King George V agreed and the ship, the HMS Britannia, set sail for Russia on October 25, 1917. Upon arrival at the port of Archangel, the Britannia’s crew discovered that their Russian passengers had been taken prisoner by the Bolsheviks. The crew of the Britannia then set out to find and free their Russian passengers. The Britannia eventually found its way to Petrograd, where it arrived on November 3. The crew of the Britannia then began disembarking their passengers and freeing them from Bolshevik captivity. In total, over 100 people were freed from Bolshevik captivity during its voyage to Petrograd. Following its release from Bolshevik captivity, many of these freed Russians decided to stay in Russia and help rebuild what was left of society following the revolution. Some even went on to become famous figures in Russian history such as Lev Tolstoy and Leo Tolstoy.
The family’s return to England was a major event in the early days of the Bolshevik Revolution. It was also a sign of hope for the people of Russia, who had been living under a dictatorship led by Lenin and his wife.
While the heir to the throne Edward VIII watches, George ponders over the proposal and leaves it up to his beloved wife, who seems to be Tsarina Alexandra’s closest cousin.
The show switches to the life of the Tsar’s family inside Ipatiev House. The family was held captive there under extreme scrutiny with closed up windows, fed inadequate meals, forbade to converse with outsiders, and confined in the house for 23 hours a day, despite the show portraying it as a simple but nevertheless well-apportioned residence.
The household had been held captive in multiple locations since 1917, although in 1918, after appealing to the king for assistance, they were summoned in the late hours of the night and offered a brief sense of hope when they were notified they were being relocated to a secure place. They believed George had finally sent a ship to save them at this point. However, after only a few months at their new location, they were informed that the ship never arrived and that they would have to return to their previous location. ..
The family is taken into a room where they are brutally shot at by Russian soldiers, who would then stab any survivors. Rather than being buried, their bodies are placed into a truck, ungraciously thrown in unmarked graves, and then drenched in acid before setting the corpses on fire.
John Major visits the queen to discuss a possible visit to Russia. She is thrilled with the idea and asks him to consider it for the upcoming season’s central focus.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, relations between Russia and the United States have been strained. However, with the election of Yeltsin as president in Russia, there is a renewed hope that these ties can be repaired. ..
Initially, the two get along well. However, when Yeltsin invites the queen to come to Russia, she mentions the uncomfortable fact that in the 1970s, Yeltsin personally issued the command to wreck Ipatiev House, which was extremely disrespectful towards the queen’s ancestors given that she is descended from Tsar Nicholas II. Yeltsin apologizes but promises to try his best to create a fitting memorial to preserve the Tsar’s family legacy. ..
Yeltsin’s decision to bury the Russian royals quickly after his arrival in Russia is met with mixed reactions. Some people are happy that he is doing something to show his commitment to the country, while others are angry that he isn’t doing more to find out who the royals are. The queen has been trying to get Philip to do some research on the DNA testing, but he is not very interested.
If Philip’s spouse were more like his close friend Penny, he believes she would be less fascinated by things like DNA. In this episode, Prince Philip’s bleak displeasure and dissatisfaction are an irritant, instead of simply nodding “Okay!” when the monarch informs Philip how his DNA can aid determine some of the corpses due to his own heritage. He further inquires as to what sort of specimen they’ll want from him. “Can you be more specific? Hair? Blood? Saliva? Did you enquire? The fact that her majesty isn’t aware and didn’t ask when she was told frustrates Philip.” ..
Penny is practically bowing at Philip’s feet once he tells her more about the DNA situation, informing him she believes that he single-handedly made it possible to find out information regarding the Romanovs who were buried. Penny actually goes to the extent of implying that perhaps DNA research will throw light on whether or not our lives are entirely predestined. Philip is captivated by her knowledge on the matter and he cherishes this thought-provoking conversation. ..
The queen’s visit to Russia is a cover to patch things up with her husband after the discovery of the corpses and a dignified funeral for the Romanovs are not what she expected. She is met with resistance from her husband, who claims that he was required to give up a significant portion of his selfhood after marrying her. The conversation ends up escalating into an unpleasant argument.
Elizabeth and Philip discuss Philip’s revelation that he has been seeking company with his intellectual equal, his friend Penny. Elizabeth suggests that by spending time with Penny, the monarch might discover the real reason why the Romanovs died.
Penny visited her majesty at Windsor Castle and presented her hypothesis that the reason Queen Mary forbade the Tsar as well as his family from entering the nation was because Mary was envious of Alexandra’s attractiveness and the two women had a lifelong feud. ..
Elizabeth tells Penny that while the czarina, Alexandra Romanov, remained pro-German during England’s battle with them, protecting them would have been problematic and conflicting. This could have caused an upheaval. ..
Elizabeth, the current Queen of England, has come under fire in recent years for her ancestor’s role in the 15th century mass killings of Protestants. Elizabeth claims that although Queen Mary might have made the final decision, she was saddened when she learned of the killings. As a queen, she had no choice but to conceal and suppress those feelings. ..
Since Elizabeth has pushed quite hard to have her reputation tainted by Philip’s late-life issue, the monarch is aware that controversy will inevitably ensue if the media tries to label Philip a cheater. So, suppressing her jealousy towards Penny, Elizabeth extends an invitation to the latter to spend Christmas with the clan at the church.
Queen Mary and Elizabeth have both been in difficult positions where they have had to make difficult decisions about how to protect the Monarchy’s reputation. Queen Mary made a hard choice about how to safeguard the Monarchy, while Elizabeth has been fighting for the monarchy’s reputation for over 20 years. Both women have positioned themselves in vulnerable situations, where they must use their diplomatic abilities to maintain their good reputations.
In this episode, Elizabeth tries to bring peace between England and Russia through her relationship with Philip. Elizabeth and Philip have marital problems because they do not share a similar pastime or interest.
The Prime Minister teaches the Queen a valuable lesson during his regular meeting. He discusses Fyodor Dostoevsky’s wife Anna Dostoevsky’s story of how she has nothing in common with her husband and how they still have a successful relationship despite this, but they don’t force their interests on one another. This allows them to coexist by doing their own thing, which is beneficial for both parties.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip have a good relationship despite their differences because they don’t try to force them on each other. ..
