History Recap / TheCrownS6E10SleepDearieSleep

* BackForTheFinale: For the final episode, the two other actors who played Elizabeth in this show (Creator/ClaireFoy and Creator/OliviaColman) return to debate with the older Elizabeth about whether she should abdicate.

** The scenes in which Elizabeth and the committee discuss the arrangements for her eventually death and funeral play out as if this is the first time Operation London Bridge has ever been discussed. By this point in time, though, Elizabeth had already reigned longer than her father, uncle, grandfather, and great-grandfather combined, making it unlikely the Royal Household would wait half a century before planning the state funeral of someone who, in their own words, would likely end up being the longest reigning monarch in British history. The plans had in fact been under discussion since the 1960s and were periodically updated as needed.

* DoWrongRight: Prince Philip doesn't yell at the costume shop for renting Wehrmacht uniform -- given he fought in World War II, he may hate it, but it's still legal -- but he yells at them for renting an ''incorrect'' Wehrmacht uniform.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Elizabeth and Philip get involved in the planning of their own funerals, with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Includes a bit of RealLifeWritesThePlot -- Philip is keen for his coffin to be borne by a modified Land Rover, while Elizabeth wants the piper's lament "Sleep, Dearie Sleep" to be played at hers. Both of these actually happened. We later see Elizabeth get a vision of her own coffin, covered by the Royal Standard and with the royal regalia on top.

* DoWrongRight: Prince Philip doesn't yell at the costume shop for renting Wehrmacht uniform — given he fought in WorldWarII, he may hate it, but it's still legal — but he yells at them for renting an ''incorrect'' Wehrmacht uniform.

* ForegoneConclusion: Much time (and the re-appearance of the versions of Elizabeth as depicted in earlier series of the show) is taken up by the question of whether the Queen should abdicate; she toys with announcing her intention to do so in her speech at Charles and Camilla's wedding, but eventually decides not to. Given that she obviously did not do so in RealLife (and reigned for a further 17 years), the fact that she does not do so here should not surprise anyone.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Elizabeth and Philip get involved in the planning of their own funerals, with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Includes a bit of RealLifeWritesThePlot — Philip is keen for his coffin to be borne by a modified Land Rover, while Elizabeth wants the piper's lament "Sleep, Dearie Sleep" to be played at hers. Both of these actually happened. We later see Elizabeth get a vision of her own coffin, covered by the Royal Standard and with the royal regalia on top.
* HighPriest: All of the Church of England's bishops are brought into the Palace to consult with the Queen on whether Charles and Camilla should be allowed to marry (or rather, how they can get married without undermining the monarchy). The senior of them, the Archbishop of Canterbury, later presides over the post-ceremony blessing. He's Rowan Williams, the 104th holder of that office.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Elizabeth tells Charles that throughout her long reign, Philip has been her "strength and stay". Charles responds by saying that Camilla is ''his'' strength and stay, which prompts Elizabeth to give the green light for their marriage.

* BaitAndSwitch: Just before her speech, Elizabeth is given a piece of paper by an aide. She begins her speech with "an important announcement" and proceeds to read out the information on that piece of paper. Which consists of the results of [[UsefulNotes/HorseRacing the Grand National]], which did indeed take place on the same day as the wedding.

* NotSoDifferentRemark: Elizabeth tells Charles that throughout her long reign, Philip has been her "strength and stay". Charles responds by saying that Camilla is ''his'', which prompts Elizabeth to give the green light for their marriage.

** Philip is entirely correct when he points out that the costume shop got the German uniform wrong, as it's clearly meant to be an ''Afrika Korps'' uniform, which in reality never included a swastika armband (which was only worn by Nazi Party officials, not regular soldiers).

* BoringReligiousService: On the advice of Archbishop Williams, the blessing service that follows Charles and Camilla's wedding includes passages of contrition and acknowledgment of "sin" and "wickedness" from both the bride and groom, which makes it a rather dreary and heavy-going occasion.

* DragQueen: An unusual instance of dressing as an actual queen so in the case of Harry's friend Pelly, who dresses up as ''the'' Queen for the fancy dress party.

** Although there are rumours that Elizabeth II occasionally considered abdicating in her later years, there is no evidence to show that she seriously entertained the idea of doing so, even though (as stated) other ageing European monarchs have done this [[note]] a more likely precedent for the British monarchy would be for a regency, in which the heir to the throne would take on the duties (but not the title) of the monarch in the event of the latter no longer being able to carry out those duties, as happened in the final decade of George III's reign [[/note]].

** After the fallout from the Nazi uniform, Prince Charles actually had Harry meet with the Chief Rabbi [[note]] which, according to ''Spare'', was the first time Harry ever learned of the Holocaust — an odd claim, given that this topic is invariably covered when pupils at British schools learn about UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, although that fits with the notion of Harry not being particularly academic, as he may have not been paying much attention in class [[/note]]. Given this, it seems unusual that his punishment in the show is shown to be cleaning a pigsty.

* {{Bookends}}: The show [[Recap/TheCrownS1E1WolfertonSplash began]] with Elizabeth marrying Philip back in 1947. 58 years later, it ends with Charles marrying Camilla.
* BoringReligiousService: On the advice of Archbishop Williams, the blessing service that follows Charles and Camilla's wedding includes passages of contrition and acknowledgment of “sin” and “wickedness” from both the bride and groom, which makes it a rather dreary and heavy-going occasion.

* WeddingEpisode: Charles and Camilla finally marry, but not before a compromise is made by which they do so in a civil ceremony (which the Queen does not attend) followed by a church blessing in which they must express their atonement for previous sins (ie. the fact that they both committed adultery in their previous marriages).

* BookEnds: The show began

** After the fallout from the Nazi uniform, Prince Charles actually had Harry meet with the Chief Rabbi [[note]] which, according to ''Spare'', was the first time Harry ever learned of the Holocaust — an odd claim, given that this topic is invariably covered when pupils at British schools learn about UsefulNotes/WorldWarII [[/note]]. Given this, it seems unusual that his punishment in the show is shown to be cleaning a pigsty.

* DragQueen: Literally so in the case of Harry's friend Pelly, who dresses up as ''the'' Queen for the fancy dress party.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Elizabeth and Philip get involved in the planning of their own funerals, with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Includes a bit of RealLifeWritesThePlot — Philip is keen for his coffin to be borne by a modified Land Rover, while Elizabeth wants the piper's lament "Sleep, Dearie Sleep" to be played at hers. Both of these actually happened. We later see Elizabeth get a vision of her own coffin with the royal regalia on it.

* RefugeInAudacity: Pelly doesn't just go to the party dressed as the Queen, he gets on stage and joins the band in singing a Music/{{Queen}} song.

* Foreshadowing: Elizabeth and Philip get involved in the planning of their own funerals, with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Includes a bit of RealLifeWritesThePlot.

* TimeSkip: For the last episode, we shift forward three years, from 2002 to 2005.

** If Prince Harry's ghost-written memoir ''Spare'' is to be believed, Harry himself was uneasy with the natives and colonials theme of the fancy dress party, and Kate encouraged him to wear the Nazi uniform. Here, by contrast, it's William who thinks the theme is somewhat tasteless (and is chastised by Harry for doing so), and the Nazi uniform is Harry's idea, with Kate expressing concerns about the swastika armband.

* BackForTheFinale: For the final episode, the two other actors who played Elizabeth in this show (Creator/ClaireFoy and Creator/OliviaColeman) return to debate with the older Elizabeth about whether she should abdicate.

* BackForTheFinale: For the final episode, the two other actors who played Elizabeth in this show (Creator/ClareFoy and Creator/OliviaColeman) return to debate with the older Elizabeth about whether she should abdicate.

** If Prince Harry's ghost-written memoir ''Spare'' is to be believed, Harry himself was uneasy with the natives and colonials theme of the fancy dress party, and Kate helped him pick out the Nazi uniform. Here, by contrast, it's William who thinks the theme is somewhat tasteless (and is chastised by Harry for doing so), and the Nazi uniform is Harry's idea, with Kate expressing concerns about the swastika armband.

* ArtisticLicenceHistory: A couple of examples.
** The scenes in which Elizabeth and the committee discuss the arrangements for her eventually death and funeral play out as if this is the first time Operation London Bridge has ever been discussed. By this point in time, though, Elizabeth had already reigned longer than her father, uncle, grandfather, and great-grandfather combined, making it unlikely the Royal Household would wait half a century before planning the state funeral of someone who, in their own words, would likely end up being the longest reigning monarch in British history. The plans had in fact been under discussion since the 1960s and we’re periodically updated as needed.
* CallBack: Philip's characteristically gruff instructions to the photographer mirror those of the younger Philip

** The scenes in which Elizabeth and the committee discuss the arrangements for her eventually death and funeral play out as if this is the first time Operation London Bridge has ever been discussed. By this point in time, though, Elizabeth had already reigned longer than her father, uncle, grandfather, and great-grandfather combined, making it unlikely the Royal Household would wait half a century before planning the state funeral of someone who, in their own words, would likely end up being the longest reigning monarch in British history. The plans had in fact been under discussion since the 1960s and we’re periodically updated as needed.