hoping to rally for democracy. However Sayle, fearing Charles may attempt to use the turn of events to seize dictatorial power, seemingly shoots Charles in the back as he takes to the podium. The King’s lifeless body collapses into the crowd below. Sayle is himself shot moments later by a sniper from atop the Canadian embassy.
Learning of Charles’ death, Callaghan launches the Sea-King Revolution, shelling Buckingham People’s Palace, destroying it and killing Neave and his conspirators. Commonwealth Marines seize key infrastructure in London, and Callaghan announces a period of martial law.
At Charles’ funeral, Callaghan confers with his fellow pallbearers. They confirm that the US will support their junta, and that Stangate and Foot are in custody. Prince Andrew is missing, but presumed killed in the shelling. Raising the question of if they should invite the ailing King William or his brother Prince Richard to rule Britain, Callaghan snubs the idea, referring to Charles as ‘Charles the Last’, and instead voicing that they form a transitionary council towards a republic. The rest agree.
End title cards confirms Callaghan and his National Transitionary Council would rule Britain until 1988, when overthrown by the Bloodless Revolution. Footage of President Antony Benn-Stansgate’s inaugural address is shown, where he quotes the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi before the statue of Charles at the rebuilt Westminster.
This Other Eden,
by Monroe Templeton
—
This Other Eden is a British historical drama miniseries, created by Patrick McLean and adapted from his novel, Bloody Prince Charlie, produced by BBC Streaming for Rainbow. First broadcast in June 2020, the eight-part series covers the period of Charles Windsor’s 1972 investiture as Prince Protector, to the disintegration of the Second Commonwealth following Lord Protector Harold Macmillan’s death and Charles’ attempts to guide the country from dictatorship to democracy before the Sea-King Revolution.
The series was acclaimed by critics, who in particular singled out the performances of John Whishaw as Charles and Danny Delaney as Alexei Sayle for praise, although some criticism was reserved for historical inaccuracies and amalgamations, with the family of Alexei Sayle accusing the series of glorifying the Macmillanite regime. At the 22nd BAT Awards, it received twelve nominations, winning for Best Mini-series and Best Historical Drama, while Whishaw, Delaney, David Macfadyen, and Isobel Clarke received acting nominations. At the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards, the series won Best Foreign Production, and Whishaw won Best Actor Overall.
The title of the series is taken from John of Gaunt’s line in Richard II:
This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise…
— Richard II, act 2, scene 1
Episode 1: "The Prince or the Pauper"
Directed by: Yvonne Mikado
Written by: Patrick McLean & Julia Dubois
Original Release Date: 28 June, 2020
1972. On the eve of his 78th birthday, and the 25th anniversary of the end of the British Civil War, Lord Protector and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan falls ill. Believing his ill health at first to be the result of a murder plot, Macmillan orders a purging of Jews within the civil service. Upon discovering it to simply be a recurrence of his prostate cancer, at the urging of his chief advisors, Chancellor Jack E. Powell and Home Secretary Harold Wilson, the ageing Lord Protector considers his succession.
Across the Atlantic in Ottawa, Prince Charles, Duke of Quebec, attends the coronation of his uncle, King Henry IX, head of the exiled House of Windsor. Resentful of his cousin, the crown Prince of Wales, William, Charles considers abandoning his claim to the Throne to pursue political aspirations in Canada. However, through his late uncle Edward VIII’s Queen Consort, Lady Furness, Charles learns that Macmillan wishes to name Charles as his personal successor, ignoring King Henry and skipping Charles’ mother, Elizabeth, Duchess of York.
At the protest of his family, Charles personally meets Macmillan in Washington D.C. Macmillan offers to make Charles, as George V’s eldest male descendent, Prince Protector of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and heir apparent, the Monarchy restored upon Macmillan’s death under Charles. The move is endorsed by Secretary Ingersoll, who expresses the need to avoid a destabilising chaos and warns of a communist coup in England if the matter is not settled.
Returning to Ottawa, Charles informs his mother of Macmillan’s offer, and is summoned by an the ailing King Henry, who reveals Furness had extended the same offer to Prince William and Charles’ younger brother, Andrew, but Charles was the only one of the three to seriously consider it. While informing Charles that he plans to exile him to be a ‘sort-of-King’ as Governor-General of Australia, Henry suffers a fatal stroke. Visiting the Ishpatina Ridge shortly after King William V’s Coronation, Charles considers Macmillan’s offer, calling the American consulate to confirm he will take it.
Episode 2: "Rivers of Blood"
Directed by: Yvonne Mikado
Written by: Patrick McLean & Kit Graham
Original Release Date: 28 June, 2020
1973. Charles makes his first public appearance beside Lord Protector Macmillan, where he is announced as Prince Protector and Macmillan’s heir. Protests by left-wing and republican elements of the New Social Movement break out, overshadowing Charles investiture ceremony. Despite rumours of a challenge by Chancellor Powell, Powell proclaims his support to Charles, while Secretary Wilson demurs his allegiance. Charles in turn proclaims his support for Macmillan’s New Social Movement Government and is appointed to the Cabinet as Minister of the Civil Service, promoting King William to publicly disown his cousin, stripping him of the Dukedom of Quebec, and accusing him of treason.
Icelandic fishermen storm and seize a British shipping vessel, prompting Macmillan to deploy the Commonwealth Navy. Charles offers to make diplomatic overtures to Iceland to prevent war, but is rebuked by Macmillan. Confiding in Powell, Charles admits that he is unsure if his choice to come to Britain was the right one. Powell confides in Charles his dream to have first been Viceroy of India and later the Lord Protector in his own right, explaining that duty to the country comes before personal ambition. Morose despite Powell’s advice, Charles spends his time indulging in the arts, and at an amateur’s performance of Richard II, becomes infatuated with actress Camilla Shand.
Tensions heighten between the Commonwealth and Iceland. Charles increasingly delegates his duties as Minister to his personal secretary, the Viscount Stangate, to pursue a relationship with Shand. Powell breaks protocol and rallies the country to go to war with Iceland and ‘liberate’ Reykjavík. He confesses to an outraged Macmillan that he still maintains aspirations to be Lord Protector, and believes another civil war will break out if Charles is crowned. Macmillan dismisses Powell, provoking public outcry, appointing Edward Heath in his place.
In Ealing, a train derails. Having been at Shand’s apartment nearby, Charles arrives as one of the first on the scene. Pictures of Charles helping to rescue survivors are seized on by the state propaganda machine, dramatically improving support for Charles. Powell is killed by a car bombing by anti-war protestors.
Episode 3: "Teach a Horse to Sing"
Directed by: Yvonne Mikado
Written by: Patrick McLean & Art Weber
Original Release Date: 5 July, 2020
1975. Anne, Lady of Manitoba, is married in a grand ceremony at the Citadelle of Quebec. Charles watches the ceremony with Shand at their love nest, upset that he cannot be there to see his sister married, taking the choice of location as a personal slight against him. Two years into Commonwealth operations in Iceland, Charles unveils a statue of Powell in Birmingham, now viewed as a martyr by the people, and awards several soldiers with the Commonwealth Cross. Macmillan, learning of Charles’ relationship with Shand, orders Secretary Wilson conduct a full investigation into her background. Wilson confides to his wife that he plans to leverage this investigation into forcing Macmillan to dismiss Charles as Prince Protector, leaving succession open to him.
Through her uncle George, Duke of Kent, Anne reveals to Charles that she and her husband would be honeymooning in Brittany, and offers to meet Charles in Quiberon, which Charles agrees to. This information is passed on to Macmillan by Wilson, who doubts the Prince’s commitments. Charles meets Anne in France, and the two reconcile. Anne implores Charles to return to Canada, telling him that King William will forgive him and let him live freely as a private citizen. Charles rebukes this, pointing out the wedding at the Citadelle, which Anne asserts was in homage to him.
The two discuss their diverging lives, and Charles confesses his desire to marry Shand. On their last day in Quiberon, Charles finally confides with Anne his unease at Macmillan’s regime, and expresses a desire to, like his ancestor King Charles II, repeal the excesses of the regime. Although supportive of his vision, Anne reminds Charles that King Charles was still a dictatorial absolute monarch, and that he will still be dictator of England. Charles returns to Britain and Anne to Canada, where she informs Duchess Elizabeth of her brother’s relationship. Elizabeth rebukes Anne for meeting Charles without the King’s consent, but declines to inform the King of Anne’s meeting.
Meanwhile, Wilson launches his investigation into Shand. Unable to find anything incriminating, Wilson instead falsifies a document that asserts Shand to be in proximity of Powell’s murderers. Macmillan, while not believing the report, nontheless has Shand arrested and exiled to Inverness, believing her to have too much influence over the Prince. Upon Charles return to London, the Lord Protector dines with the Prince Protector, and decides against telling him of Shand’s fate, instead informing him she died the day he left.
Episode 4: "Ruins of a Place"
Directed by: Yvonne Mikado
Written by: Patrick MacLean & Colin Champ
Original Release Date: 12 July, 2020
1976. A major heatwave strikes Britain, causing crop failures and water shortages. Charles, still heartbroken by Shand’s death, is recalled from a visit to occupied Iceland by Macmillan. While at a refuelling stopover in Inverness, Charles makes an impromptu tour of the city, narrowing missing Shand while talking to the people of the city.
In London, Macmillan secretly flees the heat to Chequers. The Houses of Parliament catches fire, prompting Secretary Wilson to launch a crack-down on republican elements blamed for alleged arson (the fire in fact having been caused due to light reflecting off a pair of glasses). Charles speaks at the ruins of Parliament, where he is assaulted by an angry mob demanding heat relief. Several days of rioting follows. Chancellor Heath privately pushes Macmillan to remove Wilson for William Whitelaw, asserting the Home Secretary has started to show signs of dementia. Macmillan dismisses the idea, but takes notice of Wilson’s declining faculties.
During this, Alexi Sayle, a former Civil Servant purged by Macmillan for being Jewish, visits his mother, a political prisoner, only to learn she was executed months before. Unemployed and near destitute, Sayle travels to Southampton to work, where he meets the local MP John Stonehouse. Unbeknownst to Sayle or the Government, Stonehouse is a spy for the Communist Bloc, using his position on the Broadcasting Committee to pass information to the Kremlin. Amused by Sayle, Stonehouse offers to help him gain a position in the Clark of Parliaments’ Office, and supposes one day that Sayle could be ‘master of ceremony’. Stonehouse later reports of this development to his handlers, promising Sayle will become a valuable asset.
A bruised Charles returns to Inverness and visits Glenfinnan, where he surveys the ruins of the Glenfinnan Monument. He muses to Stangate if things would have been better had Charles Edward Stuart succeeded and made his father King, but dismisses the idea after a second thought, and instead contemplatively watches the sunset over Loch Shiel.
Episode 5: Infinite Jest"
Directed by: Yvonne Mikado
Written by: Patrick McLean
Original Release Date: 19 July, 2020
1916: During a morning assault on German position at the Somme, a young Macmillan is wounded by machine gun fire, collapsing into a shell crater. Feigning death to German soldiers and reading Aeschylus’s Prometheus to pass the time, Macmillan is able to eventually return to his own lines.
1978: A patrol of Atholl Highlanders are killed by a roadside explosive outside of Húsavík, marking the first deaths of British servicemen in Iceland since the invasion in 1974. Fearing that British occupation has become to lax, Macmillan creates the Icelandic Office, headed by Airey Neave, the new Home Secretary. The move is widely perceived in and beyond Cabinet as a pretext for annexation.
Charles is sent to Washington to meet with President O’Neill, who signals American reluctance to continue supporting the Macmillanite regime in light of developments in Iceland. While in Washington, Charles encounters Prince Richard, his cousin and King William’s brother. Over dinner at the Watergate, Charles privately admits his crisis of conscious over Iceland and desire to work with O’Neill, while Richard confides with Charles that William has been diagnosed with porphyria, having suffered seizures while in Audience with the Canadian Prime Minister. Raising the spectre of abdication, Richard suggests that he would be inclined to ‘forgive and forget’ if Charles returns to Canada, relaying his mother and sister simply with to see him home. Declaring Britain to be home, Charles storms out.
Returning to England, Charles attends a state funeral for the slain Highlanders with Macmillan. Neave reveals he had Charles’ table at the Watergate bugged, and threatens to expose Charles’ doubts to Macmillan. Charles instead speaks to Macmillan himself, expressing his opposition to the Icelandic mission, and reluctently informs him of King William’s diagnosis. Macmillan dismisses him from Minister of the Civil Service, replacing him with John Stonehouse.
Attending Parliament, Charles briefly encounters Alexi Sayle, who, not realising who Charles is, jokes about Charles’ recent visit to the states, comparing American vocabulary to British vocabulary, and declares Charles a ‘seriously deranged git’. Amused, Charles tells Sayle he is a man of ‘infinite jest’. That evening, a joyous Stonehouse is killed when an assassin jabs him with a poisoned umbrella.
Episode 6: "To Play a King"
Directed by: Yvonne Mikado
Written by: Patrick MacLean & Julia Dubois
Original Release Date: 26 July, 2020
1931: Macmillan suffers a nervous breakdown upon learning his wife, Dorothy, is having an affair with fellow MP Robert Boothby. Travelling to Italy to recover his health, he meets Oswald Mosley, leader of the New Party. The two discuss a respect for fascism, with Mosley believing his corporatist New Movement will, like fascism for Italy, revive the British economy once elected at the 1934 election. Macmillan realises that he has romantic feelings for Mosley, though keeps this a guarded secret. Upon returning to England, Macmillan joins the New Party in Parliament, rising rapidly through the ranks following their election breakthrough, and after Mosley’s murder, becomes its Leader.
1980: Charles attends the inauguration of Björn Sveinsson Björnsson’s puppet regime. Flying back to Britain, Charles stops over at Inverness, where he discusses with Stansgate his frustrations that the now 86 year old Macmillan will not stand down. Stansgate reciprocates his frustrations, and pointedly suggests that it would be better if Charles seized power upon returning to London and establish a constitutional parliamentary republic. Charles is taken aback. Later that evening, Charles confronts Stangate, believing him to be one of Neave’s men trying to bait him into treason. Stansgate earns his trust by revealing to Charles the truth: Camilla Shand is alive and in Inverness.
Stansgate reunites the two in a cottage by Loch Dochfour. Shand reveals she has been in contact with American agents who wish to spirit her to Ireland, offering that Charles join her. Though tempted, Charles now believes that it is his duty to ‘play a king’ until he can overthrow the regime, and returns to London with Stangate, promising Shand that he will return. Before he leaves, the two are quietly married.
Upon returning to London, Charles learns that while he was in Iceland, his brother, Prince Andrew, was secretly ferried to Britain. Macmillan reveals that he intends to replace Charles with Andrew as his successor, as the younger Prince has proven more open to the New Social Movement’s ideals, and expresses his disappointment at Charles’ inability to support him and the regime. Charles confronts Macmillan over Shand, demanding Macmillan resign. Unimpressed by Charles’ demands, Macmillan summons his personal guards to remove him, however collapses of a sudden heart attack, dying. Unsure what to do and unaware of Macmillan’s intentions for Andrew, the guard proclaim Charles as King.
Episode 7 & 8: @The Rest is Silence@ (Parts 1 & 2)
Directed by: Yvonne Mikado
Written by: Patrick McLean, & Julia Dubois
Original Release Date: 2 August, 2020 & 3 August, 2020
1947: Macmillan, now Leader of the New Movement and allies, rests in his tent outside Buckingham. He is informed by his lieutenant Nye Bevan that King Edward has fled England with the Royal Family following the withdrawal of Franco-German support, and that the King’s Army, now leaderless following the King’s flight and death of Commander Winston Churchill at the Third Battle of Dundee, are surrendering en masse or defecting to fight Comrade Cripp’s Popular Front. Riding a tank to Westminster Hall, and is proclaimed as Lord Protector by his supporters.
1980: Charles, now King Charles III, oversees Macmillan’s lavish state funeral with Shand by his side. Stansgate is appointed Premier of Charles’ government, while Neave is sent into political exile. At the funeral, Charles declares he will continue Macmillan’s work, but splits the New Social Movement when he conveys the necessity of reforming the political status quo towards a ‘very British democracy’.
Neave remains in London depressed with his lose of status, but comes into contact with more reactionary elements of the NSM, creating the ‘Andrewite’ faction in support of Prince Andrew as King. Meanwhile, Stansgate’s programme to achieve a liberal democracy is viewed as widely radical within the NSM, and calls are made for Stansgate’s dismissal in favour of the more conservative Whitelaw. Charles indicates that he will dissolve Parliament and rule through decree if the NSM does not support him. Neave and the Andrewites meet with Admiral Callaghan, who indicates his opposition to Charles, but declines to support Andrew, deflating Neave’s hopes for a quick coup.
Charles makes a public proclamation of the return of democracy, lifting the ban on political parties, including the Communist Party, and the election of a Constitutional Assembly in the Autumn. Mass protests both in favour and in opposition break out, and several prominent opposition figures return from exile, including the radical liberal leader Michael Foot. Meeting with Foot, the King indicates his preference for a Foot led goverment, to the disquiet of Stangate, who confides with Sayle his anxiety that the new King may reject the chance for a truly transformative constitution.
Elections to the Constitutional Assembly are held, and Foot’s New Hope coalition wins a plurality of seats, ahead of the NSM and Neave’s Andrewite Better Tomorrow bloc. As Charles opens the Assembly at Buckingham People’s Palace, Neave-allied police seize and arrest members of the Assembly, but Charles escapes with Shand, and others including Sayle. Callaghan brings the Commonwealth Navy up the Thames, but makes no indication which side he plans to support. Regrouping, pro-democracy supporters build a barricade Admiralty Arch, while Trafalgar’s Square is quickly turned into a rallying point as thousands pour into central London to support the King.
Charles plans to make a plea against the coup attempt, hoping to rally for democracy. However Sayle, fearing Charles may attempt to use the turn of events to seize dictatorial power, seemingly shoots Charles in the back as he takes to the podium. The King’s lifeless body collapses into the crowd below. Sayle is himself shot moments later by a sniper from atop the Canadian embassy.
Learning of Charles’ death, Callaghan launches the Sea-King Revolution, shelling Buckingham People’s Palace, destroying it and killing Neave and his conspirators. Commonwealth Marines seize key infrastructure in London, and Callaghan announces a period of martial law.
At Charles’ funeral, Callaghan confers with his fellow pallbearers. They confirm that the US will support their junta, and that Stangate and Foot are in custody. Prince Andrew is missing, but presumed killed in the shelling. Raising the question of if they should invite the ailing King William or his brother Prince Richard to rule Britain, Callaghan snubs the idea, referring to Charles as ‘Charles the Last’, and instead voicing that they form a transitionary council towards a republic. The rest agree.
End title cards confirms Callaghan and his National Transitionary Council would rule Britain until 1988, when overthrown by the Bloodless Revolution. Footage of President Antony Benn-Stansgate’s inaugural address is shown, where he quotes the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi before the statue of Charles at the rebuilt Westminster.
