There is no doubt that Queen Elizabeth II is crown. Whether it’s Claire Foy or Olivia Colman, both women provide stunning portrayals of her, bringing the right level of class and personality to make it as accurate as possible throughout the series.
Queen Elizabeth II sometimes provides authority in her role, but she is also a mother and a wife, and those elements are also on display. Throughout the series, she delivers a range of brilliant quotes, from powerful speeches to hilarious quips that highlight her true personality.
Updated July 3, 2021 by Matthew Wilkinson: Of course, Queen Elizabeth II is often required to give great speeches during her royal appearances, which does lead to some fan-favorite pep talks famous quotes. But what The Crown does best is highlight various aspects of her life.
Viewers get to see her funny side, as well as great emotional moments that people might not expect. While the show has a lot of great characters who all deliver some great lines at various points, few can match the number of memorable lines in the show that Queen Elizabeth II has.
“All you have to do is wait. It doesn’t matter. I was a machinist during the war.”
crown When the story begins, Elizabeth is a princess training for royal duties. Part of the training included traveling to Africa in place of her father. As the entourage was struggling with a broken car engine, Elizabeth jumped out and quickly showed them how to fix it.
In these early episodes, Elizabeth’s experience as a machinist and her service during World War II established her as a pragmatic, hard-working woman who was powerfully persuasive even if she wasn’t the loudest voice in the room . To date, the real Queen Elizabeth is the only female member of the British royal family to have served in the military.
“My name is Elizabeth.”
Shortly after Elizabeth became the new queen, her private secretary asked her for her royal name. He explained that her father’s name was Albert, who took the name George, and that her uncle’s name was David, who took the name Edward. Elizabeth decided not to make things too complicated and kept her birth name as her royal name.
This shows Elizabeth’s informal, unpretentious nature and her naivety about her future role. As the show would later show, she could never let the public see her true self. She was no longer Elizabeth Mountbatten, but Elizabeth Regina.
“It’s not a problem. It’s still not a problem.”
When Prince Charles was sent to the Caribbean, he decided he wasn’t happy with it and complained to his mother. However, Elizabeth always wanted to adhere to standards when it came to observing duties and etiquette.
Because of this, his complaint fell short of the mark. He wanted to plead not to go, but he beat around the bush, and when he rambled, Elizabeth made her position clear, pointing out that he didn’t even ask questions multiple times. It demonstrates her strength and responsibility, even to her closest family members.
“The thing is, my face is such that if I don’t smile, everyone is like, ‘Oh, isn’t she angry?'”
In Pride and Joy, Elizabeth and Philip embark on a journey across the Commonwealth, with a demanding schedule that pushes them to their limits. At one point, Elizabeth’s facial muscles began to spasm from smiling too much, and she asked her doctor to inject a muscle relaxant.
The Queen’s sense of humor really shines through as she explains why she needs this. (Philip, for his part, thinks the injection is ridiculous, but he wouldn’t be under that much pressure to smile.) Here’s another scene based on a true story: The real queen was so focused on her “crossed” resting face that she went to great lengths to hide it.
“History is not made by people who do nothing.”
When former Prime Minister Anthony Eden resigned over his handling of the Suez Canal crisis, Elizabeth took this as consolation. In calling for war, Eden hopes to be known as a legend like his predecessor. Elizabeth understood this sentiment because she had lived in Winston Churchill’s shadow during the first years of her reign.
She admitted, “Doing nothing is often the best course of action, but I know from personal experience how frustrating that can be.” She sympathized with Eden, even warning him that he had made the wrong choice in a diplomatic crisis . As the war turned out to be a disaster, Eden was no longer welcome as Prime Minister.
“I don’t fight often, but when I do, I want to win.”
The relationship between Elizabeth and Margaret Thatcher was decidedly frosty, and the two women often disagreed. In terms of the show’s political stance, which dominated seasons three and four, there were some heated arguments between the two.
At one point, they got into a war over the wording of a letter about the economy and its aftermath. Everything Elizabeth sent was rejected, which led to her hiring a writer because she showed her competitive side.
“One doesn’t want to feel like second best.”
Elizabeth’s fear of being covered up is a recurring theme crown, Although there is no real competition for her position in life. Most of the time, she felt threatened by Margaret’s bold personality. However, in Dear Mrs. Kennedy, Elizabeth’s foil is none other than the charming Jackie Kennedy, who is visiting London on official business with her husband.
Elizabeth, aware that she has reached middle age, resents Jackie’s ability to charm Philip and even the French with her beauty and intelligence. Jackie was surprised when she admitted that she was a shy person who hated living in the spotlight, just like Elizabeth herself.
“There’s no way I can forgive you. The question is: How on earth can you forgive yourself?”
In “Vergangenheit,” Elizabeth must decide whether to allow her uncle, Prince Edward, to reenter public life. In 1936, Edward abdicated and Elizabeth was directly included in the list of heirs to the throne. While Elizabeth was personally inclined to grant his wish for a glamorous but not too demanding job, a visit to Tommy Lascelles revealed some shocking information about Edward’s activities during World War II.
He essentially committed treason in exchange for being reinstated as king. In one of her most defining moments, Elizabeth decided she could not forgive her uncle’s misdeeds and revoked his permission to enter the country.
“I ask that you consider your response in light of the respect that my rank and position deserve, not in light of the respect that my age and gender might imply.”
For much of the first season, Elizabeth was unsure of herself and her powers. This changes in the book Scientific Potential, which explores Elizabeth’s relationship with education. Elizabeth is disturbed to hear that two of the country’s most powerful men have suffered health problems during a tense international conflict, about which she knows nothing.
She stood up to Churchill for the first time and told him that he had violated her trust and endangered the country by withholding information about his health. She explained, “The monarch is dignified and the government is efficient. These two institutions can only function when they support each other and trust each other.”
“What would Britain be without…the greatest Englishman? God bless you, Winston.”
Although Elizabeth had rocky relationships with many of the Prime Ministers in the show, one man she grew to respect greatly was Winston Churchill. Elizabeth praised him and paid tribute to him many times, including attending a Downing Street dinner, which was unheard of at the time.
However, her true feelings for Winston are most evident during her final meeting with him. As Winston’s life came to an end, Elizabeth visited him and paid her tribute to her friend, her last words filled with true love and admiration.
“A coalition of elected quitters.”
Anthony Eden isn’t the only Prime Minister to resign in series two. Harold Macmillan cited the reasons for his ill health during his parting conversation with Queen Elizabeth II, who immediately reminded him of his predecessors and how they had failed her.
“You know, I’ve been Queen for less than ten years? In that time, I’ve had three Prime Ministers and they were all ambitious people, smart people, brilliant people. None of them could have sustained this process. They were either too old, too sick, or too weak.” The key point is that unlike these men, Elizabeth felt that her job was for life and she had no option to quit.
“To everyone’s regret and dismay, the only person I ever loved was you.”
Queen Elizabeth’s first decade of marriage to Prince Philip is one of the major storylines crownfirst two seasons. When Elizabeth ascended to the throne decades earlier than expected, Philip struggled to adjust to his new life as a consort, preferring that his wife and the Queen obey him rather than the other way around.
As her relationship with Philip becomes increasingly tense, Elizabeth spends more time with childhood friend and horse racing enthusiast Porky. Philip becomes jealous of their relationship, but Elizabeth corrects him, declaring that she and Porky are just friends, and point-blank asking Philip if he could honestly look her in the eyes and say the same about his alleged lover.
“Because, if memory serves me, you have your own ballerina.”
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip definitely have issues in their marriage, and it’s something the show doesn’t shy away from exploring. One situation that comes up in the play is Prince Philip’s close relationship with a famous ballet dancer, which Elizabeth doesn’t hesitate to ask him about.
The story takes place when they were younger, but when Prince Philip tried to joke that Elizabeth had never danced for him the way Diana danced for Charles, his wife was quick to fire back with this brilliant quip. It shows that she hasn’t forgotten that fact, quickly putting Philip back in his place, while also highlighting her sharp tongue.
“Old Bat.”
Another great example of Elizabeth’s witty reaction is when she receives new stamps. This was a scene used to show the changes in the character actors, and the stamps were changed to reflect the fact that Elizabeth was getting older.
Her staff tried to avoid this when showing her the stamps, as their goal was to be as polite as possible. But when they tried to explain that this showed a change in her, Elizabeth simply pointed out that it was a change in her being an “old bat”. It relieved all the tension in the room, it was a great quip and once again showed off her fun side.
“For better or worse, the crown has rested on my head. I say let’s go.”
During the trip, Elizabeth and Philip argued about whether to stop in Gibraltar. Philip wanted to skip it for safety reasons, but Elizabeth insisted on stopping to carry out her royal duties. Finally, Elizabeth stood her ground.
In a powerful scene, she acknowledges that there are others who might be able to do her job better — “powerful people with strong personalities, more natural leaders, maybe better suited to lead from the front and leave a mark.” However, the crown and the authority that came with it ultimately fell to her, and she had no intention of letting her husband or anyone else over her.