Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten marry at Westminster Abbey, but the new household’s future changes while they are touring the Commonwealth in place of her ailing father. King George VI dies at Sandringham while Elizabeth and Philip are in Kenya; she returns to Britain as queen at 25. Her coronation makes her a public figure on an immense scale even as she is still learning the job. Philip struggles with losing his expected authority within their marriage, while private secretaries Tommy Lascelles and Michael Adeane explain the Crown’s rules and limits.
The season ties palace decisions to events outside it. London’s Great Smog overwhelms the capital as Churchill’s government responds slowly; Elizabeth challenges the prime minister and later confronts his concealment of a stroke. Churchill remains in office until his declining health leads him to resign, with Anthony Eden succeeding him. Elizabeth’s uncle, the Duke of Windsor, also returns for George’s funeral, reviving the abdication that put her branch of the family on the throne.
Margaret’s relationship with Peter Townsend becomes Elizabeth’s most personal test. Townsend is divorced, and the palace warns that their proposed marriage would provoke the Church and Commonwealth. Elizabeth initially hopes to help, but Townsend is sent to Brussels and the couple are kept apart. Later, when Margaret presses the question again, Elizabeth tells her she cannot approve the match. The season closes on that decision: Elizabeth chooses the institution’s demands over Margaret’s happiness, and the sisters are left to live with the cost.