01x04 - Holding the King

[bunniefuu]

[water splashing]

[lathered scrubbing]

[light instrumental music plays]

If Your Majesty prefers to retire,

Mr. Reynolds and I

Am I not permitted to wash the king?

It is just not usual.

I confess I still have much to learn

about palace procedure.

For instance, I just pulled the king

out of a hole in the vegetable garden

where he was busy discoursing

with the sky. Is that usual?

No, Your Majesty.

The king has not been himself lately.

What is this?

What is happening?

What has happened to my husband?

[George]

He has a strong will.

A mind of his own.

Cuts his own trail now and then,

but nothing better for driving a plow.

Purpose-bred on my farm at Richmond.

- He is a beautiful creature, Your Majesty.

- [George]

Mm.

Though I confess

- [horse grunts]

- Go on, speak plainly.

I'm used to the old ways.

Oxen are so much more predictable.

- Is he free?

- Yes, sir.

- [clicking tongue]

- [horse grunting]

- [horse neighs]

- [George grunts, pats horse]

- [snorts]

- Go on.

When you see that two

of these horses can accomplish in a day

what took a team of oxen a week,

you shall learn how easily old habits die.

- With the new plows the Dutch are

- [Reynolds]

Excuse me, Your Majesty.

It is the Dowager Princess.

You're needed at the palace.

- Tell her I'm busy in a field.

- I'm afraid she insists.

I believe

I believe she's found you a bride.

- [horse snorts, neighs]

- [soft music playing]

[Augusta]

George.

So good of you to clean up for us.

[George]

I did not expect so much company.

You should not have troubled them.

I cannot stay long.

Let us get on with the thing, then.

The thing?

You know, the thing.

The thing where you enumerate

the many meritorious qualities

of some chosen noblewoman.

And I remind you how uninterested I am

in the qualities of noblewomen.

Your Majesty, just this week,

Pitt and Newcastle moved to place

royal revenues

under control of the House

Bute, you interrupted my mother.

She was about to say that

this lady's ancestors fought at Hastings,

and is said to be very fine

at the harpsichord.

And then I was going to say

that I do not care for the harpsichord.

See? I can play both parts.

Every day you fail to produce an heir,

our family's position weakens.

- [snaps]

- Right.

Thank you for the cue.

Now I ask, is that all a king is?

A royal stud-horse

trotted out for the chosen mare?

Or can a king rule in his own way

through practical scientific study?

Agricultural improvement?

Tell me, what would the people prefer?

A royal baby or cheap bread?

Right now, they have neither.

The w*r has drained our coffers.

Now the American colonies

thr*aten to withhold taxes,

and Parliament revolts.

The people need a king.

A real king.

God knows you have had your obstacles,

but we cannot brook obstacles.

- Not any longer.

- [sighs]

So I have found you a queen.

Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

A German?

How exotic.

I will not bore you with her qualities

except for the best one.

She is on a ship.

A ship?

- Now?

- Bound for London.

The betrothal contracts are signed.

- It is done.

- Impossible.

[tense music stirring]

She will lose

She will lose the moon.

Lose the moon, Your Majesty?

There are storms over the North Sea.

Matters not your captain or your sextant.

No sky, no moon. No moon, no lunars.

No lunars, no longitude.

No longitude, no bride.

She loses the moon, and she is lost.

Withdraw! Withdraw!

- You heard. Everyone out!

- Not only the moon. Pollux, lost.

Regulus, lost.

Pollux, lost. Regulus, lost.

- And after Pollux

- George! George George

- [hushing]

- [George pants]

- George.

- [grunting]

[continues murmuring]

[Augusta hushing softly]

- [George panting shakily]

- [Augusta hushing softly]

The symptoms remain consistent

with an inflamed cerebellum.

It is time to consider trepanation.

Nonsense. I had a patient

just like him in Chichester.

- It is an excess of ill humor in the legs.

- We tried your methods.

They succeeded in nothing

but driving the humor into his stomach.

Your Highness, I implore you.

Diet is the key.

Enough.

We've entertained all your theories

and their hideous treatments.

Now it is a week before his wedding.

- And the king remains

- [George breathing shakily]

as before.

We need new theories.

[doctor]

Indeed, Your Highness.

It may be time to consider

what none of your physicians have dared.

That the king's condition

is not merely physical but nervous.

Do you understand

what you are saying, sir?

That is treason.

If the king is declared insane,

he loses the throne!

[doctor]

Not insane.

Merely suffering

a disorganization of the nerves.

A disorganization I have devoted

my career to curing.

[pensive music playing]

Dr. John Monro of the Bethlehem Hospital.

You mean Bedlam, the madhouse.

Your Highness, this quack

has no place among proper doctors.

The proper doctors have failed me,

so I have had to cast a wider net.

Continue, sir.

Unlike my esteemed colleagues,

my methods do not require

bleeding the patient

or stinging him with poison beetles,

or bruising his legs with tourniquets.

Aye. What do they involve, then?

Simply talking to him.

Talking? Ha! Are we to believe

this malady can be cured with one's voice?

It depends on the voice.

[dramatic music builds slowly]

Listen, boy.

Remember yourself.

You are the king of England.

You have thousands prepared

to die at a word from you.

You have armies, navies at your command.

You command an entire kingdom.

You can command yourself too.

[gasps and sighs softly]

You're to marry in a week.

Are you fit to marry, George?

I am.

[dramatic music fades out]

[rousing instrumental music builds]

[indistinct overlapping chatter]

Do not gawk like a peasant. [chuckles]

Behave as though you've been here before.

[all clamoring]

[lively string ensemble playing]

- There is a problem.

- [Reynolds]

What have you done, Brimsley?

Bride is missing.

[tense music builds slowly]

[Brimsley]

I don't know what to do.

- How? When did it happen?

- [Brimsley whispers indistinctly]

I don't know what to do.

[exhales sharply]

[door slams shut]

What are you doing?

Disappearing.

As evidently the bride has done.

No bride, no wedding.

If your bride is missing,

it is your responsibility to remedy that.

Probably for the best.

It was uh, premature, all this.

I'm not ready. Not right.

I have examined you thoroughly,

and you are perfectly right.

[George]

Do I look perfectly right to you?

You are perfectly right.

- [smack]

- [grunts]

- [guard 1]

His Majesty!

- [guard 2]

Quickly. Go!

Wait, no. He He is right.

[sniffs, exhales sharply]

I am right.

I forgot myself. Thank you, Doctor.

[guards sheathing blades]

[upbeat instrumental music plays]

[clears throat]

Hello, my lady.

Are you in need

of assistance of some kind?

[theme music playing]

[tense music playing]

What is the surprise?

Where are you taking me?

You will see. Just wait.

I do not need to do anything.

I decide! I have decided!

[shouts]

I am your king!

Oh.

My mistake.

I thought you were just George.

- Forgive me, Your Majesty.

- Char Charlotte.

Come on, then!

- Just a tipple!

- [chuckling]

- The devil are you two doing?

- Celebrating!

Take the night off, Reynolds!

The king is at Buckingham House.

His Majesty is back here. Now.

[horse neighing]

[driver]

Whoa.

Whoa there.

Welcome back, Your Majesty.

Observatory, now. Just you.

[Reynolds]

Does Your Majesty

not find the queen attractive?

[sighs]

I didn't know

a woman could be so beautiful.

Perhaps is she dull?

She's terrifyingly clever.

That is the problem.

If she were ugly, if she were dull,

I might feel up to the task. Instead, her

brilliance shows that [sighs]

Shows the troll I am.

[somber music plays softly]

If I may. Your Majesty may

only be blinded by that brilliance.

Her perfection is matched

only by my deformity.

She belongs as far from me as she can get.

Will Your Majesty not be returning

to Buckingham House?

I have done as they asked. I married.

Now I shall leave her alone, safe from me.

I shall return to my planets, my stars.

They, at least, I can be sure not to harm.

Good night, Reynolds.

[utensils clinking]

- [table thumps]

- [Charlotte]

Brimsley?

Yes, Your Majesty.

Ready the carriage.

Yes, Your Majesty.

May I say our destination?

We are going to see my husband.

[Reynolds]

Your Majesty.

- I already had my dinner.

- Of course.

- There is something I need

- Reynolds.

Was I not clear I'm not to be disturbed

under any circumstances?

You were, Your Majesty. It is just

that this circumstance is rather

The queen is coming.

What? Why was I not informed?

No one was informed. She just appeared.

Good God!

She is at the bridge.

She will be here any moment.

[horses trotting]

- [horses neighing]

- [drivers urging]

Where is he?

- Your Majesty, we were not expecting you.

- Where is he?

The observatory, Your Majesty.

- What is this place?

- Charlotte.

Oh. Hello.

Here you are.

- [Brimsley]

Will he be cross with her?

- Absolutely.

But she is standing up to him.

Perhaps this is good.

Perhaps. Perhaps it is bad.

[George]

I do not understand

what you complain about.

I am seven and ten years old,

and suddenly I am queen

in a strange country

with strange food and strange customs.

You do not understand

because this is who you were born to be.

I cannot do whatever I like.

The queen is not allowed

to go to the modiste,

or the galleries, or the ice shops.

I cannot make friends.

I must hold myself apart.

I don't know

a single soul here except for you.

I'm completely alone,

and you prefer the sky to me.

- George!

- What?

Say something!

- I do not want to fight.

- I want to fight with you!

Fight with me! Fight for me!

Go home, Charlotte!

[melancholy music builds slowly]

[Charlotte sighs]

[door creaks open]

[George]

Doctor,

thank you for coming so quickly.

Of course, Your Majesty.

A most impressive scientific collection.

I do not know that there is another

to match it in England.

Well, there are a few advantages

to being monarch.

One is you get the best stuff.

Monro, I

[sighs]

I need your help.

Of course.

I am near at hand for whenever

Your Majesty feels a fit coming on.

Well, the thing is, that is not enough.

Look, I have learned

a thing or two about science,

and one thing I have learned is this.

Scientists keep

the best of it to themselves.

Am I right, Monro?

I'm not sure I understand, Your Majesty.

It can be years before the public learns

of the newest discoveries,

and for good reason.

Say a doctor is brought in

to treat a king, just for example.

He could not risk failure or,

God forbid, harming his Sovereign.

So he would employ only his safest,

his most proven treatments,

keeping the cutting edge

of his methods to himself

until they are proven beyond a doubt.

Do you understand me now?

I may begin to.

It is not enough

to cure the fits once they start.

If the queen were

to ever see me like that, if she were to

flee from me,

God forbid, if I were to hurt her

Surely, there must be

something you could do.

Something to end the fits forever.

I have been experimenting

with something more proactive.

[George]

Please.

I want to be well.

I would require rooms in the palace,

full access to Your Majesty at any time,

and license to pursue more

extreme measures.

Anything. Whatever you have to do.

We have the time

and privacy of my honeymoon.

[pensive music playing]

[Monro]

The problem in your case is clear.

[bells jingling]

[Monro]

You are a king.

As such,

you are used to the obedience of others.

You have not learned to obey.

We require solitude. You are dismissed.

You are used to splendor. Luxury.

Comfort.

You have never known

the salubrious powers of Spartan habits.

[screaming]

[gasping, panting]

[Monro]

Again.

[screaming]

[Monro]

Simple ways.

Above all,

you have never learned to submit.

[pensive music intensifies]

Your mind ranges undisciplined.

Unbound, it tests the limits of reason.

[dog whimpering]

That is the origin of your fits.

This is the cure.

Submission.

If you cannot govern yourself,

you're not fit to govern others.

[dog whimpers]

Until then,

I shall govern you.

Do you understand me, boy?

I don't give a damn who your father was,

how many titles you have,

or whether you are

God's own representative on Earth.

In here, you are just

another animal in a cage.

[shouts]

And just like an animal,

I will break you!

[pensive music fades out]

No! Ah!

[shouting]

[shuddering]

[muffled]

Doctor! Doctor!

Doctor! Doctor!

- Doctor!

- What is that?

Ungag him.

We have been at this for days!

How much longer?

As long as it takes to achieve our goal.

That was our agreement.

Our goal was to restore me to myself.

Much more of this,

and I will not have a self to return to!

Is a broken king

really better than a mad one?

I do not call it

the "terrific method" for nothing.

Terror is its very basis!

But from that terror, what result.

The wolves of the German Black Forest

were famous, the fiercest in the world.

Not content to steal chickens and cattle,

they ran off with children, the old.

Where are those wolves now?

Only in legends, fairy tales, and here.

Through science and force of will,

the Germans transformed their wolves

into this thing.

See, boy? Animal nature is clay.

With enough strength, you can mold it.

I will do to you

what the Germans did to their wolves.

Mold you until you are

as harmless and obedient as he is.

- [Brimsley]

He must act.

- I cannot make him act.

You made him consummate the marriage

in front of the Dowager Princess.

What would you have the king do?

- A gesture.

- A gesture?

A gesture.

[screaming]

[shuddering breaths]

[Monro]

Again.

[gurgling shouts]

[door opens and closes]

- Is Your Majesty quite all right?

- Of course. Why wouldn't I be?

Forgive me, Your Majesty.

No reason at all.

Though it is a prodigious quantity of ice

they keep carting around here.

And as for the food,

I do not know that I'd see it fed

to our lowest stable hand.

Are you questioning

the doctor's methods, Reynolds?

[George huffs]

I have my own doubts about them,

but I have to try.

It's the only chance I have

of being with her.

With respect, Your Majesty is His Majesty.

His Majesty can do as he pleases.

His Majesty could be with her right now.

I cannot take the risk,

especially with a woman so unpredictable.

So capricious.

Could you believe her the other night?

Abandoning her honeymoon chambers

in violation of all custom and decorum,

not to mention my direct order.

Bursting in unannounced on the king.

Why, she's almost as mad as I am.

[George sighs]

A woman like that

is too dangerous for a man like me.

Or maybe a perfect match.

You think?

We cannot know until His Majesty

spends more time with her.

I cannot be with her.

But

perhaps I could be near her.

[pleasant music playing]

Ready the carriage, Reynolds.

We are going to Buckingham House.

[door opens]

[George]

Look at her.

She's playing chess with herself.

She is mad.

[Reynolds]

I believe

she is lonely, Your Majesty.

[George]

Lonely?

Imagine that. I've spent my whole life

longing for time to myself.

She is just married, Your Majesty.

It is her honeymoon.

She may miss her husband.

I think I miss her too.

Your Majesty might provide

the queen a gesture.

A gesture?

Some token,

some sign that she is not really alone.

- That you shall be with her soon.

- Something to be with her until I can be.

[Reynolds]

Precisely.

Say what hours does the doctor

keep in his laboratory?

Does Your Majesty require his attention?

On the contrary.

[whimsical music playing]

I was thinking flowers.

I'm still the king, mad as I may be.

Cannot a king move freely

about his own palace?

- [cage creaks]

- [dog whimpers]

Fitting present, no?

From my cage to hers.

I want the queen to know

we will not be caged forever.

[whimsical music ends]

[whimpers softly]

[barks]

Is Your Majesty

quite confident in his security?

My security, Doctor?

Your Majesty's guards, footmen, retainers.

In these sad days,

there are so many enemies of the Crown.

One would hate to think a spy

had penetrated Your Majesty's circle.

To say nothing of rogues,

charlatans, and petty thieves.

- Doctor, what are you saying?

- [sighs]

My dog is missing.

I arrived in my laboratory this morning

to find the cage unlatched

and the stupid beast nowhere to be found.

It may be that

the beast was not so stupid.

Lapdog or wolf,

soon enough an animal tires of its cage.

Do you agree, Doctor?

[Monro]

Hm.

Your Majesty has been spending

too much time in the observatory.

I do not like the color

of Your Majesty's skin

or the color around his eyes.

I worry another fit may be imminent.

Inauspicious timing, I am afraid, as

the Dowager Princess has asked me

to convey a message to Your Majesty.

I am afraid

we have forgotten our objectives.

Grown too lax in our routine.

But no matter, we can right ourselves.

I will have an ice bath

prepared immediately

and then straight to the chair.

- [knocking at door]

- [door opens]

Your Majesty, news from Buckingham House.

The queen has received your gesture.

Oh.

And what did she think of it?

Go on.

She called it a deformed bunny.

[laughs]

You know what?

No ice bath.

No chair today. [clears throat]

Uh, Your Majesty.

Boy! I command you to stay.

Sorry, Doctor.

Today, I would rather work on my farm.

[light instrumental music plays]

[grunts]

[music ends]

See?

As I said.

Drives the plow straight as an arrow.

Aye, Your Majesty.

It goes to show.

The most skittish creature in the barn

can be the stoutest in the field.

You can't know

until they have a chance to try.

Chance to try? Hey!

[grunts]

Quite right.

This work has made me hungry.

I am afraid my larder may not rate

with Your Majesty's usual fare,

but I could run and fetch

a crust of bread or or some stew.

Thank you, sir. No.

I think I shall dine with my wife.

[soaring music rises and fades out]

He has realized the error of his ways.

His heart has opened like a flower.

His loins throb only for Her Majesty.

- You would do well to express gratitude.

- And yet I feel only suspicion.

His Majesty is coming to Buckingham House.

- That is a welcome development.

- It is.

Have his bits healed, then?

- His bits are fine. I've told you.

- You have.

- I spoke out of turn. I offer apologies.

- Accepted.

You confirm

his Majesty's condition has eased?

What condition?

Whatever condition

has kept him away so long.

There is no condition.

We could work together.

I could be useful.

I am a patriot. I serve the Crown.

You cannot take all of this on alone.

- You are climbing, Brimsley.

- I am not.

He is mine. Stay down.

- No fish around the king.

- Yes, sir.

[distant whooshing]

[piercing notes screech softly]

[distant whooshing]

[indistinct whisperings echo]

[whooshing echoes]

[whooshing echoes]

[whispering continues]

[heartbeat thumping loudly]

[whooshing and echoes dissipate]

[heartbeat calms]

[exhales]

It's good color on this wine, Reynolds.

I shall let the kitchen know,

Your Majesty.

[George]

Hm.

Hello, Charlotte.

Hello.

Is it all right if I join you for a meal?

A meal?

A meal? Are you

A meal?!

- [scoffs]

- Charlotte.

Where are you going? Where are you going?

I do not know! Just away from you.

Wherever you are not.

Charlotte. Charlotte!

Charlotte, if you'll give me a chance

Charlotte, stop walking this instant!

I

I realize you have no reason to like me.

You have no reason to trust me.

I marry you,

and then I disappear into my observatory.

And then I come in to dine as if

But if you give me

just one evening of your time,

allow me to show you

where my mind has been.

It might not make you forgive me,

but it might make you hate me a bit less.

Does this mean you're coming home

to Buckingham House?

I am coming home to Buckingham House.

[light instrumental music playing]

Your Majesty?

Not now, Doctor. I'm busy moving.

- [Monro]

Moving?

- To Buckingham House.

Without consulting me?

I've instructed the men

to find you quarters there.

Though I am afraid our consultations

may become rather less frequent, alas.

Such a change could have

disastrous consequences for your health.

My health.

Doctor, I feel healthier

than I have in years.

- [indistinct chatter]

- [gentle, dramatic music builds slowly]

You are breathtaking.

[Augusta]

I need to know

if you have properly bedded her.

- The Crown

- You told me to wed for the Crown. I did.

You told me to charm her

to make it easier for the Crown.

I have done my best.

You told me I could not let her know me

because I must protect

the secrets of the Crown. I have not.

You told me to bed her. I have done so!

It has been abundantly clear

since my first breath

that I was born for the happiness

or misery of a great nation.

And consequently must often

act contrary to my passions!

She is gone?

[Reynolds]

Your mother has departed. I saw to it.

And Charlotte?

The queen is at breakfast.

If you would like to join her, I

Shall I send for the doctor, Your Majesty?

Yes. Yes. Get him here.

[breathing shakily]

Charlotte.

She will never know of it.

[gentle, dramatic music builds slowly]

[panting]

[grunting]

[dishes clattering]

[moaning softly]

[Charlotte]

Are you not well?

Was that not up to your standards?

You saw a doctor

the other day in the cellar.

It's Coronation Day.

The Crown must be examined

on Coronation Day.

[dramatic music playing]

No more even days and odd days.

- We shall just have days.

- Mm-hmm.

[music ends]

Careful, Doctor.

Remember the giant razor in your hand

when you are waving it around like that.

If Your Majesty would hold still,

I might avoid nicking the royal neck.

The light down here

is not what I'm used to.

[George]

Oh, right.

Sorry we cannot better accommodate you.

We cannot risk the queen learning of you.

I worry about the effects

of the cellar's humidity

on Your Majesty's constitution.

My constitution is fine.

I worry about the effects

of this whole place.

Since you moved here,

you've not been to the chair once.

If we do not resume treatment soon,

we risk losing

everything we have accomplished.

[George]

We?

You and I, Doctor,

have accomplished nothing.

Anything accomplished for me

has been the work of my bride.

Her methods have done more for me

than you and your chair ever could.

Your Majesty forgets himself.

Grow reckless

and you give free rein

to your most capricious urges.

So does she.

[clears throat]

When I was an infant,

my colic was never just colic.

My colic was a disaster.

An ill omen.

The potential ruin of England.

When I was a boy,

refusal to eat my peas

was the potential ruin of England.

An incorrect sum at mathematics,

the potential ruin of England.

I have lived my entire life

in terror of acting incorrectly

because every incorrect action

threatened the ruin of England.

That terror nearly broke me.

I found places to hide.

My farms, my observatory.

My madness.

I thought that terror

was the price of being royal.

Now, I have met a woman

who is never terrified.

Who does as she pleases.

Breaks rules, courts scandal.

Commits unthinkable impertinences.

And she is the most royal person

I have ever known.

Excuse me, Doctor.

I have a party to attend.

You are dismissed.

[man]

His Majesty King George the Third

and Queen Charlotte!

[George]

I do not know

if you understand what you have done.

With one evening, one party,

we have created more change,

stepped forward more

than Britain has in the last century.

- More than I would have dreamed.

- You can do anything, George.

With you by my side, I think I can.

[chuckles softly]

[gentle instrumental music playing]

[sighs]

Monro, what are you doing here?

A spot of insomnia, Your Majesty?

Unfortunately, I'm not free

for treatment just now.

Perhaps I failed to speak clearly before.

You will never treat me again.

- You are no longer my doctor.

- Oh.

Pity. Nevertheless, I remain the queen's.

The queen's?

Yes. I'm preparing

this poultice for her now.

Stay away from her.

But Your Majesty, she came to me.

Heard the king's doctor

was here and figured

that she should not settle

for anything less

than doctor to the king.

Why would she need a doctor?

Well, because obviously

she is with child.

[tense music builds slowly]

She was not sure, but I am.

Congratulations, Your Majesty.

A joyous day for England.

[music intensifies]

[panting softly]

[distant whooshing]

[breathing shakily]

[gasping, mutters]

[piercing notes screech softly]

[indistinct whisperings echo]

[piercing notes screech softly]

[distant whooshing]

Farmer. Farmer King.

Farmer George. Farmer King.

That is not right.

[grunts]

[Charlotte]

George, is that you?

Recalculating.

- [scratching]

- [George]

Farm Farmer.

[Charlotte]

George?

[pencil clatters]

[George]

Venus, my angel! I'm here!

Talk to me!

- [gasping]

- Farmer George.

Here.

Come on.

What is this?

What is happening?

What has happened to my husband?

[tense music fades]

[somber instrumental music plays]

- [horse neighs]

- [driver]

Whoa!

[horses trotting]

Reynolds!

Reynolds, my carriage!

- Your Majesty.

- Brimsley, stop following me.

- I I beg, Your Ma

- Brimsley, stop!

[doors open]

[Augusta laughing]

Ah, Charlotte. I did not expect you.

The Danbury ball was a triumph.

Has Your Highness tried

cutting mutton with a dull Kn*fe?

I beg your pardon.

The knives at Buckingham House

used to be sharp enough.

Then one day, they were all dull.

It happened to be the day

the king joined me there.

I believe we may have to break fast

another morning, Lady Howe.

Yes, Ma'am.

[Charlotte]

Odd, I thought,

but surely a coincidence.

Surely a coincidence, too,

that the very same day,

the windows were sealed shut

on the upper floors,

and suddenly locks everywhere.

Locks on the armory, the kitchen,

the shed where the gardeners

keep their shears.

A coincidence, surely.

What I could not convince myself

was a coincidence, though,

was when the library set

of Shakespeare was missing King Lear.

Forgive me.

I am not a Shakespeare enthusiast.

The one about the mad king

because the king is mad,

and I live in a mad house!

- You forget yourself, Charlotte.

- I thought I was the damaged one.

That somehow I was deficient, when he

The king is not mad!

The king is merely exhausted

from holding the greatest nation

in the world on his shoulders!

What could you know about that?

The weight of that on a boy.

The weight on his mother

as she watches her son start to cr*ck.

If, God grant, you ever do bear an heir,

then you may start to learn,

and your first lesson will be this.

You would do anything

to stop the cracking.

You would engage hideous doctors

and a thousand disgusting treatments!

You would scour Europe

for a queen grateful enough to aid him.

And yes, if necessary,

you'd leave the rough edges of his nature

for his bride to discover in due course.

Rough edges? He was talking to the sky!

And what of it?

[Augusta]

You were nothing.

You came from nowhere.

Now, you sit at the helm of the world.

What matter

if your husband has his peculiarities?

I did not ask

to sit at the helm of the world.

I did not even ask for a husband!

But if I must have one,

if I must leave my home,

my family, my language, my life,

it cannot be for a man I do not know!

A man I was not allowed to know.

For a lie!

[Augusta]

Your insolence

truly knows no bounds.

You are unhappy with your situation,

perched at the pinnacle of power.

A mere foal plucked from nowhere

[Augusta continues indistinctly]

[pensive music playing]

Your Majesty?

Strap me back in.

[music intensifies]

[music builds to crescendo and fades out]

[closing theme music playing]