History Characters / TheCrown2016

Due to the [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters ever-growing]] list of the characters in ''Series/TheCrown2016'', the character sheet has been split between the main ensemble and the supporting cast. Beware of spoilers.

[[caption-width-right:350:Just your ordinary family drama.[[note]]The aforementioned phrase is the biggest lie ''ever to be told''.[[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Just your ordinary family drama.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Understatement}} Just your ordinary family drama]].]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Just your ordinary family drama.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Just your ordinary family drama]]

[[/index]]

[[foldercontrol]]


!! Other Characters
[[folder: Clementine Churchill]]
!!Dame Clementine "Clemmie" Churchill
[[quoteright:187:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clemmie.PNG]]
->'''Played By''': Harriet Walter

->''"I had hoped I'd seen the back of this place."''

The wife of Winston Churchill. Loyal and devoted to her husband, her devotion extends to trying to help him realise that he is no longer the man of energy and accomplishment that he believes himself to be.

----

* BurnBabyBurn: Her solution to the loathed Sutherland portrait.
* EatingTheEyeCandy: Churchill accuses her of doing this to his portrait painter, Graham Sutherland. She doesn't deny it.
* HappilyMarried: To Sir Winston.
* OhNoNotAgain: Openly unhappy about living at 10 Downing Street a second time.
* ParentingTheHusband: Clemmie has to do this on a few occasions.
** She commands Winston (in a whisper) to shut up as he rather loudly reminds her why Philip's sisters were not invited to the royal wedding... in the middle of the royal wedding.
** After Winston's stroke, she lectures him for deceiving the Queen about the extent of his health problems. She orders him back to bed in case the excitement of President Eisenhower's upcoming visit becomes too much for him... which it does seconds later.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Venetia Scott]]
!!Miss Venetia Scott
[[quoteright:235:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/venetiascott.PNG]]
->'''Played By''': Kate Phillips

->''"You were 24. All energy and hope and passion and fire. It's remarkable."''

A personal secretary to the Prime Minister.

----

* AudienceSurrogate: As she experiences the particulars and peculiarities of life working at Number 10, so do we.
* CompositeCharacter: Winston Churchill never had a secretary named Venetia Scott. However, her experiences as his secretary are in line with that of his many real-life secretaries.
* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: After reading Winston's memoirs, she is inspired to make her own mark on the world however she can. [[spoiler: Her death makes enough of a mark on Winston that he calls for a public inquiry into the cause of the Great Smog, which eventually leads to the Clean Air Act 1956.]]
* {{Determinator}}: After walking her sick roommate through the Great Smog to the hospital, she tells the skeptical doctor she can get the Prime Minister to supply more money. After he mocks her, she immediately sets off to do just that, [[spoiler: with tragic results]].
-->I'll show you!
* GirlFriday: To Winston.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold
* HeroWorshipper
* LookBothWays: [[spoiler: Subverted in that the Great Smog basically makes this impossible.]]
* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Averted; she's had enough disappointing one-night stands that she'd rather read Winston's memoirs at home than join her roommate at the pub.
* MoralityPet: To Winston; [[spoiler: her death during the Great Smog]] finally makes him see it as more than just extreme weather.
* PluckyOfficeGirl: She manages to get her friend to a hospital amidst the toxic fog and vows to get the government involved...[[spoiler: only to get run over by a bus]].
* SatelliteCharacter: Subverted. While most of what we know of her character revolves around her relationship with Winston, we also get to meet her roommate, see her neighbourhood and learn a little bit about her family.
* SurpriseCarCrash
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Graham Sutherland]]
!!Mr Graham Sutherland
->'''Played By''': Creator/StephenDillane

An English artist of the modernist school, who is commissioned by both Houses of Parliament to paint a portrait of Winston Churchill to celebrate his eightieth birthday. Devoted to capturing truth within his art, his refusal to be bound by the idealistic and mythic view of Churchill that the man himself holds and promotes leads to painful realisations and tension.

----

* FriendlyEnemy: Sutherland is a modernist, something that hardly fails to get the deeply conservative (both in art and politics) Churchill's back up, and he accuses Sutherland at several points of being a "socialist." Nevertheless, Sutherland sincerely claims to have accepted the commission because he is an admirer of Churchill, and the two men end up finding some points of commonality and friendship. This is partly why Churchill reacts so poorly to the portrait that Sutherland ends up painting; he views it as a personal betrayal as well as political sabotage.
* JerkassHasAPoint: From Churchill's perspective, at least; he initially accuses Sutherland of performing a cruel character assassination with his portrait, but ultimately cannot argue when Sutherland retorts that all he did was paint the truth, and the truth -- as much as Churchill tries to pretend otherwise -- is simply that Churchill is an elderly man in the twilight of his life.
--> '''Sutherland:''' I showed those sketches to your wife throughout. She remarked on how accurate they were.\\
'''Churchill:''' That is the whole point! It is not a reasonably truthful image of me!\\
'''Sutherland:''' It ''is'', sir.\\
'''Churchill:''' It is not! It is cruel!\\
'''Sutherland:''' ''[Finally snapping]'' ''AGE IS CRUEL!'' If you see decay, it’s because there’s decay. If you see frailty, it’s because there’s frailty. I can’t be blamed for what is, and I refuse to hide and disguise what I see. If you are engaged in a fight with something, then it’s not with me. It’s with your own blindness.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Mrs. Churchill describes him as "a bit of a Heathcliff"
* WartsAndAll: What Churchill dislikes about his portrait by Sutherland, as he wanted the portrait to show him as Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister and Statesmen, not Winston Churchill, a tired, 80-year-old man. After arguing with Sutherland about the portrait, he admits privately to his wife that the portrait is the truth, and he can do nothing about it. As in real life, Lady Churchill later has the portrait burned as the episode ends.
* WhamLine: Compared to Stephen Dillane's otherwise understated delivery, his "AGE IS CRUEL!!!" really hits home.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Eileen Parker]]
!!Mrs Eileen Parker
->'''Played By''': Chloe Pirrie

The wife of Mike Parker, Philip's Private Secretary. She has a much less glowing view of his life and connections to royalty than he does.

----

* AwfulWeddedLife: She is married to Mike and is very unhappy with him, and it doesn't help that he isn't there for the children and cheats on her. She decides to get a divorce as soon as she could.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Elizabeth and Tommy are astonished that Eileen should speak to them so bluntly and harshly.
* MamaBear: One of the this is one of the things that motivate her to finally get a divorce, he neglected to call their daughter to wish her happy birthday.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: She delivers one to Tommy and Elizabeth, telling them that the work with the Royal family damages family and marital relations of their employees.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lady Dorothy Macmillan]]
!!Lady Dorothy Macmillan
->'''Played By''': Sylvestra Le Touzel

The wife of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. They do not have a particularly happy relationship.

----

* FatBitch: She is very heavyset and has a very unpleasant (to the point of emotionally abusive) attitude towards Harold.
* YourCheatingHeart: She has a boyfriend on the side for years, but their trysts are depicted as less of an issue than her disrespect of her husband is.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lord Altrincham]]
!!The Right Honourable John Grigg, 2nd Baron Altrincham
->'''Played By''': John Heffernan

An English aristocrat and journalist, who holds views on the antiquated and out-of-touch nature of the monarchy and need for modernisation that causes much controversy.

----

* TheDentistEpisode: Skips out on a repeatedly postponed dental appointment throughout the season 2 episode "Marionettes."
* CompassionateCritic: He only criticizes Elizabeth because he wants the monarchy to succeed and the last longer. and part of that means modernizing the monarchy and for the monarchs to connect with the common people.
* PompousPoliticalPundit: Defenders of the monarchy view him as such.
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The end credits mention how the Crown eventually implemented nearly all of Altrincham's suggestions for reform, as well as [[MeaningfulRename the renunciation of his title]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Edward Millward]]
!!Edward "Tedi" Millward
-> '''Played by:''' Mark Lewis Jones

A proud Welsh nationalist and republican who finds himself tutoring Prince Charles in the Welsh language ahead of Charles' investiture as Prince of Wales.

----

* BerserkButton: He's enraged by intellectual laziness, especially when Charles cheerfully confesses to have not yet gone to the university's library and demonstrates complete ignorance of Welsh history.
* GoodParents: He and his wife Silvia are a very happy and close family with their young son Andras. It's lampshaded how much Charles longingly notices this.
* HappilyMarried: Met his wife at a march is clearly affectionate with her and their son, they even share the same in-jokes.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Unloads on Charles for not taking his Welsh education seriously and compares Charles unfavorably to Edward VIII and Edward VII (and presumably George V as well), who all showed little to no interest in Wales despite being past Princes of Wales.
* SeriousBusiness: He despises the monarchy, but he also won't give up the chance to teach and promote the Welsh language and impart some knowledge of Wales and its history on someone in an influential position.
* SympathyForTheDevil: For Millward, Charles represents a repressive force that's been holding down Wales for centuries. But he also comes to see Charles as a lonely soul who's been profoundly damaged by his upbringing.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Silvia Hart Millward]]
!!Silvia Hart Millward
-> '''Played by:''' Nia Roberts

A proud Welsh Nationalist and wife of Edward who is less than pleased about her husband tutoring a member of the Royal Family in the Welsh language.

----

* EasilyOverheardConversation: She is talking with someone on the phone about her husband and Charles (in Welsh) when she sees the guest of honor (luckily he is not fluent yet).
* GoodParents: Enjoys a happy and close life with her husband and soon-to-be two children.
* HappilyMarried: Enjoys an affectionate lifestyle with her husband, even sharing similar political interests.
* {{Housewife}}: A classic example with the apron over a feminine and stylish dress and cooking in the kitchen.
* MamaBear: She is clearly devoted and protective and loving with her son and seems appalled at the idea that Charles never knew about having warm parents.
* PinkIsFeminine: Her default choice of wardrobe color, every time we have seen her (even in her nightgown) she is wearing pink (sometimes with different color) tying in to her role as a defender of her home (both homeland and family) and role as a Mother.
* PregnantBadass: She is clearly showing her second pregnancy (to real-life singer Llio) and a fierce defender of her culture and language.
* SympathyForTheDevil: Similar to her husband regarding Charles.
* TranquilFury: Her mood about her husband bringing Charles home as a guest counts as this, to say the least.
* TrueBlueFemininity: When she watches the Investiture of Charles, she is wearing a blue shift dress while rubbing her pregnant belly.

[[/folder]]

* [[CharactersTheCrown2016ForeignDignitariesAndLeaders Foreign Dignitaries and Leaders]]

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->[[center:[[Characters/TheCrown2016 Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/TheCrown2016TheBritishRoyalFamily The British Royal Family]] | [[Characters/TheCrown2016FriendsAndAcquaintancesOfTheRoyalFamily Friends & Acquaintances of the Royal Family]] | [[Characters/TheCrown2016HerMajestysGovernment Her Majesty's Government]] | [[Characters/TheCrown2016TheRoyalHousehold The Royal Household]] | '''Foreign Dignitaries and Leaders''' | [[Characters/TheCrown2016OtherCharacters Other Characters]]

The expanding foreign political figures featured in ''Series/TheCrown2016''. Beware of spoilers.

[[foldercontrol]]

!!Foreign Dignitaries and Leaders

[[folder: Gamal Abdel Nasser]]
!!President Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein
->'''Played By''': Amir Boutrous

The second president of Egypt. A committed anti-colonialist, his desire for a completely independent Egypt free from the influence of the European powers will set off a chain of events leading to the Suez Crisis.

----

* NoSenseOfHumour: Is totally impervious to Eden's charms.
* RantInducingSlight: He's incredibly offended when Eden and his entourage turn up to a diplomatic dinner in dinner jackets, and he apparently didn't get the note on the dress-code. Though Eden believes, and it's heavily implied, that Nassar actually knows exactly what's going on and any offense is actually insincere and stage-managed in order to create anti-British sentiment that will enable Nasser to more easily win the support of the people for his goals.
* RebelLeader: Nasser led the 1952 overthrow of the monarchy and introduced far-reaching land reforms in Egypt the following year. In July 1956 he decided to seize and nationalise the Suez Canal, which until then had been administrated by the British military. We see this play out in the very first episode of Series 2, when Egyptian soldiers burst into the headquarters of the Suez Canal company in Port Said, as Nasser makes a speech to an enthusiastic crowd about the need for Egypt to take back its own resources.

[[folder: President Kennedy]]
!!President John F. Kennedy
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kennedy_9.jpg]]

->'''Played By''': Michael C. Hall

The 35th President of the United States of America. A young and glamorous figure, his charm and energy contrasts greatly with the stuffy antiquated formality of the British monarchy, but also with the private life he keeps hidden from the public.

* TheAce: In Johnson's eyes, JFK will always know the right thing to say, the right fork to pick up, and which bird not to shoot but "save" for a member of Royalty.
* TheCharmer: As per real life, JFK is depicted as a charming, slightly roguish character with a winning smile and easy confidence -- in public anyway.
* DrugsAreBad: The Kennedys are depicted as habitual drug users, who take uppers and downers to help them get through the rigours of public life and dealing with the media. How true this was is a contentious matter and still up for debate.
* FeeFiFauxPas: He's over-familiar and both he and his wife use the incorrect forms of address, referring to the Queen as "Royal Majesty" -- much to the (humorous) consternation of the Queen's private secretaries.
* WartsAndAll: Very much how he and his wife are presented; -- his controlling behaviour behind the scenes is explored in unflinching detail.

[[folder: Jackie Kennedy]]
!!Mrs Jacqueline Kennedy, First Lady of The United States
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jacquieo.jpg]]

->'''Played By''': Jodie Balfour

The wife of John F. Kennedy. As young and glamourous as her husband, she is the subject of much envy and insecurity on the part of Elizabeth, but also the source of some unexpected commonalities.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Jackie is depicted as being sweet and chatty with the Queen in person, only to cut her up -- especially her dress sense -- behind her back.
* BreakTheHaughty: After the Queen is made aware of Jackie's bitchy comments about both her dress sense and Buckingham Palace itself (a "2nd rate country hotel"), she decides to bring out the big guns and contrives a luncheon ''à deux'' at the monumentally splendid [[BigFancyCastle Windsor Castle]]. Jackie, feeling suitably sheepish and overawed by the setting, apologises for her rudeness.
* DrugsAreBad: The drugs her husband's doctor administers causes her to lose her sense of decorum and become rather loose-lipped -- which includes bad-mouthing the Queen, after acting sweet as pie to her face.
* DudeMagnet: Many of the Palace staff and even Prince Philip himself are captivated by her.
* TheFashionista: As per real life, Mrs. Kennedy's fashion sense is absolutely on-point for the period -- something which makes the Queen feel rather frumpy.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After she finds out that Elizabeth has been made aware of her bitchy remarks, she behaves ''far'' more sheepishly during a luncheon with the Queen at Windsor Castle, and apologises for her behaviour.
* NotSoDifferent: It's suggested that both Elizabeth and Jackie are ultimately rather shy women who would be much happier living a life outside of the spotlight. Which is partly why Elizabeth is so hurt when she learns that Jackie has been making snide comments about her behind her back.
* ProudBeauty: Despite the splendour of her surroundings, Buckingham Palace falls to impress her (which is slightly ludicrous, given its sheer size and opulence).
* WartsAndAll: The legendary American icon is depicted as rather more fragile than normal, and something of a snide bitch.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: She is only three years younger than the Queen in real life and actually looks younger (to the detriment of Elizabeth).

[[folder: President Johnson]]
!!President Lyndon Johnson


->'''Played By''': Creator/ClancyBrown

The 36th President of the United States of America, succeeding to the job after Kennedy's assassination. He is very aware of being in the shadow of one of the country's most popular Presidents after his tragic death, and remains deeply resentful of Britain over failing to support America in the Vietnam War.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: How he seemed to feels about [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy JFK]] who overshadows him both in life and after his tragic death, especially when the output of the war in Vietnam isn't making him any popular. Margaret exploits to bond with him.
* BadassBaritone: While not true of the real Johnson, casting Clancy Brown makes this inevitable.
* GreenEyedMonster: He very much resents his inability to break out from Kennedy's shadow and become known for his own accomplishments, which naturally makes him perfectly primed to be won over by Princess Margaret and her similar issues.
* OddFriendship: The loud, Texan Macho, middle-aged President with the young, blue blood, Royal Princess Margaret.
* TheResenter: Treats the British diplomats and the Crown's attempts at fraternising with coldness and refusal, because Wilson refused him support for the Vietnam War.
* SlobsVersusSnobs: The basis of his resentment of living in Kennedy's shadow and how he feels the Royal Family might look down upon him. Averted after meeting Margaret, a very haughty member of TheBeautifulElite that shares his raunchy sense of humor.

!! Other Characters
[[folder: Clementine Churchill]]
!!Dame Clementine "Clemmie" Churchill
[[quoteright:187:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clemmie.PNG]]
->'''Played By''': Harriet Walter

->''"I had hoped I'd seen the back of this place."''

The wife of Winston Churchill. Loyal and devoted to her husband, her devotion extends to trying to help him realise that he is no longer the man of energy and accomplishment that he believes himself to be.

* BurnBabyBurn: Her solution to the loathed Sutherland portrait.
* EatingTheEyeCandy: Churchill accuses her of doing this to his portrait painter, Graham Sutherland. She doesn't deny it.
* HappilyMarried: To Sir Winston.
* OhNoNotAgain: Openly unhappy about living at 10 Downing Street a second time.
* ParentingTheHusband: Clemmie has to do this on a few occasions.
** She commands Winston (in a whisper) to shut up as he rather loudly reminds her why Philip's sisters were not invited to the royal wedding... in the middle of the royal wedding.
** After Winston's stroke, she lectures him for deceiving the Queen about the extent of his health problems. She orders him back to bed in case the excitement of President Eisenhower's upcoming visit becomes too much for him... which it does seconds later.

[[folder: Venetia Scott]]
!!Miss Venetia Scott
[[quoteright:235:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/venetiascott.PNG]]
->'''Played By''': Kate Phillips

->''"You were 24. All energy and hope and passion and fire. It's remarkable."''

A personal secretary to the Prime Minister.

* AudienceSurrogate: As she experiences the particulars and peculiarities of life working at Number 10, so do we.
* CompositeCharacter: Winston Churchill never had a secretary named Venetia Scott. However, her experiences as his secretary are in line with that of his many real-life secretaries.
* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: After reading Winston's memoirs, she is inspired to make her own mark on the world however she can. [[spoiler: Her death makes enough of a mark on Winston that he calls for a public inquiry into the cause of the Great Smog, which eventually leads to the Clean Air Act 1956.]]
* {{Determinator}}: After walking her sick roommate through the Great Smog to the hospital, she tells the skeptical doctor she can get the Prime Minister to supply more money. After he mocks her, she immediately sets off to do just that, [[spoiler: with tragic results]].
-->I'll show you!
* GirlFriday: To Winston.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold
* HeroWorshipper
* LookBothWays: [[spoiler: Subverted in that the Great Smog basically makes this impossible.]]
* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Averted; she's had enough disappointing one-night stands that she'd rather read Winston's memoirs at home than join her roommate at the pub.
* MoralityPet: To Winston; [[spoiler: her death during the Great Smog]] finally makes him see it as more than just extreme weather.
* PluckyOfficeGirl: She manages to get her friend to a hospital amidst the toxic fog and vows to get the government involved...[[spoiler: only to get run over by a bus]].
* SatelliteCharacter: Subverted. While most of what we know of her character revolves around her relationship with Winston, we also get to meet her roommate, see her neighbourhood and learn a little bit about her family.
* SurpriseCarCrash

[[folder: Graham Sutherland]]
!!Mr Graham Sutherland
->'''Played By''': Creator/StephenDillane

An English artist of the modernist school, who is commissioned by both Houses of Parliament to paint a portrait of Winston Churchill to celebrate his eightieth birthday. Devoted to capturing truth within his art, his refusal to be bound by the idealistic and mythic view of Churchill that the man himself holds and promotes leads to painful realisations and tension.

* FriendlyEnemy: Sutherland is a modernist, something that hardly fails to get the deeply conservative (both in art and politics) Churchill's back up, and he accuses Sutherland at several points of being a "socialist." Nevertheless, Sutherland sincerely claims to have accepted the commission because he is an admirer of Churchill, and the two men end up finding some points of commonality and friendship. This is partly why Churchill reacts so poorly to the portrait that Sutherland ends up painting; he views it as a personal betrayal as well as political sabotage.
* JerkassHasAPoint: From Churchill's perspective, at least; he initially accuses Sutherland of performing a cruel character assassination with his portrait, but ultimately cannot argue when Sutherland retorts that all he did was paint the truth, and the truth -- as much as Churchill tries to pretend otherwise -- is simply that Churchill is an elderly man in the twilight of his life.
--> '''Sutherland:''' I showed those sketches to your wife throughout. She remarked on how accurate they were.\\
'''Churchill:''' That is the whole point! It is not a reasonably truthful image of me!\\
'''Sutherland:''' It ''is'', sir.\\
'''Churchill:''' It is not! It is cruel!\\
'''Sutherland:''' ''[Finally snapping]'' ''AGE IS CRUEL!'' If you see decay, it’s because there’s decay. If you see frailty, it’s because there’s frailty. I can’t be blamed for what is, and I refuse to hide and disguise what I see. If you are engaged in a fight with something, then it’s not with me. It’s with your own blindness.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Mrs. Churchill describes him as "a bit of a Heathcliff"
* WartsAndAll: What Churchill dislikes about his portrait by Sutherland, as he wanted the portrait to show him as Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister and Statesmen, not Winston Churchill, a tired, 80-year-old man. After arguing with Sutherland about the portrait, he admits privately to his wife that the portrait is the truth, and he can do nothing about it. As in real life, Lady Churchill later has the portrait burned as the episode ends.
* WhamLine: Compared to Stephen Dillane's otherwise understated delivery, his "AGE IS CRUEL!!!" really hits home.

[[folder: Eileen Parker]]
!!Mrs Eileen Parker
->'''Played By''': Chloe Pirrie

The wife of Mike Parker, Philip's Private Secretary. She has a much less glowing view of his life and connections to royalty than he does.

* AwfulWeddedLife: She is married to Mike and is very unhappy with him, and it doesn't help that he isn't there for the children and cheats on her. She decides to get a divorce as soon as she could.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Elizabeth and Tommy are astonished that Eileen should speak to them so bluntly and harshly.
* MamaBear: One of the this is one of the things that motivate her to finally get a divorce, he neglected to call their daughter to wish her happy birthday.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: She delivers one to Tommy and Elizabeth, telling them that the work with the Royal family damages family and marital relations of their employees.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lady Dorothy Macmillan]]
!!Lady Dorothy Macmillan
->'''Played By''': Sylvestra Le Touzel

The wife of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. They do not have a particularly happy relationship.

----

* FatBitch: She is very heavyset and has a very unpleasant (to the point of emotionally abusive) attitude towards Harold.
* YourCheatingHeart: She has a boyfriend on the side for years, but their trysts are depicted as less of an issue than her disrespect of her husband is.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lord Altrincham]]
!!The Right Honourable John Grigg, 2nd Baron Altrincham
->'''Played By''': John Heffernan

An English aristocrat and journalist, who holds views on the antiquated and out-of-touch nature of the monarchy and need for modernisation that causes much controversy.

----

* TheDentistEpisode: Skips out on a repeatedly postponed dental appointment throughout the season 2 episode "Marionettes."
* CompassionateCritic: He only criticizes Elizabeth because he wants the monarchy to succeed and the last longer. and part of that means modernizing the monarchy and for the monarchs to connect with the common people.
* PompousPoliticalPundit: Defenders of the monarchy view him as such.
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The end credits mention how the Crown eventually implemented nearly all of Altrincham's suggestions for reform, as well as [[MeaningfulRename the renunciation of his title]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Edward Millward]]
!!Edward "Tedi" Millward
-> '''Played by:''' Mark Lewis Jones

A proud Welsh nationalist and republican who finds himself tutoring Prince Charles in the Welsh language ahead of Charles' investiture as Prince of Wales.

----

* BerserkButton: He's enraged by intellectual laziness, especially when Charles cheerfully confesses to have not yet gone to the university's library and demonstrates complete ignorance of Welsh history.
* GoodParents: He and his wife Silvia are a very happy and close family with their young son Andras. It's lampshaded how much Charles longingly notices this.
* HappilyMarried: Met his wife at a march is clearly affectionate with her and their son, they even share the same in-jokes.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Unloads on Charles for not taking his Welsh education seriously and compares Charles unfavorably to Edward VIII and Edward VII (and presumably George V as well), who all showed little to no interest in Wales despite being past Princes of Wales.
* SeriousBusiness: He despises the monarchy, but he also won't give up the chance to teach and promote the Welsh language and impart some knowledge of Wales and its history on someone in an influential position.
* SympathyForTheDevil: For Millward, Charles represents a repressive force that's been holding down Wales for centuries. But he also comes to see Charles as a lonely soul who's been profoundly damaged by his upbringing.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Silvia Hart Millward]]
!!Silvia Hart Millward
-> '''Played by:''' Nia Roberts

A proud Welsh Nationalist and wife of Edward who is less than pleased about her husband tutoring a member of the Royal Family in the Welsh language.

----

!! Other Characters
[[folder: Clementine Churchill]]
!!Dame Clementine "Clemmie" Churchill
[[quoteright:187:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clemmie.PNG]]
->'''Played By''': Harriet Walter

->''"I had hoped I'd seen the back of this place."''

The wife of Winston Churchill. Loyal and devoted to her husband, her devotion extends to trying to help him realise that he is no longer the man of energy and accomplishment that he believes himself to be.

* BurnBabyBurn: Her solution to the loathed Sutherland portrait.
* EatingTheEyeCandy: Churchill accuses her of doing this to his portrait painter, Graham Sutherland. She doesn't deny it.
* HappilyMarried: To Sir Winston.
* OhNoNotAgain: Openly unhappy about living at 10 Downing Street a second time.
* ParentingTheHusband: Clemmie has to do this on a few occasions.
** She commands Winston (in a whisper) to shut up as he rather loudly reminds her why Philip's sisters were not invited to the royal wedding... in the middle of the royal wedding.
** After Winston's stroke, she lectures him for deceiving the Queen about the extent of his health problems. She orders him back to bed in case the excitement of President Eisenhower's upcoming visit becomes too much for him... which it does seconds later.

[[folder: Venetia Scott]]
!!Miss Venetia Scott
[[quoteright:235:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/venetiascott.PNG]]
->'''Played By''': Kate Phillips

->''"You were 24. All energy and hope and passion and fire. It's remarkable."''

A personal secretary to the Prime Minister.

* AudienceSurrogate: As she experiences the particulars and peculiarities of life working at Number 10, so do we.
* CompositeCharacter: Winston Churchill never had a secretary named Venetia Scott. However, her experiences as his secretary are in line with that of his many real-life secretaries.
* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: After reading Winston's memoirs, she is inspired to make her own mark on the world however she can. [[spoiler: Her death makes enough of a mark on Winston that he calls for a public inquiry into the cause of the Great Smog, which eventually leads to the Clean Air Act 1956.]]
* {{Determinator}}: After walking her sick roommate through the Great Smog to the hospital, she tells the skeptical doctor she can get the Prime Minister to supply more money. After he mocks her, she immediately sets off to do just that, [[spoiler: with tragic results]].
-->I'll show you!
* GirlFriday: To Winston.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold
* HeroWorshipper
* LookBothWays: [[spoiler: Subverted in that the Great Smog basically makes this impossible.]]
* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Averted; she's had enough disappointing one-night stands that she'd rather read Winston's memoirs at home than join her roommate at the pub.
* MoralityPet: To Winston; [[spoiler: her death during the Great Smog]] finally makes him see it as more than just extreme weather.
* PluckyOfficeGirl: She manages to get her friend to a hospital amidst the toxic fog and vows to get the government involved...[[spoiler: only to get run over by a bus]].
* SatelliteCharacter: Subverted. While most of what we know of her character revolves around her relationship with Winston, we also get to meet her roommate, see her neighbourhood and learn a little bit about her family.
* SurpriseCarCrash

[[folder: Graham Sutherland]]
!!Mr Graham Sutherland
->'''Played By''': Creator/StephenDillane

An English artist of the modernist school, who is commissioned by both Houses of Parliament to paint a portrait of Winston Churchill to celebrate his eightieth birthday. Devoted to capturing truth within his art, his refusal to be bound by the idealistic and mythic view of Churchill that the man himself holds and promotes leads to painful realisations and tension.

* FriendlyEnemy: Sutherland is a modernist, something that hardly fails to get the deeply conservative (both in art and politics) Churchill's back up, and he accuses Sutherland at several points of being a "socialist." Nevertheless, Sutherland sincerely claims to have accepted the commission because he is an admirer of Churchill, and the two men end up finding some points of commonality and friendship. This is partly why Churchill reacts so poorly to the portrait that Sutherland ends up painting; he views it as a personal betrayal as well as political sabotage.
* JerkassHasAPoint: From Churchill's perspective, at least; he initially accuses Sutherland of performing a cruel character assassination with his portrait, but ultimately cannot argue when Sutherland retorts that all he did was paint the truth, and the truth -- as much as Churchill tries to pretend otherwise -- is simply that Churchill is an elderly man in the twilight of his life.
--> '''Sutherland:''' I showed those sketches to your wife throughout. She remarked on how accurate they were.\\
'''Churchill:''' That is the whole point! It is not a reasonably truthful image of me!\\
'''Sutherland:''' It ''is'', sir.\\
'''Churchill:''' It is not! It is cruel!\\
'''Sutherland:''' ''[Finally snapping]'' ''AGE IS CRUEL!'' If you see decay, it’s because there’s decay. If you see frailty, it’s because there’s frailty. I can’t be blamed for what is, and I refuse to hide and disguise what I see. If you are engaged in a fight with something, then it’s not with me. It’s with your own blindness.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Mrs. Churchill describes him as "a bit of a Heathcliff"
* WartsAndAll: What Churchill dislikes about his portrait by Sutherland, as he wanted the portrait to show him as Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister and Statesmen, not Winston Churchill, a tired, 80-year-old man. After arguing with Sutherland about the portrait, he admits privately to his wife that the portrait is the truth, and he can do nothing about it. As in real life, Lady Churchill later has the portrait burned as the episode ends.
* WhamLine: Compared to Stephen Dillane's otherwise understated delivery, his "AGE IS CRUEL!!!" really hits home.

[[folder: Eileen Parker]]
!!Mrs Eileen Parker
->'''Played By''': Chloe Pirrie

The wife of Mike Parker, Philip's Private Secretary. She has a much less glowing view of his life and connections to royalty than he does.

* AwfulWeddedLife: She is married to Mike and is very unhappy with him, and it doesn't help that he isn't there for the children and cheats on her. She decides to get a divorce as soon as she could.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Elizabeth and Tommy are astonished that Eileen should speak to them so bluntly and harshly.
* MamaBear: One of the this is one of the things that motivate her to finally get a divorce, he neglected to call their daughter to wish her happy birthday.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: She delivers one to Tommy and Elizabeth, telling them that the work with the Royal family damages family and marital relations of their employees.

[[folder: Lady Dorothy Macmillan]]
!!Lady Dorothy Macmillan
->'''Played By''': Sylvestra Le Touzel

The wife of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. They do not have a particularly happy relationship.

* FatBitch: She is very heavyset and has a very unpleasant (to the point of emotionally abusive) attitude towards Harold.
* YourCheatingHeart: She has a boyfriend on the side for years, but their trysts are depicted as less of an issue than her disrespect of her husband is.

[[folder: Lord Altrincham]]
!!The Right Honourable John Grigg, 2nd Baron Altrincham
->'''Played By''': John Heffernan

An English aristocrat and journalist, who holds views on the antiquated and out-of-touch nature of the monarchy and need for modernisation that causes much controversy.

* TheDentistEpisode: Skips out on a repeatedly postponed dental appointment throughout the season 2 episode "Marionettes."
* CompassionateCritic: He only criticizes Elizabeth because he wants the monarchy to succeed and the last longer. and part of that means modernizing the monarchy and for the monarchs to connect with the common people.
* PompousPoliticalPundit: Defenders of the monarchy view him as such.
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The end credits mention how the Crown eventually implemented nearly all of Altrincham's suggestions for reform, as well as [[MeaningfulRename the renunciation of his title]].

[[folder:Edward Millward]]
!!Edward "Tedi" Millward
-> '''Played by:''' Mark Lewis Jones

A proud Welsh nationalist and republican who finds himself tutoring Prince Charles in the Welsh language ahead of Charles' investiture as Prince of Wales.

* BerserkButton: He's enraged by intellectual laziness, especially when Charles cheerfully confesses to have not yet gone to the university's library and demonstrates complete ignorance of Welsh history.
* GoodParents: He and his wife Silvia are a very happy and close family with their young son Andras. It's lampshaded how much Charles longingly notices this.
* HappilyMarried: Met his wife at a march is clearly affectionate with her and their son, they even share the same in-jokes.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Unloads on Charles for not taking his Welsh education seriously and compares Charles unfavorably to Edward VIII and Edward VII (and presumably George V as well), who all showed little to no interest in Wales despite being past Princes of Wales.
* SeriousBusiness: He despises the monarchy, but he also won't give up the chance to teach and promote the Welsh language and impart some knowledge of Wales and its history on someone in an influential position.
* SympathyForTheDevil: For Millward, Charles represents a repressive force that's been holding down Wales for centuries. But he also comes to see Charles as a lonely soul who's been profoundly damaged by his upbringing.

[[folder:Silvia Hart Millward]]
!!Silvia Hart Millward
-> '''Played by:''' Nia Roberts

A proud Welsh Nationalist and wife of Edward who is less than pleased about her husband tutoring a member of the Royal Family in the Welsh language.

* [[CharactersTheCrown2016ForeignDignitariesAndLeaders Foreign Dignitaries And Leaders]]

* [[CharactersTheCrown2016ForeignDignitariesAndLeaders Foreign Dignitaries & Leaders]]

!!Foreign Dignitaries and Leaders

[[folder: Gamal Abdel Nasser]]
!!President Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein
->'''Played By''': Amir Boutrous

The second president of Egypt. A committed anti-colonialist, his desire for a completely independent Egypt free from the influence of the European powers will set off a chain of events leading to the Suez Crisis.

* NoSenseOfHumour: Is totally impervious to Eden's charms.
* RantInducingSlight: He's incredibly offended when Eden and his entourage turn up to a diplomatic dinner in dinner jackets, and he apparently didn't get the note on the dress-code. Though Eden believes, and it's heavily implied, that Nassar actually knows exactly what's going on and any offense is actually insincere and stage-managed in order to create anti-British sentiment that will enable Nasser to more easily win the support of the people for his goals.
* RebelLeader: Nasser led the 1952 overthrow of the monarchy and introduced far-reaching land reforms in Egypt the following year. In July 1956 he decided to seize and nationalise the Suez Canal, which until then had been administrated by the British military. We see this play out in the very first episode of Series 2, when Egyptian soldiers burst into the headquarters of the Suez Canal company in Port Said, as Nasser makes a speech to an enthusiastic crowd about the need for Egypt to take back its own resources.

[[folder: President Kennedy]]
!!President John F. Kennedy
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kennedy_9.jpg]]

->'''Played By''': Michael C. Hall

The 35th President of the United States of America. A young and glamorous figure, his charm and energy contrasts greatly with the stuffy antiquated formality of the British monarchy, but also with the private life he keeps hidden from the public.

* TheAce: In Johnson's eyes, JFK will always know the right thing to say, the right fork to pick up, and which bird not to shoot but "save" for a member of Royalty.
* TheCharmer: As per real life, JFK is depicted as a charming, slightly roguish character with a winning smile and easy confidence -- in public anyway.
* DrugsAreBad: The Kennedys are depicted as habitual drug users, who take uppers and downers to help them get through the rigours of public life and dealing with the media. How true this was is a contentious matter and still up for debate.
* FeeFiFauxPas: He's over-familiar and both he and his wife use the incorrect forms of address, referring to the Queen as "Royal Majesty" -- much to the (humorous) consternation of the Queen's private secretaries.
* WartsAndAll: Very much how he and his wife are presented; -- his controlling behaviour behind the scenes is explored in unflinching detail.

[[folder: Jackie Kennedy]]
!!Mrs Jacqueline Kennedy, First Lady of The United States
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jacquieo.jpg]]

->'''Played By''': Jodie Balfour

The wife of John F. Kennedy. As young and glamourous as her husband, she is the subject of much envy and insecurity on the part of Elizabeth, but also the source of some unexpected commonalities.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Jackie is depicted as being sweet and chatty with the Queen in person, only to cut her up -- especially her dress sense -- behind her back.
* BreakTheHaughty: After the Queen is made aware of Jackie's bitchy comments about both her dress sense and Buckingham Palace itself (a "2nd rate country hotel"), she decides to bring out the big guns and contrives a luncheon ''à deux'' at the monumentally splendid [[BigFancyCastle Windsor Castle]]. Jackie, feeling suitably sheepish and overawed by the setting, apologises for her rudeness.
* DrugsAreBad: The drugs her husband's doctor administers causes her to lose her sense of decorum and become rather loose-lipped -- which includes bad-mouthing the Queen, after acting sweet as pie to her face.
* DudeMagnet: Many of the Palace staff and even Prince Philip himself are captivated by her.
* TheFashionista: As per real life, Mrs. Kennedy's fashion sense is absolutely on-point for the period -- something which makes the Queen feel rather frumpy.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After she finds out that Elizabeth has been made aware of her bitchy remarks, she behaves ''far'' more sheepishly during a luncheon with the Queen at Windsor Castle, and apologises for her behaviour.
* NotSoDifferent: It's suggested that both Elizabeth and Jackie are ultimately rather shy women who would be much happier living a life outside of the spotlight. Which is partly why Elizabeth is so hurt when she learns that Jackie has been making snide comments about her behind her back.
* ProudBeauty: Despite the splendour of her surroundings, Buckingham Palace falls to impress her (which is slightly ludicrous, given its sheer size and opulence).
* WartsAndAll: The legendary American icon is depicted as rather more fragile than normal, and something of a snide bitch.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: She is only three years younger than the Queen in real life and actually looks younger (to the detriment of Elizabeth).

[[folder: President Johnson]]
!!President Lyndon Johnson


->'''Played By''': Creator/ClancyBrown

The 36th President of the United States of America, succeeding to the job after Kennedy's assassination. He is very aware of being in the shadow of one of the country's most popular Presidents after his tragic death, and remains deeply resentful of Britain over failing to support America in the Vietnam War.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: How he seemed to feels about [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy JFK]] who overshadows him both in life and after his tragic death, especially when the output of the war in Vietnam isn't making him any popular. Margaret exploits to bond with him.
* BadassBaritone: While not true of the real Johnson, casting Clancy Brown makes this inevitable.
* GreenEyedMonster: He very much resents his inability to break out from Kennedy's shadow and become known for his own accomplishments, which naturally makes him perfectly primed to be won over by Princess Margaret and her similar issues.
* OddFriendship: The loud, Texan Macho, middle-aged President with the young, blue blood, Royal Princess Margaret.
* TheResenter: Treats the British diplomats and the Crown's attempts at fraternising with coldness and refusal, because Wilson refused him support for the Vietnam War.
* SlobsVersusSnobs: The basis of his resentment of living in Kennedy's shadow and how he feels the Royal Family might look down upon him. Averted after meeting Margaret, a very haughty member of TheBeautifulElite that shares his raunchy sense of humor.

!! Other Characters
[[folder: Clementine Churchill]]
!!Dame Clementine "Clemmie" Churchill
[[quoteright:187:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clemmie.PNG]]
->'''Played By''': Harriet Walter

->''"I had hoped I'd seen the back of this place."''

The wife of Winston Churchill. Loyal and devoted to her husband, her devotion extends to trying to help him realise that he is no longer the man of energy and accomplishment that he believes himself to be.

* BurnBabyBurn: Her solution to the loathed Sutherland portrait.
* EatingTheEyeCandy: Churchill accuses her of doing this to his portrait painter, Graham Sutherland. She doesn't deny it.
* HappilyMarried: To Sir Winston.
* OhNoNotAgain: Openly unhappy about living at 10 Downing Street a second time.
* ParentingTheHusband: Clemmie has to do this on a few occasions.
** She commands Winston (in a whisper) to shut up as he rather loudly reminds her why Philip's sisters were not invited to the royal wedding... in the middle of the royal wedding.
** After Winston's stroke, she lectures him for deceiving the Queen about the extent of his health problems. She orders him back to bed in case the excitement of President Eisenhower's upcoming visit becomes too much for him... which it does seconds later.

[[folder: Venetia Scott]]
!!Miss Venetia Scott
[[quoteright:235:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/venetiascott.PNG]]
->'''Played By''': Kate Phillips

->''"You were 24. All energy and hope and passion and fire. It's remarkable."''

A personal secretary to the Prime Minister.

* AudienceSurrogate: As she experiences the particulars and peculiarities of life working at Number 10, so do we.
* CompositeCharacter: Winston Churchill never had a secretary named Venetia Scott. However, her experiences as his secretary are in line with that of his many real-life secretaries.
* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: After reading Winston's memoirs, she is inspired to make her own mark on the world however she can. [[spoiler: Her death makes enough of a mark on Winston that he calls for a public inquiry into the cause of the Great Smog, which eventually leads to the Clean Air Act 1956.]]
* {{Determinator}}: After walking her sick roommate through the Great Smog to the hospital, she tells the skeptical doctor she can get the Prime Minister to supply more money. After he mocks her, she immediately sets off to do just that, [[spoiler: with tragic results]].
-->I'll show you!
* GirlFriday: To Winston.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold
* HeroWorshipper
* LookBothWays: [[spoiler: Subverted in that the Great Smog basically makes this impossible.]]
* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Averted; she's had enough disappointing one-night stands that she'd rather read Winston's memoirs at home than join her roommate at the pub.
* MoralityPet: To Winston; [[spoiler: her death during the Great Smog]] finally makes him see it as more than just extreme weather.
* PluckyOfficeGirl: She manages to get her friend to a hospital amidst the toxic fog and vows to get the government involved...[[spoiler: only to get run over by a bus]].
* SatelliteCharacter: Subverted. While most of what we know of her character revolves around her relationship with Winston, we also get to meet her roommate, see her neighbourhood and learn a little bit about her family.
* SurpriseCarCrash

[[folder: Graham Sutherland]]
!!Mr Graham Sutherland
->'''Played By''': Creator/StephenDillane

An English artist of the modernist school, who is commissioned by both Houses of Parliament to paint a portrait of Winston Churchill to celebrate his eightieth birthday. Devoted to capturing truth within his art, his refusal to be bound by the idealistic and mythic view of Churchill that the man himself holds and promotes leads to painful realisations and tension.

* FriendlyEnemy: Sutherland is a modernist, something that hardly fails to get the deeply conservative (both in art and politics) Churchill's back up, and he accuses Sutherland at several points of being a "socialist." Nevertheless, Sutherland sincerely claims to have accepted the commission because he is an admirer of Churchill, and the two men end up finding some points of commonality and friendship. This is partly why Churchill reacts so poorly to the portrait that Sutherland ends up painting; he views it as a personal betrayal as well as political sabotage.
* JerkassHasAPoint: From Churchill's perspective, at least; he initially accuses Sutherland of performing a cruel character assassination with his portrait, but ultimately cannot argue when Sutherland retorts that all he did was paint the truth, and the truth -- as much as Churchill tries to pretend otherwise -- is simply that Churchill is an elderly man in the twilight of his life.
--> '''Sutherland:''' I showed those sketches to your wife throughout. She remarked on how accurate they were.\\
'''Churchill:''' That is the whole point! It is not a reasonably truthful image of me!\\
'''Sutherland:''' It ''is'', sir.\\
'''Churchill:''' It is not! It is cruel!\\
'''Sutherland:''' ''[Finally snapping]'' ''AGE IS CRUEL!'' If you see decay, it’s because there’s decay. If you see frailty, it’s because there’s frailty. I can’t be blamed for what is, and I refuse to hide and disguise what I see. If you are engaged in a fight with something, then it’s not with me. It’s with your own blindness.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Mrs. Churchill describes him as "a bit of a Heathcliff"
* WartsAndAll: What Churchill dislikes about his portrait by Sutherland, as he wanted the portrait to show him as Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister and Statesmen, not Winston Churchill, a tired, 80-year-old man. After arguing with Sutherland about the portrait, he admits privately to his wife that the portrait is the truth, and he can do nothing about it. As in real life, Lady Churchill later has the portrait burned as the episode ends.
* WhamLine: Compared to Stephen Dillane's otherwise understated delivery, his "AGE IS CRUEL!!!" really hits home.

[[folder: Eileen Parker]]
!!Mrs Eileen Parker
->'''Played By''': Chloe Pirrie

The wife of Mike Parker, Philip's Private Secretary. She has a much less glowing view of his life and connections to royalty than he does.

* AwfulWeddedLife: She is married to Mike and is very unhappy with him, and it doesn't help that he isn't there for the children and cheats on her. She decides to get a divorce as soon as she could.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Elizabeth and Tommy are astonished that Eileen should speak to them so bluntly and harshly.
* MamaBear: One of the this is one of the things that motivate her to finally get a divorce, he neglected to call their daughter to wish her happy birthday.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: She delivers one to Tommy and Elizabeth, telling them that the work with the Royal family damages family and marital relations of their employees.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lady Dorothy Macmillan]]
!!Lady Dorothy Macmillan
->'''Played By''': Sylvestra Le Touzel

The wife of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. They do not have a particularly happy relationship.

----

* FatBitch: She is very heavyset and has a very unpleasant (to the point of emotionally abusive) attitude towards Harold.
* YourCheatingHeart: She has a boyfriend on the side for years, but their trysts are depicted as less of an issue than her disrespect of her husband is.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lord Altrincham]]
!!The Right Honourable John Grigg, 2nd Baron Altrincham
->'''Played By''': John Heffernan

An English aristocrat and journalist, who holds views on the antiquated and out-of-touch nature of the monarchy and need for modernisation that causes much controversy.

----

* TheDentistEpisode: Skips out on a repeatedly postponed dental appointment throughout the season 2 episode "Marionettes."
* CompassionateCritic: He only criticizes Elizabeth because he wants the monarchy to succeed and the last longer. and part of that means modernizing the monarchy and for the monarchs to connect with the common people.
* PompousPoliticalPundit: Defenders of the monarchy view him as such.
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The end credits mention how the Crown eventually implemented nearly all of Altrincham's suggestions for reform, as well as [[MeaningfulRename the renunciation of his title]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Edward Millward]]
!!Edward "Tedi" Millward
-> '''Played by:''' Mark Lewis Jones

A proud Welsh nationalist and republican who finds himself tutoring Prince Charles in the Welsh language ahead of Charles' investiture as Prince of Wales.

----

* BerserkButton: He's enraged by intellectual laziness, especially when Charles cheerfully confesses to have not yet gone to the university's library and demonstrates complete ignorance of Welsh history.
* GoodParents: He and his wife Silvia are a very happy and close family with their young son Andras. It's lampshaded how much Charles longingly notices this.
* HappilyMarried: Met his wife at a march is clearly affectionate with her and their son, they even share the same in-jokes.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Unloads on Charles for not taking his Welsh education seriously and compares Charles unfavorably to Edward VIII and Edward VII (and presumably George V as well), who all showed little to no interest in Wales despite being past Princes of Wales.
* SeriousBusiness: He despises the monarchy, but he also won't give up the chance to teach and promote the Welsh language and impart some knowledge of Wales and its history on someone in an influential position.
* SympathyForTheDevil: For Millward, Charles represents a repressive force that's been holding down Wales for centuries. But he also comes to see Charles as a lonely soul who's been profoundly damaged by his upbringing.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Silvia Hart Millward]]
!!Silvia Hart Millward
-> '''Played by:''' Nia Roberts

A proud Welsh Nationalist and wife of Edward who is less than pleased about her husband tutoring a member of the Royal Family in the Welsh language.

----

!! The Royal Household
[[folder: Peter Townsend]]
!!Group Captain Peter Townsend
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/petertownsend.jpg]]

->'''Played By''': Ben Miles

A former RAF commander and equerry to King George VI. By the time of the King's death and Elizabeth's elevation to the throne, he has been in a secret relationship with Princess Margaret for several years. The two are devoted to each other, but numerous public and personal obstacles to their relationship will test this devotion.

* AcePilot: He was a Hurricane pilot during [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the Battle of Britain]] and logged several confirmed kills, although he is hesitant to speak about his wartime experiences.
* AgeGapRomance: There was a 16 year age gap between him and Margaret. And a more extreme example of this trope would be his marriage to a 19-year-old -- when he was 45.
* AmicableExes: Reportedly, with his ex-wife.
* HumbleHero: When Philip brings up his dashing war record, Peter is deflective, answering he downed one or two planes. In reality, Townsend got 9 confirmed aerial victories, 2 shared and 2 more unconfirmed before he became equerry to the King in 1944.
* MeaningfulLook: Exchanges one of these with Margaret at breakfast. Elizabeth picks up on this.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Appointed air attaché at the Brussels British Embassy, which is just an honourable manner to exile him away from Margaret.
* StarCrossedLover: His romance with Princess Margaret has too many obstacles to overcome and is finally ended by a Royal veto.
* TheStoic: To the extent that Philip considers him far too dull to marry Margaret.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Well, he is played by Ben Miles.

[[folder:Sir Tommy Lascelles]]
!!Private Secretary Sir Alan "Tommy" Lascelles
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_crown_season_3_1703494.jpg]]

->'''Played By''': Pip Torrens

-> ''"You need to understand how things are done here."''

Private Secretary to King George VI, and Elizabeth's first Private Secretary upon becoming Queen. A stoic, reserved and formal man, he is devoted to serving and protecting the monarchy -- at any cost.

* AlwaysOnDuty: Tommy spots Elizabeth arriving unexpectedly at his home while looking out the window of his study. Within seconds, he has donned a jacket and is greeting her at the door as if he had been expecting her the entire time.
* BadassMoustache: A highly competent and dominating handler and advisor with a fitting moustache that enhances his powerful presence. During Philip's investiture as a British prince, we see Tommy in the background with the other old-fashioned courtiers, or "[[BeardOfEvil moustaches]]," whom Philip resents.
* BearerOfBadNews: Often the bearer of harsh truths and bad news, like Adeane after him, but without Adeane's visible reluctance. It’s left to Lascelles to reveal the extent of the former Edward VIII’s involvement with the Nazis to the abdicated monarch’s niece.
* BerserkButton:
** Tommy never raises his voice, but it can get distinctly more clipped if you piss him off. A quick way to do this is to insult the memory of King George VI, as the Duke of Windsor discovers in Season 1.
--->Nothing weak about the late king, ''sir''. I'm sure I speak for everyone present when I call him a hero.
** Pretty much anything involving the Duke and Duchess of Windsor puts Tommy in an especially bad mood, as he was Private Secretary to the Sovereign at the beginning of Edward VIII's reign.
** Even ''reminders'' of the Duke of Windsor make his mood considerably worse; his patience with Peter Townsend, already thin, runs out completely right after Peter breaks out the phrase "the woman I love."
* {{Bookworm}}: The real-life Tommy Lascelles was known as a prodigious reader. In the show, when he "unexpectedly" meets Eileen Parker in the park, he is reading a tome about the campaigns of Napoleon.
* BritishStuffiness: ''Incarnate''. He's incredibly strait-laced, and views any sort of frivolity, modernity or suggestiveness with deep suspicion, disapproval, and occasionally outright zealotry.
** A flashback in Season 3 reveals he doesn't bother to soften up when speaking privately to Elizabeth and Margaret, who were very young girls and the latter who starts to cry.
* BrutalHonesty: He rarely sugarcoats things, even when speaking with the monarch (although naturally he's a bit more diplomatic in his manner with her than with others).
* CanineCompanion: Tommy lets his two Scottish deerhounds join him on the couch and, at one point, in Michael Adeane's office. (The two dogs, with their solemn expressions and scruffy faces, have something of an UncattyResemblance to Tommy.)
* CharacterTics: The viewer can tell Lascelles is alive while addressing someone because he locks his hands behind his back and moves his fingers nervously.
* CigaretteOfAnxiety: Pairs a cigarette with [[INeedAFreakingDrink a glass of whiskey]] soon after George VI's death.
* ClothingReflectsPersonality: Even watching television at home, he ''always'' wears a necktie.
* TheComicallySerious: His stone-faced but yet contemptuous demeanour when addressing very delicate matters makes him unexpectedly hilarious.
* CommutingOnABus: After his official retirement, he's still called to manage sensitive situations with some frequency.
* TheConsigliere: Or "henchman," as Margaret puts it, to Elizabeth (and the three monarchs who preceded her).
* CoolCar: When Tommy runs into the Queen in the front drive of Buckingham Palace, she mistakes his Rolls-Royce for one of the Royal cars; in fact, as he tells her, the car and its driver were part of his retirement package.
* DisapprovingLook: Tommy is the ''god'' of this, and can always be counted on to make one whenever anyone besmirches the good name of the Royal Family -- or, worse when members of the Royal Family besmirch themselves.
* TheDreaded: Viewed as this by anti-traditionalists such as Philip. A frightful, almost ominous, unmovable guardian of the old ways.
-->'''Philip''': Go and see him, in an unofficial capacity. For sherry or tea. Or human blood, whatever that monster drinks.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: After multiple reviews praised the performance of Pip Torrens and the entertainment of his character, the writers brought Tommy back repeatedly in Season 2, despite his ostensible retirement.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The first time we see Tommy, he is coming to collect the King, who is in the middle of exchanging bawdy jokes with Peter Townsend. Tommy does not so much as twitch his moustache with mirth, maintaining his steely gaze and ramrod posture as he reminds the King that it is time to leave for Elizabeth's wedding.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Is very against any deviations from tradition, but when the Great Smog hits and Churchill seemingly does nothing, even he implies he wouldn't mind the Queen bending the rules and getting rid of Churchill.
* GentlemanSnarker: He doesn't break out his [[DeadpanSnarker deadpan snark]] often, but when he does, it's ''ever'' so gentlemanly.
* GoodIsNotNice: From a traditional monarchist perspective, at least; while he's not exactly cuddly about it, everything he does is intended to defend and preserve the institution of the monarchy.
* HiddenDepths:
** In Season 2, the Queen pays Tommy a call to ask for his advice to find him painstakingly recreating the battle of Salamanca with hand-painted, historically accurate miniature figurines on a to-scale three-dimensional map of the battleground.
** Also apparently is fond of fly fishing (he examines salmon flies through a magnifying glass in Season 1) and hunting (he tests a rifle scope in Season 2).
* JerkassHasAPoint: Goes behind Elizabeth's back to browbeat her favoured secretary into refusing the position. When Elizabeth confronts him, he argues that breaking longstanding traditions can corrode the heart of the monarchy, as just Edward VIII's actions nearly toppled it. In general, while Lascelles is curt, forceful and inclined to trample on people when he deems it necessary, his every action is based on a sincere respect for the monarchy and desire to protect it.
* KarmaHoudini: Downplayed. The ''one'' time he's proven to be wrong (in the case of a tone-deaf speech) and Elizabeth has a chance to call out her conservative staff and threaten to fire Adeane and others of the old guard, she has no idea he endorsed the speech and he's already retired.
* LongDistanceRelationship: Admits his own marriage has often been one of these. This is TruthInTelevision as Lascelles' real-life diaries indicate that his wife and children spent most of their time at their home in the country, but frequently visited him in London.
* MagnificentBastard: His traditionalism and stuffiness are often deeply frustrating to members of the Royal Family he serves, and occasionally his colleagues. However, his instincts are almost always correct, and he explains his positions so calmly and intelligently that objections are quickly put to rest. He continues to act as an unofficial adviser to other courtiers after his retirement.
* NiceHat: Dons a top hat for Margaret's wedding.
* NoSympathy: Totally unconcerned with the emotional impact of Margaret and Peter Townsend's forced separation.
-->'''Elizabeth:''' Sending him away will break my sister's heart.
-->'''Tommy:''' Hearts mend.
* NumberTwo: As Private Secretary to the Sovereign, Tommy was this to George VI, and should be this to Elizabeth, but he often acts on the Queen Mother's instructions instead.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Is the main force behind frustrating the modernizing energies of Philip, and Margaret's affair with Peter, often on the instruction of the Queen Mother.
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: After Elizabeth tells off the Duke of Windsor, a very tipsy Philip comes home at night and reveals he spent the evening drinking to Elizabeth's victory with the Queen Mother ''and Tommy''--both of whom, to hear him tell it, got even drunker than he did.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: His real first name was actually Alan, but in-series everyone calls him by his nickname of "Tommy."
* PerpetualFrowner: His face almost seems frozen in this constant disapproving frown.
* QuintessentialBritishGentleman: Three-piece suit, bowler hat, umbrella, ReceivedPronunciation, Rolls-Royce, [[SmartPeopleSpeakTheQueensEnglish impeccable vocabulary]], [[BritishStuffiness stuffy as they come]], works for the bloody Queen. He is, indeed, [[IAmVeryBritish very British]].
* SlidingDownTheSlipperySlope: Believes that this is how Edward VIII's abdication crisis came about: he started with small acts of selfishness that snowballed into bigger ones. That's why Tommy is so uptight whenever Elizabeth wants to break protocol.
* StiffUpperLip: For a ''very'' brief moment soon after George VI's death, he appears to be [[TryingNotToCry blinking away tears]] when speaking fondly of the King.
-->A kind and generous offer, as befits the widow of a kind... (pause) and generous man.
* TheStoic: He's rather serene, firm and monotone in his deportment. Even when he talks, he barely moves a muscle and his frown delivers a great deal of his authoritative message instead. It's almost sinister.
* TakingTheHeat: Desperate to get Peter Townsend out of the way to preserve the Royal Family's reputation, he offers to let Elizabeth blame him for sending Townsend to Brussels earlier than expected. It could be argued that his entire job is to basically take the heat for the Royal Family by acting as the stone-faced, unflinching fixer for their every need, whether they realise (or appreciate) it or not.
* UndyingLoyalty: To the Royal Family -- to the levels of a guardian deity.
* WhoYouGonnaCall: The Freelanced Professional variety, whenever the Royal household needs help managing a particularly sensitive crisis.

[[folder: Michael Adeane]]
!!Private Secretary Michael Adeane

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/adeane.jpg]]

->'''Played By''': Will Keen (seasons 1-2), David Rintoul (Season 3)

Elizabeth's second Private Secretary, upon the retirement of Tommy Lascelles. A competent but generally unimaginative man, he tends to defer to Lascelles.

* BeardOfEvil: Philip resents the more conservative courtiers, or "the moustaches," who restrict his behaviour. To make him feel better, the Queen asks Michael to shave his moustache. He complies.
* BearerOfBadNews: Often, and uncomfortably.
* TheGenericGuy: He's a rather bland and unremarkable lackey, prone to fall back to Lascelles and let him manage tough issues. He's so unremarkable that it takes Philip months to realize he's retired despite having been at his retirement party and given him a gift.
* HappilyMarried: He and his wife don't like being away from each other for too long.
* NumberTwo: Somewhat averted, as despite being Private Secretary to the Sovereign, his first action in any crisis is to call the now-retired Tommy.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Elizabeth gives Adeane what might be called an "almighty bollocking" over the poorly received speech he wrote for her.

[[folder: Martin Charteris]]
!!Lieutenant Colonel Martin Charteris
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/charteris.png]]

->'''Played By''': Harry Haddon-Paton (Seasons 1-2), Charles Edwards (Season 3)

Elizabeth's Private Secretary when she was merely Princess Elizabeth, upon her elevation to the throne Charteris was demoted to Assistant Private Secretary. Nonetheless, Elizabeth likes him and continues to consider him a valued advisor.

* AsYouKnow: When Martin reminds Elizabeth about how regnal names work, to the point of reminding her what her father and uncle's names were.
* CassandraTruth: He tries to warn about how tone-deaf the Queen's speech was to Lascelles and Adeane but was brushed off as a whining, pessimistic "progressive or liberal." He turned out right when the backlash came at her.
** Also in Season 3 is the first to suggest that the Queen should visit Aberfan to express her sympathy to the family of the victims. He's quickly shut down, almost obliviously, by the Queen and Adeane, alongside Wilson.
* NumberTwo: As Elizabeth's Private Secretary before her accession, he later becomes the Junior Deputy Secretary to the Sovereign under Tommy Lascelles.
* OhCrap: Has this reaction when a Reuters reporter turns on the radio in the hotel lounge at Nairobi and hears of George VI's death, he immediately rushes to Sagana before Elizabeth can hear the news from any other source.
* SpareToTheThrone: Played with; Elizabeth jokes that Adeane and Charteris are, respectively, "the heir and the spare" to Lascelles.

[[folder: Mike Parker]]
!!Lieutenant Commander Michael Parker
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_crown_real_life_michael_parker_1514490338.jpg]]

->'''Played by''': Daniel Ings

A Royal Navy officer who serves as the Private Secretary to Prince Philip. He's very good friends with the prince and very much enjoys his work -- and the opportunities for pleasure that come with it...

* MarriedToTheJob: His and his ex-wife Eileen's story shows how working for the Royal Family could break a toll on your personal and familial life; when he wasn't cheating on Eileen, he was often too busy working for Philip or hanging out with him and the Navy to even call his daughter on her birthday.
* ThePrankster: Philip asks him to help Charles kick a soccer ball properly. Mike does so, telling Charles to aim directly for Philip.
-->Not bloody bad, Charles!
* ToxicFriendInfluence: He doesn't seem to be the best of influences on Philip, encouraging his habit of drinking and partying (and possible but unspecified adultery).
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: He sends letters bragging about his sexual conquests to the Thursday Club against protocol, until his wife finally has enough and gets her hands on one, making it public knowledge and calling Philip's fidelity into question given their close friendship.
* WhenYouComingHomeDad: One reason why Eileen decided to divorce him. He was always away a lot and he didn't bother to acknowledge their daughter's birthday.
* YourCheatingHeart: A major (and legal) reason Eileen divorced him, he was cheating on her and spending more time with his mistresses and at his job than with her and the kids.

[[folder:Dean Robin Woods]]
!!Dean Robin Woods
->'''Played by''': Tim Mc Mullan

The Dean of Windsor who starts to use the empty St. George's House a place of retreat and reflection for other clergymen and becomes a confidant to Philip.

* TheConfidant: He and his support group of clergymen become this for Philip at the end of "Moondust" after his talk with the astronauts fail to impress him.

!!Foreign Dignitaries and Leaders

[[folder: Gamal Abdel Nasser]]
!!President Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein
->'''Played By''': Amir Boutrous

The second president of Egypt. A committed anti-colonialist, his desire for a completely independent Egypt free from the influence of the European powers will set off a chain of events leading to the Suez Crisis.

* NoSenseOfHumour: Is totally impervious to Eden's charms.
* RantInducingSlight: He's incredibly offended when Eden and his entourage turn up to a diplomatic dinner in dinner jackets, and he apparently didn't get the note on the dress-code. Though Eden believes, and it's heavily implied, that Nassar actually knows exactly what's going on and any offense is actually insincere and stage-managed in order to create anti-British sentiment that will enable Nasser to more easily win the support of the people for his goals.
* RebelLeader: Nasser led the 1952 overthrow of the monarchy and introduced far-reaching land reforms in Egypt the following year. In July 1956 he decided to seize and nationalise the Suez Canal, which until then had been administrated by the British military. We see this play out in the very first episode of Series 2, when Egyptian soldiers burst into the headquarters of the Suez Canal company in Port Said, as Nasser makes a speech to an enthusiastic crowd about the need for Egypt to take back its own resources.

[[folder: President Kennedy]]
!!President John F. Kennedy
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kennedy_9.jpg]]

->'''Played By''': Michael C. Hall

The 35th President of the United States of America. A young and glamorous figure, his charm and energy contrasts greatly with the stuffy antiquated formality of the British monarchy, but also with the private life he keeps hidden from the public.

* TheAce: In Johnson's eyes, JFK will always know the right thing to say, the right fork to pick up, and which bird not to shoot but "save" for a member of Royalty.
* TheCharmer: As per real life, JFK is depicted as a charming, slightly roguish character with a winning smile and easy confidence -- in public anyway.
* DrugsAreBad: The Kennedys are depicted as habitual drug users, who take uppers and downers to help them get through the rigours of public life and dealing with the media. How true this was is a contentious matter and still up for debate.
* FeeFiFauxPas: He's over-familiar and both he and his wife use the incorrect forms of address, referring to the Queen as "Royal Majesty" -- much to the (humorous) consternation of the Queen's private secretaries.
* WartsAndAll: Very much how he and his wife are presented; -- his controlling behaviour behind the scenes is explored in unflinching detail.

[[folder: Jackie Kennedy]]
!!Mrs Jacqueline Kennedy, First Lady of The United States
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jacquieo.jpg]]

->'''Played By''': Jodie Balfour

The wife of John F. Kennedy. As young and glamourous as her husband, she is the subject of much envy and insecurity on the part of Elizabeth, but also the source of some unexpected commonalities.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Jackie is depicted as being sweet and chatty with the Queen in person, only to cut her up -- especially her dress sense -- behind her back.
* BreakTheHaughty: After the Queen is made aware of Jackie's bitchy comments about both her dress sense and Buckingham Palace itself (a "2nd rate country hotel"), she decides to bring out the big guns and contrives a luncheon ''à deux'' at the monumentally splendid [[BigFancyCastle Windsor Castle]]. Jackie, feeling suitably sheepish and overawed by the setting, apologises for her rudeness.
* DrugsAreBad: The drugs her husband's doctor administers causes her to lose her sense of decorum and become rather loose-lipped -- which includes bad-mouthing the Queen, after acting sweet as pie to her face.
* DudeMagnet: Many of the Palace staff and even Prince Philip himself are captivated by her.
* TheFashionista: As per real life, Mrs. Kennedy's fashion sense is absolutely on-point for the period -- something which makes the Queen feel rather frumpy.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After she finds out that Elizabeth has been made aware of her bitchy remarks, she behaves ''far'' more sheepishly during a luncheon with the Queen at Windsor Castle, and apologises for her behaviour.
* NotSoDifferent: It's suggested that both Elizabeth and Jackie are ultimately rather shy women who would be much happier living a life outside of the spotlight. Which is partly why Elizabeth is so hurt when she learns that Jackie has been making snide comments about her behind her back.
* ProudBeauty: Despite the splendour of her surroundings, Buckingham Palace falls to impress her (which is slightly ludicrous, given its sheer size and opulence).
* WartsAndAll: The legendary American icon is depicted as rather more fragile than normal, and something of a snide bitch.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: She is only three years younger than the Queen in real life and actually looks younger (to the detriment of Elizabeth).

[[folder: President Johnson]]
!!President Lyndon Johnson


->'''Played By''': Creator/ClancyBrown

The 36th President of the United States of America, succeeding to the job after Kennedy's assassination. He is very aware of being in the shadow of one of the country's most popular Presidents after his tragic death, and remains deeply resentful of Britain over failing to support America in the Vietnam War.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: How he seemed to feels about [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy JFK]] who overshadows him both in life and after his tragic death, especially when the output of the war in Vietnam isn't making him any popular. Margaret exploits to bond with him.
* BadassBaritone: While not true of the real Johnson, casting Clancy Brown makes this inevitable.
* GreenEyedMonster: He very much resents his inability to break out from Kennedy's shadow and become known for his own accomplishments, which naturally makes him perfectly primed to be won over by Princess Margaret and her similar issues.
* OddFriendship: The loud, Texan Macho, middle-aged President with the young, blue blood, Royal Princess Margaret.
* TheResenter: Treats the British diplomats and the Crown's attempts at fraternising with coldness and refusal, because Wilson refused him support for the Vietnam War.
* SlobsVersusSnobs: The basis of his resentment of living in Kennedy's shadow and how he feels the Royal Family might look down upon him. Averted after meeting Margaret, a very haughty member of TheBeautifulElite that shares his raunchy sense of humor.

!! Other Characters
[[folder: Clementine Churchill]]
!!Dame Clementine "Clemmie" Churchill
[[quoteright:187:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clemmie.PNG]]
->'''Played By''': Harriet Walter

->''"I had hoped I'd seen the back of this place."''

The wife of Winston Churchill. Loyal and devoted to her husband, her devotion extends to trying to help him realise that he is no longer the man of energy and accomplishment that he believes himself to be.

* BurnBabyBurn: Her solution to the loathed Sutherland portrait.
* EatingTheEyeCandy: Churchill accuses her of doing this to his portrait painter, Graham Sutherland. She doesn't deny it.
* HappilyMarried: To Sir Winston.
* OhNoNotAgain: Openly unhappy about living at 10 Downing Street a second time.
* ParentingTheHusband: Clemmie has to do this on a few occasions.
** She commands Winston (in a whisper) to shut up as he rather loudly reminds her why Philip's sisters were not invited to the royal wedding... in the middle of the royal wedding.
** After Winston's stroke, she lectures him for deceiving the Queen about the extent of his health problems. She orders him back to bed in case the excitement of President Eisenhower's upcoming visit becomes too much for him... which it does seconds later.

[[folder: Venetia Scott]]
!!Miss Venetia Scott
[[quoteright:235:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/venetiascott.PNG]]
->'''Played By''': Kate Phillips

->''"You were 24. All energy and hope and passion and fire. It's remarkable."''

A personal secretary to the Prime Minister.

* AudienceSurrogate: As she experiences the particulars and peculiarities of life working at Number 10, so do we.
* CompositeCharacter: Winston Churchill never had a secretary named Venetia Scott. However, her experiences as his secretary are in line with that of his many real-life secretaries.
* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: After reading Winston's memoirs, she is inspired to make her own mark on the world however she can. [[spoiler: Her death makes enough of a mark on Winston that he calls for a public inquiry into the cause of the Great Smog, which eventually leads to the Clean Air Act 1956.]]
* {{Determinator}}: After walking her sick roommate through the Great Smog to the hospital, she tells the skeptical doctor she can get the Prime Minister to supply more money. After he mocks her, she immediately sets off to do just that, [[spoiler: with tragic results]].
-->I'll show you!
* GirlFriday: To Winston.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold
* HeroWorshipper
* LookBothWays: [[spoiler: Subverted in that the Great Smog basically makes this impossible.]]
* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Averted; she's had enough disappointing one-night stands that she'd rather read Winston's memoirs at home than join her roommate at the pub.
* MoralityPet: To Winston; [[spoiler: her death during the Great Smog]] finally makes him see it as more than just extreme weather.
* PluckyOfficeGirl: She manages to get her friend to a hospital amidst the toxic fog and vows to get the government involved...[[spoiler: only to get run over by a bus]].
* SatelliteCharacter: Subverted. While most of what we know of her character revolves around her relationship with Winston, we also get to meet her roommate, see her neighbourhood and learn a little bit about her family.
* SurpriseCarCrash
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Graham Sutherland]]
!!Mr Graham Sutherland
->'''Played By''': Creator/StephenDillane

An English artist of the modernist school, who is commissioned by both Houses of Parliament to paint a portrait of Winston Churchill to celebrate his eightieth birthday. Devoted to capturing truth within his art, his refusal to be bound by the idealistic and mythic view of Churchill that the man himself holds and promotes leads to painful realisations and tension.

----

* FriendlyEnemy: Sutherland is a modernist, something that hardly fails to get the deeply conservative (both in art and politics) Churchill's back up, and he accuses Sutherland at several points of being a "socialist." Nevertheless, Sutherland sincerely claims to have accepted the commission because he is an admirer of Churchill, and the two men end up finding some points of commonality and friendship. This is partly why Churchill reacts so poorly to the portrait that Sutherland ends up painting; he views it as a personal betrayal as well as political sabotage.
* JerkassHasAPoint: From Churchill's perspective, at least; he initially accuses Sutherland of performing a cruel character assassination with his portrait, but ultimately cannot argue when Sutherland retorts that all he did was paint the truth, and the truth -- as much as Churchill tries to pretend otherwise -- is simply that Churchill is an elderly man in the twilight of his life.
--> '''Sutherland:''' I showed those sketches to your wife throughout. She remarked on how accurate they were.\\
'''Churchill:''' That is the whole point! It is not a reasonably truthful image of me!\\
'''Sutherland:''' It ''is'', sir.\\
'''Churchill:''' It is not! It is cruel!\\
'''Sutherland:''' ''[Finally snapping]'' ''AGE IS CRUEL!'' If you see decay, it’s because there’s decay. If you see frailty, it’s because there’s frailty. I can’t be blamed for what is, and I refuse to hide and disguise what I see. If you are engaged in a fight with something, then it’s not with me. It’s with your own blindness.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Mrs. Churchill describes him as "a bit of a Heathcliff"
* WartsAndAll: What Churchill dislikes about his portrait by Sutherland, as he wanted the portrait to show him as Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister and Statesmen, not Winston Churchill, a tired, 80-year-old man. After arguing with Sutherland about the portrait, he admits privately to his wife that the portrait is the truth, and he can do nothing about it. As in real life, Lady Churchill later has the portrait burned as the episode ends.
* WhamLine: Compared to Stephen Dillane's otherwise understated delivery, his "AGE IS CRUEL!!!" really hits home.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Eileen Parker]]
!!Mrs Eileen Parker
->'''Played By''': Chloe Pirrie

The wife of Mike Parker, Philip's Private Secretary. She has a much less glowing view of his life and connections to royalty than he does.

----

* AwfulWeddedLife: She is married to Mike and is very unhappy with him, and it doesn't help that he isn't there for the children and cheats on her. She decides to get a divorce as soon as she could.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Elizabeth and Tommy are astonished that Eileen should speak to them so bluntly and harshly.
* MamaBear: One of the this is one of the things that motivate her to finally get a divorce, he neglected to call their daughter to wish her happy birthday.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: She delivers one to Tommy and Elizabeth, telling them that the work with the Royal family damages family and marital relations of their employees.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lady Dorothy Macmillan]]
!!Lady Dorothy Macmillan
->'''Played By''': Sylvestra Le Touzel

The wife of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. They do not have a particularly happy relationship.

----

* FatBitch: She is very heavyset and has a very unpleasant (to the point of emotionally abusive) attitude towards Harold.
* YourCheatingHeart: She has a boyfriend on the side for years, but their trysts are depicted as less of an issue than her disrespect of her husband is.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lord Altrincham]]
!!The Right Honourable John Grigg, 2nd Baron Altrincham
->'''Played By''': John Heffernan

An English aristocrat and journalist, who holds views on the antiquated and out-of-touch nature of the monarchy and need for modernisation that causes much controversy.

----

* TheDentistEpisode: Skips out on a repeatedly postponed dental appointment throughout the season 2 episode "Marionettes."
* CompassionateCritic: He only criticizes Elizabeth because he wants the monarchy to succeed and the last longer. and part of that means modernizing the monarchy and for the monarchs to connect with the common people.
* PompousPoliticalPundit: Defenders of the monarchy view him as such.
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The end credits mention how the Crown eventually implemented nearly all of Altrincham's suggestions for reform, as well as [[MeaningfulRename the renunciation of his title]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Edward Millward]]
!!Edward "Tedi" Millward
-> '''Played by:''' Mark Lewis Jones

A proud Welsh nationalist and republican who finds himself tutoring Prince Charles in the Welsh language ahead of Charles' investiture as Prince of Wales.

----

* BerserkButton: He's enraged by intellectual laziness, especially when Charles cheerfully confesses to have not yet gone to the university's library and demonstrates complete ignorance of Welsh history.
* GoodParents: He and his wife Silvia are a very happy and close family with their young son Andras. It's lampshaded how much Charles longingly notices this.
* HappilyMarried: Met his wife at a march is clearly affectionate with her and their son, they even share the same in-jokes.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Unloads on Charles for not taking his Welsh education seriously and compares Charles unfavorably to Edward VIII and Edward VII (and presumably George V as well), who all showed little to no interest in Wales despite being past Princes of Wales.
* SeriousBusiness: He despises the monarchy, but he also won't give up the chance to teach and promote the Welsh language and impart some knowledge of Wales and its history on someone in an influential position.
* SympathyForTheDevil: For Millward, Charles represents a repressive force that's been holding down Wales for centuries. But he also comes to see Charles as a lonely soul who's been profoundly damaged by his upbringing.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Silvia Hart Millward]]
!!Silvia Hart Millward
-> '''Played by:''' Nia Roberts

A proud Welsh Nationalist and wife of Edward who is less than pleased about her husband tutoring a member of the Royal Family in the Welsh language.

----

!! Her Majesty's Government
[[folder: Sir Winston Churchill]]
!!The Right Honourable Prime Minister Sir UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s1_010.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/JohnLithgow

->''"The party needs me. The country needs me.'' She ''needs me!"''

Elizabeth's first Prime Minister. The man who led Britain during the Second World War, Churchill is a dominant, commanding figure with a legendary reputation and great respect from the public who, when Elizabeth becomes queen, has recently been elected to his second term as Prime Minister. However, it quickly becomes apparent both that his best days are long behind him and that he stubbornly refuses to accept this fact.

* BornInTheWrongCentury: Well, ''born'' in the right century, he just lived far past it: Winston is truly one of the last Victorians, banging on about the Empire and uninterested in domestic affairs, hopelessly out of touch with the changing world and changing Britain of the 1950s.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Subverted. Churchill is a LivingLegend with weird habits like taking his dog to cabinet meetings or having his daily briefings read to him while he's in the tub. But while he used to be a brilliant leader despite his quirks, due to old age, he no longer is.
* TheCameo: A single appearance in Series 2 during a few WWII brief flashbacks, and [[BackForTheDead a final one]] in Series 3.
* CigarChomper: He's often seen smoking a cigar.
* ClothingReflectsPersonality: While most officials at No. 10 and in the Royal household wear contemporary suits, his uniform, even for an average workday, is a morning coat and bow tie.
* ADayInTheLimelight: "Assassins" is set during his 80th birthday and chronicles his private life and struggles during the painting of his portrait.
* DrinkOrder: Averted. Elizabeth offers tea "or something stronger" at their first private audience, but he adheres to the Victorian tradition of the Sovereign never offering refreshment to the Prime Minister.
* EmbarrassingNickname: "Crybaby," per the Duke of Windsor. Winston [[ProneToTears goes on to prove him right]], at least a little, by tearing up while reminiscing about his friendship with the late King.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When he arrives at Elizabeth's wedding, after making sure that he is the last of the guests to arrive, he delays until the choir starts singing "I Vow to Thee My Country"[[labelnote:*]]This song was not part of the real-life wedding service[[/labelnote]], and strides into the abbey, every bit the great statesmen he presents himself as, even though at the time, he was still the Leader of the Opposition. He even gives a loud aside to his wife disapproving of Lord Mountbatten's presiding over Indian independence and remarking that Philip's sisters married prominent Nazis, establishing him as a staunch Imperialist clinging to the glory of the good old days, a hopeless will. When he returns to Number 10, he is no longer the great statesman able to do the job and Great Britain is no more a great power.
* FakeBrit: John Lithgow is American.
* GloryDays: His arc on the series is essentially this; while he still commands respect due to leading Britain during the Second World War, it is made abundantly clear that his wartime reputation is the only reason he manages to keep his job; he is not up to the job of leading a modern Britain, is increasingly frail and failing, is barely interested in anything except foreign affairs, and refuses to accept that both his time as an effective leader and Britain's time as a dominant global power has passed.
* GrumpyOldMan: As cranky as they come.
* HappilyMarried: To Clementine; he is always at his most candid with her.
* IKissYourHand: Always greets Elizabeth this way.
* IronicEcho: A subtle example, but one which demonstrates CharacterDevelopment. At his first audience with the Queen, he is shocked and flustered when she politely offers him a seat and a beverage, insisting that according to tradition the Sovereign never offers the Prime Minister such comforts. This immediately establishes both his tradition-bound nature and his authority over the young, inexperienced Queen. At his last audience with the Queen, however, he is sitting in an armchair with a cup of tea beside him, having come to accept that he's too old (and ill) to go on and it's time to retire (and by extension, heralding some modernising changes).
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: His main character arc is him not knowing when to do this; eventually, he folds after his stroke in June 1953, after (ahistorically) lying to Elizabeth about the extent of his health woes.
* LivingLegend: Which is why Elizabeth is a little daunted to have him as her first Prime Minister.
* NotNowKiddo: A hilarious inversion during Elizabeth's wedding, when Clementine and a choir boy shush him after he complains about Philip's sisters' choice of husbands.
-->'''Winston''': You know why his three sisters aren't here...
-->'''Clemmie''': Shhh.
-->'''Winston''': They're all married to Nazis!
-->'''Clemmie''': Oh, do shut up.
-->'''Winston''': PROMINENT NAZIS!
-->'''Choir boy''': Shhh!
* OnlyFriend: The only political ally and relevant sympathizer of Edward VIII during the constitutional crisis and one of the few people who never really speaks ill of the late monarch, despite knowing the full extent of his transgressions. It's not reciprocal, as the Duke of Windsor has enough contempt for everybody. His friendship has its limits, however; when the Duke tries to bring up the issue of Wallis Simpson being granted the title of Her Royal Highness he is bluntly shot down.
* PassingTheTorch:
** His reluctant and slow relinquishment of the leadership in favour of Eden causes much friction. Ultimately, his stroke in June 1953 pushed him to retire.
** Later used on a meta level, as Lithgow makes a brief return in the Season 3 premiere to provide a connecting thread as the entire main cast is replaced with older actors.
* PerilousOldFool: It's made clear that age has diminished him. He sleeps through most meetings, sees everything in the context of his GloryDays, and is laid out by frequent ill health. Eventually, Elizabeth is forced to confront him with the constitutional requirement for the Prime Minister to be of sound body and mind, convincing him to resign.
* SkewedPriorities: Part of what fuels the crisis in "Act of God" is that Churchill, who just sees the Great Smog enveloping London and causing chaos as a bit of bad weather, gets a bee in his bonnet about Prince Philip taking up flying as a hobby and begins to fixate on preventing that rather than doing anything about the fact that London has been virtually brought to a lawless standstill by the smog.
* TimeShiftedActor: The one notable aversion in the series. John Lightow plays him throughout the 40s, 50s, and 60s.
* WhatTheHellHero: Elizabeth's reaction when she finds out he's been keeping information about his health from her. [[note]]Historically, Elizabeth was well-aware of Churchill's extreme ill health, and Operation Hope Not was formulated as a reaction, although it would only be implemented more than a decade later, leading Lord Mounbatten to quip, "(Churchill) kept living and the pallbearers kept dying."[[/note]]

[[folder: Sir Anthony Eden]]
!!The Right Honourable Prime Minister UsefulNotes/AnthonyEden
[[quoteright:248:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anthonyeden.PNG]]
->'''Played By''': Jeremy Northam

Foreign Secretary to Churchill both during the war and his second government, and eventually Elizabeth's second Prime Minister. He is ambitious and determined to achieve what he views as his rightful place as Churchill's successor, but his own ill-health and the changing world will prove challenging in ways he did not expect.

* BadassMoustache: Has an impressive war record and impressive facial hair to match.
* CunningLinguist: Views himself as such because of his grasp of Arabic.
* DescentIntoAddiction: Eden suffered from a botched gall bladder operation and takes heavy doses of painkillers and other medications to deal with it. It seriously affects his judgment and ability to perform in office and gets so bad after the Suez Crisis that he has to take some weeks off to recover in Jamaica.
* HumiliationConga: He starts Season 2 with a pompous speech about continuing his alma mater's distinguished history of [=PMs=]. Then the Suez Crisis hits, and he's initially not worried at all since the Egyptians will still need the British pilots to navigate it. The Soviets promptly pounce and start training the locals, at which he's pushed by Macmillan to go to war. Rather than do so openly, he goes behind Parliment's backs and colludes with the Israelis to launch their own attack, which blows up in his face and gives a big hit to Britain's international reputation. Finally he's forced to retire, to be replaced by Macmillan.
* JerkassHasAPoint: He schemes to nudge Churchill into retirement partly because of his own ambitions to be Prime Minister, but also because he (not entirely incorrectly) believes that Churchill is too old, too tired, and too fixated on international affairs rather than the domestic issues facing the country to effectively do the job.
* NumberTwo: Of the Conservatives, and decidedly gunning for the first spot. He really wants to be Prime Minister. Due to his declining health, Churchill was largely a figurehead in the 1951-55 government and Eden is effectively the man governing the nation.
* ThePeterPrinciple: A remarkable foreign secretary who opposed Hitler before the war and a competent deputy to Winston Churchill for almost 15 years. The Conservative Party wins the 1951 and 1955 elections thanks to Eden, but when he succeeds Winston and becomes the head of the country, his premiership quickly collapses in 1956 after a series of blunders in the Suez Crisis and his image becomes tarnished beyond repair.
* TheProudElite: Fully embraces his alma mater Eton's elitist reputation.
* SoreLoser: Visibly irritated at how well his colleagues receive Churchill's eulogy for King George VI, knowing they are now less inclined to remove him as leader. Eden exits as soon as the address is finished, leaving the room abuzz.
* ToughActToFollow: In-universe. Whilst doing so much of the work, Eden lives under the shadow of the great war leader and national myth Churchill. When Eden's time comes, he tries to invoke Churchill's past rhetoric and èlan as the head of a great power, but Eden mishandles the Suez Crisis and is forced to resign.

[[folder: Lord Salisbury]]
!!The Most Honourable Robert "Bobbety" Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bobbety.png]]
->'''Played By''': Clive Francis

A high-ranking Conservative politician and member of Churchill's government.

* ElmuhFuddSyndwome: Like the real Lord Salisbury, he is unable to pronounce Rs.
* InTheBlood: When he is being scolded by Elizabeth for hiding the health problems of Churchill and Eden, she muses that the phrase, "History teaches never trust a Cecil", as being more appropriate than previously thought.[[labelnote:*]]The saying appears to be anachronistic though, since the earliest reference is to Bobbety's grandson, also Robert, then Lord Cranborne, for his secret backroom deal on Lords Reform with Tony Blair in 1998.[[/labelnote]]
* KnownOnlyByTheirNickname: No one ever calls him by his name. Louis Mountbatten calls him Bobbety Salisbury, throwing in his title.

[[folder: Harold Macmillan]]
!!The Right Honourable Prime Minister UsefulNotes/HaroldMacmillan
[[quoteright:244:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/macmillan.PNG]]
->'''Played By''': Anton Lesser

Elizabeth's third Prime Minister. As Eden's Chancellor of the Exchequer, he proves a ruthless and cunning politician, but despite his political successes his personal life and weaknesses increasingly take a toll on him.

* AwfulWeddedLife: Is very much aware of his wife's distaste for him and her long-term relationship with another man.
* ButtMonkey: Is in the audience while [[Theatre/BeyondTheFringe a troupe of comedians]] make fun of his mannerisms and moustache. He tries to show he can laugh at himself; after the comedians spot him, it becomes clear he cannot. (His wife and her lover, for their part, enjoyed the show immensely.)
* LaserGuidedKarma: After arrogantly telling Eden that "there's no justice in politics" when taking his place as Prime Minister, he ultimately can't handle the pressure and mockery directed toward him.
* MotorMouth: He can not just shut up when explaining to Elizabeth the significance of the Sputnik satellite's launch and the importance of repairing Anglo-American relations. Both his wife and Philip are clearly exasperated by his tirade.
* SecretlySelfish: Philip accuses him of this over his decision to resign right in the middle of Elizabeth's pregnancy, noting that for all his politeness and appearance of integrity he took the action most convenient to him alone.
* TheStarscream: Despite being one of the most vocal proponents for war during the Suez Crisis, he distances himself from the decision when the backlash focuses on Eden and sets himself up to become Prime Minister.

[[folder: Clement Attlee]]
!!The Right Honourable Prime Minister UsefulNotes/ClementAttlee
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/attleecrown.png]]
->'''Played By''': Simon Chandler

The Leader of the Opposition when Elizabeth takes the throne, having been Prime Minister before Churchill's return to power. A cautious and uncharismatic man, he is nevertheless well-respected by the public for his bold, innovative policies.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: At one point, Churchill describes Attlee -- to King George VI, no less -- with "an empty taxi pulled up before the House of Commons, and Mr. Attlee got out." While this quote is attributed to Churchill, and the two Prime Ministers were hardly friends, Churchill denied ever saying it, remarking that he respected Attlee's loyalty and service in his government during the war and publicly denounced the quote and anyone who said it. At very least, even if he did express the sentiment in private it's unlikely he would do Attlee the severe discourtesy of expressing it before the King.
* BoringButPractical: The series mostly show his boring side, but he soundly defeated Churchill in 1945 after all. The historical Attlee is ranked [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_Prime_Ministers_of_the_United_Kingdom the greatest British Prime Minister of the 20th century]] and is remembered as the father of the welfare state.
* ButtMonkey: Much mocked around for his perceived dullness.
-->'''Winston:''' An empty taxi pulled up at the House of Commons, and Mr. Attlee got out.\\
'''George VI:''' Quite.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Visibly annoyed when the entire audience at Elizabeth's wedding stands up upon Churchill's arrival, even though ''he'' is the sitting Prime Minister at the time.
-->'''Eden''': There's poor old Attlee. He's our Prime Minister. No one got up for him.
* {{Foil}}: Much like his rival Churchill, he's been a top politician for decades, and losing the 1951 election doesn't preclude him from leading the Labour opposition afterwards for some more years. Winston tries to be [[LargeHam grandiose and flamboyant]], while Attlee is portrayed as uninteresting and meek. They both retired in 1955. However, they contrast in one key respect; Attlee, for all his lack of charisma, is described by one character as having been one of the most radical, effective and innovative Prime Ministers of recent memory. Conversely Churchill, for all his charisma, is clearly demonstrated to be an out-of-touch spent force with no new ideas and no real ability to govern a changing, modern Britain. Many historians would agree that this pretty accurately sums up the two as Prime Ministers (with regard to Churchill's second term, at least).
* GenreSavvy: In "Act of God" he is skeptical about a member of the Churchill government going behind Winston Churchill's back to give him information about Churchill turning down documents from the Meteorological Society warning of a toxic fog coming to London. He cites the Aeneid "Beware of the Greeks even when they bear gifts."

[[folder: Alec Douglas-Home]]
!!The Right Honourable Prime Minister UsefulNotes/AlecDouglasHome, 14th Earl of Home
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/humecrown.png]]
->'''Played By''': David Annen

Elizabeth's fourth (and shortest-serving) Prime Minister.

* BlueBlood: Since he was a sitting member of the House of Lords at the time of his appointment, there is not an inconsiderable amount of backlash when he becomes Prime Minister. He would later disclaim his peerage and win a Commons seat in a by-election, but his being an aristocrat would provide fodder for his parliamentary rival, Harold Wilson.
* TheGhost: He never receives a proper introduction as Prime Minister since he's appointed in the last episode of Season 2, and defeated by Harold Wilson in the first episode of Season 3.
* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: To an extent. His totally offscreen introduction as the new Prime Minister, succeeding Macmillan after only a brief previous appearance (as the foreign secretary in "Dear Mrs. Kennedy", where he is not named).

[[folder: Harold Wilson]]
!!The Right Honourable Prime Minister UsefulNotes/HaroldWilson
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/harold_wilson.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Jason Watkins

Elizabeth's fifth Prime Minister, and her first to be the leader of the Labour Party. A charismatic and wily individual, he'd become the dominant figure of British politics during the Swinging Sixties.

* BrutalHonesty: In his quiet way, he manages to ask questions poking at some of Elizabeth's royal mask and talks honestly about his party's failure with devaluing the pound and about why the public elected Labour after 12 years of Conservative rule.
* CigarChomper: He prefers to smoke cigars, but hides this habit from the public as it goes against his image as a champion of the working class.
* TheComicallySerious: His being forced to repeat all the dirty limericks Margaret and President Lyndon Johnson shared makes for some squirm-inducing hilarity.
* TheConfidant: Serves as this to Elizabeth, often leading to moments of NotSoDifferent. The Queen even admits that she let out an unconstitutional cheer when he defeated Ted Heath in the 1974 election.
* ContrastingReplacementCharacter: His predecessors were all Tories with privileged backgrounds and spoke with RP accents. He is a member of the Labour Party with a working-class background and speaks with a Yorkshire accent.
* DistinguishedGentlemansPipe: Inverted. He smokes a pipe in public because it makes him seem more working class.
* TheGenericGuy: Elizabeth is baffled at how unlike all her previous Prime Ministers, there seems to be absolutely nothing notable about his appearance or personality.
* MyCountryRightOrWrong: The KGB has made attempts to recruit him due to his socialist beliefs several times but to no avail, he is loyal to a country, with all its problems, he views as great.
** In "Aberfan" he finds Elizabeth's behavior unfortunate but feels there is a good reason why she won't appear and just comfort, rather than just bash her as cold-hearted.
* NotSoDifferent: He confesses that, despite his working-class background and appeal, he's never done any manual labor and prefers fine things (e.g. cigars, chateaubriand, and brandy), making him not very different from his upper-class predecessors.
* OddFriendship: He is a Socialist who has a close friendship with the Queen.
* PhotographicMemory: When revealing his Alzheimer's diagnosis, he says that he used to have one and that encroaching forgetfulness was the first hint that something was wrong.
* RedHerring: Within the universe, members of the Royal Family suspect that he has Soviet allegiances and is a spy. But it rather turns out to be [[spoiler: an art historian working for the Royal Family]].

[[folder: Edward Heath]]
!!The Right Honourable Prime Minister UsefulNotes/EdwardHeath
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/heathcrown.png]]
->'''Played By''': Michael Maloney

Elizabeth's sixth Prime Minister, once again from the Conservative Party.

* StubbornMule: A personal flaw of his, with his adamant policy of not negotiating with the miners, he underestimates the will of the public to go along with his drawing out of the 1972 miner's strike, even as the government's coal reserves start to run low and imposes energy conservation measures when they do.

!! The Royal Household
[[folder: Peter Townsend]]
!!Group Captain Peter Townsend
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/petertownsend.jpg]]

->'''Played By''': Ben Miles

A former RAF commander and equerry to King George VI. By the time of the King's death and Elizabeth's elevation to the throne, he has been in a secret relationship with Princess Margaret for several years. The two are devoted to each other, but numerous public and personal obstacles to their relationship will test this devotion.

* AcePilot: He was a Hurricane pilot during [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the Battle of Britain]] and logged several confirmed kills, although he is hesitant to speak about his wartime experiences.
* AgeGapRomance: There was a 16 year age gap between him and Margaret. And a more extreme example of this trope would be his marriage to a 19-year-old -- when he was 45.
* AmicableExes: Reportedly, with his ex-wife.
* HumbleHero: When Philip brings up his dashing war record, Peter is deflective, answering he downed one or two planes. In reality, Townsend got 9 confirmed aerial victories, 2 shared and 2 more unconfirmed before he became equerry to the King in 1944.
* MeaningfulLook: Exchanges one of these with Margaret at breakfast. Elizabeth picks up on this.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Appointed air attaché at the Brussels British Embassy, which is just an honourable manner to exile him away from Margaret.
* StarCrossedLover: His romance with Princess Margaret has too many obstacles to overcome and is finally ended by a Royal veto.
* TheStoic: To the extent that Philip considers him far too dull to marry Margaret.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Well, he is played by Ben Miles.

[[folder:Sir Tommy Lascelles]]
!!Private Secretary Sir Alan "Tommy" Lascelles
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_crown_season_3_1703494.jpg]]

->'''Played By''': Pip Torrens

-> ''"You need to understand how things are done here."''

Private Secretary to King George VI, and Elizabeth's first Private Secretary upon becoming Queen. A stoic, reserved and formal man, he is devoted to serving and protecting the monarchy -- at any cost.

* AlwaysOnDuty: Tommy spots Elizabeth arriving unexpectedly at his home while looking out the window of his study. Within seconds, he has donned a jacket and is greeting her at the door as if he had been expecting her the entire time.
* BadassMoustache: A highly competent and dominating handler and advisor with a fitting moustache that enhances his powerful presence. During Philip's investiture as a British prince, we see Tommy in the background with the other old-fashioned courtiers, or "[[BeardOfEvil moustaches]]," whom Philip resents.
* BearerOfBadNews: Often the bearer of harsh truths and bad news, like Adeane after him, but without Adeane's visible reluctance. It’s left to Lascelles to reveal the extent of the former Edward VIII’s involvement with the Nazis to the abdicated monarch’s niece.
* BerserkButton:
** Tommy never raises his voice, but it can get distinctly more clipped if you piss him off. A quick way to do this is to insult the memory of King George VI, as the Duke of Windsor discovers in Season 1.
--->Nothing weak about the late king, ''sir''. I'm sure I speak for everyone present when I call him a hero.
** Pretty much anything involving the Duke and Duchess of Windsor puts Tommy in an especially bad mood, as he was Private Secretary to the Sovereign at the beginning of Edward VIII's reign.
** Even ''reminders'' of the Duke of Windsor make his mood considerably worse; his patience with Peter Townsend, already thin, runs out completely right after Peter breaks out the phrase "the woman I love."
* {{Bookworm}}: The real-life Tommy Lascelles was known as a prodigious reader. In the show, when he "unexpectedly" meets Eileen Parker in the park, he is reading a tome about the campaigns of Napoleon.
* BritishStuffiness: ''Incarnate''. He's incredibly strait-laced, and views any sort of frivolity, modernity or suggestiveness with deep suspicion, disapproval, and occasionally outright zealotry.
** A flashback in Season 3 reveals he doesn't bother to soften up when speaking privately to Elizabeth and Margaret, who were very young girls and the latter who starts to cry.
* BrutalHonesty: He rarely sugarcoats things, even when speaking with the monarch (although naturally he's a bit more diplomatic in his manner with her than with others).
* CanineCompanion: Tommy lets his two Scottish deerhounds join him on the couch and, at one point, in Michael Adeane's office. (The two dogs, with their solemn expressions and scruffy faces, have something of an UncattyResemblance to Tommy.)
* CharacterTics: The viewer can tell Lascelles is alive while addressing someone because he locks his hands behind his back and moves his fingers nervously.
* CigaretteOfAnxiety: Pairs a cigarette with [[INeedAFreakingDrink a glass of whiskey]] soon after George VI's death.
* ClothingReflectsPersonality: Even watching television at home, he ''always'' wears a necktie.
* TheComicallySerious: His stone-faced but yet contemptuous demeanour when addressing very delicate matters makes him unexpectedly hilarious.
* CommutingOnABus: After his official retirement, he's still called to manage sensitive situations with some frequency.
* TheConsigliere: Or "henchman," as Margaret puts it, to Elizabeth (and the three monarchs who preceded her).
* CoolCar: When Tommy runs into the Queen in the front drive of Buckingham Palace, she mistakes his Rolls-Royce for one of the Royal cars; in fact, as he tells her, the car and its driver were part of his retirement package.
* DisapprovingLook: Tommy is the ''god'' of this, and can always be counted on to make one whenever anyone besmirches the good name of the Royal Family -- or, worse when members of the Royal Family besmirch themselves.
* TheDreaded: Viewed as this by anti-traditionalists such as Philip. A frightful, almost ominous, unmovable guardian of the old ways.
-->'''Philip''': Go and see him, in an unofficial capacity. For sherry or tea. Or human blood, whatever that monster drinks.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: After multiple reviews praised the performance of Pip Torrens and the entertainment of his character, the writers brought Tommy back repeatedly in Season 2, despite his ostensible retirement.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The first time we see Tommy, he is coming to collect the King, who is in the middle of exchanging bawdy jokes with Peter Townsend. Tommy does not so much as twitch his moustache with mirth, maintaining his steely gaze and ramrod posture as he reminds the King that it is time to leave for Elizabeth's wedding.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Is very against any deviations from tradition, but when the Great Smog hits and Churchill seemingly does nothing, even he implies he wouldn't mind the Queen bending the rules and getting rid of Churchill.
* GentlemanSnarker: He doesn't break out his [[DeadpanSnarker deadpan snark]] often, but when he does, it's ''ever'' so gentlemanly.
* GoodIsNotNice: From a traditional monarchist perspective, at least; while he's not exactly cuddly about it, everything he does is intended to defend and preserve the institution of the monarchy.
* HiddenDepths:
** In Season 2, the Queen pays Tommy a call to ask for his advice to find him painstakingly recreating the battle of Salamanca with hand-painted, historically accurate miniature figurines on a to-scale three-dimensional map of the battleground.
** Also apparently is fond of fly fishing (he examines salmon flies through a magnifying glass in Season 1) and hunting (he tests a rifle scope in Season 2).
* JerkassHasAPoint: Goes behind Elizabeth's back to browbeat her favoured secretary into refusing the position. When Elizabeth confronts him, he argues that breaking longstanding traditions can corrode the heart of the monarchy, as just Edward VIII's actions nearly toppled it. In general, while Lascelles is curt, forceful and inclined to trample on people when he deems it necessary, his every action is based on a sincere respect for the monarchy and desire to protect it.
* KarmaHoudini: Downplayed. The ''one'' time he's proven to be wrong (in the case of a tone-deaf speech) and Elizabeth has a chance to call out her conservative staff and threaten to fire Adeane and others of the old guard, she has no idea he endorsed the speech and he's already retired.
* LongDistanceRelationship: Admits his own marriage has often been one of these. This is TruthInTelevision as Lascelles' real-life diaries indicate that his wife and children spent most of their time at their home in the country, but frequently visited him in London.
* MagnificentBastard: His traditionalism and stuffiness are often deeply frustrating to members of the Royal Family he serves, and occasionally his colleagues. However, his instincts are almost always correct, and he explains his positions so calmly and intelligently that objections are quickly put to rest. He continues to act as an unofficial adviser to other courtiers after his retirement.
* NiceHat: Dons a top hat for Margaret's wedding.
* NoSympathy: Totally unconcerned with the emotional impact of Margaret and Peter Townsend's forced separation.
-->'''Elizabeth:''' Sending him away will break my sister's heart.
-->'''Tommy:''' Hearts mend.
* NumberTwo: As Private Secretary to the Sovereign, Tommy was this to George VI, and should be this to Elizabeth, but he often acts on the Queen Mother's instructions instead.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Is the main force behind frustrating the modernizing energies of Philip, and Margaret's affair with Peter, often on the instruction of the Queen Mother.
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: After Elizabeth tells off the Duke of Windsor, a very tipsy Philip comes home at night and reveals he spent the evening drinking to Elizabeth's victory with the Queen Mother ''and Tommy''--both of whom, to hear him tell it, got even drunker than he did.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: His real first name was actually Alan, but in-series everyone calls him by his nickname of "Tommy."
* PerpetualFrowner: His face almost seems frozen in this constant disapproving frown.
* QuintessentialBritishGentleman: Three-piece suit, bowler hat, umbrella, ReceivedPronunciation, Rolls-Royce, [[SmartPeopleSpeakTheQueensEnglish impeccable vocabulary]], [[BritishStuffiness stuffy as they come]], works for the bloody Queen. He is, indeed, [[IAmVeryBritish very British]].
* SlidingDownTheSlipperySlope: Believes that this is how Edward VIII's abdication crisis came about: he started with small acts of selfishness that snowballed into bigger ones. That's why Tommy is so uptight whenever Elizabeth wants to break protocol.
* StiffUpperLip: For a ''very'' brief moment soon after George VI's death, he appears to be [[TryingNotToCry blinking away tears]] when speaking fondly of the King.
-->A kind and generous offer, as befits the widow of a kind... (pause) and generous man.
* TheStoic: He's rather serene, firm and monotone in his deportment. Even when he talks, he barely moves a muscle and his frown delivers a great deal of his authoritative message instead. It's almost sinister.
* TakingTheHeat: Desperate to get Peter Townsend out of the way to preserve the Royal Family's reputation, he offers to let Elizabeth blame him for sending Townsend to Brussels earlier than expected. It could be argued that his entire job is to basically take the heat for the Royal Family by acting as the stone-faced, unflinching fixer for their every need, whether they realise (or appreciate) it or not.
* UndyingLoyalty: To the Royal Family -- to the levels of a guardian deity.
* WhoYouGonnaCall: The Freelanced Professional variety, whenever the Royal household needs help managing a particularly sensitive crisis.

[[folder: Michael Adeane]]
!!Private Secretary Michael Adeane

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/adeane.jpg]]

->'''Played By''': Will Keen (seasons 1-2), David Rintoul (Season 3)

Elizabeth's second Private Secretary, upon the retirement of Tommy Lascelles. A competent but generally unimaginative man, he tends to defer to Lascelles.

* BeardOfEvil: Philip resents the more conservative courtiers, or "the moustaches," who restrict his behaviour. To make him feel better, the Queen asks Michael to shave his moustache. He complies.
* BearerOfBadNews: Often, and uncomfortably.
* TheGenericGuy: He's a rather bland and unremarkable lackey, prone to fall back to Lascelles and let him manage tough issues. He's so unremarkable that it takes Philip months to realize he's retired despite having been at his retirement party and given him a gift.
* HappilyMarried: He and his wife don't like being away from each other for too long.
* NumberTwo: Somewhat averted, as despite being Private Secretary to the Sovereign, his first action in any crisis is to call the now-retired Tommy.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Elizabeth gives Adeane what might be called an "almighty bollocking" over the poorly received speech he wrote for her.

[[folder: Martin Charteris]]
!!Lieutenant Colonel Martin Charteris
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/charteris.png]]

->'''Played By''': Harry Haddon-Paton (Seasons 1-2), Charles Edwards (Season 3)

Elizabeth's Private Secretary when she was merely Princess Elizabeth, upon her elevation to the throne Charteris was demoted to Assistant Private Secretary. Nonetheless, Elizabeth likes him and continues to consider him a valued advisor.

* AsYouKnow: When Martin reminds Elizabeth about how regnal names work, to the point of reminding her what her father and uncle's names were.
* CassandraTruth: He tries to warn about how tone-deaf the Queen's speech was to Lascelles and Adeane but was brushed off as a whining, pessimistic "progressive or liberal." He turned out right when the backlash came at her.
** Also in Season 3 is the first to suggest that the Queen should visit Aberfan to express her sympathy to the family of the victims. He's quickly shut down, almost obliviously, by the Queen and Adeane, alongside Wilson.
* NumberTwo: As Elizabeth's Private Secretary before her accession, he later becomes the Junior Deputy Secretary to the Sovereign under Tommy Lascelles.
* OhCrap: Has this reaction when a Reuters reporter turns on the radio in the hotel lounge at Nairobi and hears of George VI's death, he immediately rushes to Sagana before Elizabeth can hear the news from any other source.
* SpareToTheThrone: Played with; Elizabeth jokes that Adeane and Charteris are, respectively, "the heir and the spare" to Lascelles.

[[folder: Mike Parker]]
!!Lieutenant Commander Michael Parker
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_crown_real_life_michael_parker_1514490338.jpg]]

->'''Played by''': Daniel Ings

A Royal Navy officer who serves as the Private Secretary to Prince Philip. He's very good friends with the prince and very much enjoys his work -- and the opportunities for pleasure that come with it...

* MarriedToTheJob: His and his ex-wife Eileen's story shows how working for the Royal Family could break a toll on your personal and familial life; when he wasn't cheating on Eileen, he was often too busy working for Philip or hanging out with him and the Navy to even call his daughter on her birthday.
* ThePrankster: Philip asks him to help Charles kick a soccer ball properly. Mike does so, telling Charles to aim directly for Philip.
-->Not bloody bad, Charles!
* ToxicFriendInfluence: He doesn't seem to be the best of influences on Philip, encouraging his habit of drinking and partying (and possible but unspecified adultery).
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: He sends letters bragging about his sexual conquests to the Thursday Club against protocol, until his wife finally has enough and gets her hands on one, making it public knowledge and calling Philip's fidelity into question given their close friendship.
* WhenYouComingHomeDad: One reason why Eileen decided to divorce him. He was always away a lot and he didn't bother to acknowledge their daughter's birthday.
* YourCheatingHeart: A major (and legal) reason Eileen divorced him, he was cheating on her and spending more time with his mistresses and at his job than with her and the kids.

[[folder:Dean Robin Woods]]
!!Dean Robin Woods
->'''Played by''': Tim Mc Mullan

The Dean of Windsor who starts to use the empty St. George's House a place of retreat and reflection for other clergymen and becomes a confidant to Philip.

* TheConfidant: He and his support group of clergymen become this for Philip at the end of "Moondust" after his talk with the astronauts fail to impress him.

!!Foreign Dignitaries and Leaders

[[folder: Gamal Abdel Nasser]]
!!President Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein
->'''Played By''': Amir Boutrous

The second president of Egypt. A committed anti-colonialist, his desire for a completely independent Egypt free from the influence of the European powers will set off a chain of events leading to the Suez Crisis.

* NoSenseOfHumour: Is totally impervious to Eden's charms.
* RantInducingSlight: He's incredibly offended when Eden and his entourage turn up to a diplomatic dinner in dinner jackets, and he apparently didn't get the note on the dress-code. Though Eden believes, and it's heavily implied, that Nassar actually knows exactly what's going on and any offense is actually insincere and stage-managed in order to create anti-British sentiment that will enable Nasser to more easily win the support of the people for his goals.
* RebelLeader: Nasser led the 1952 overthrow of the monarchy and introduced far-reaching land reforms in Egypt the following year. In July 1956 he decided to seize and nationalise the Suez Canal, which until then had been administrated by the British military. We see this play out in the very first episode of Series 2, when Egyptian soldiers burst into the headquarters of the Suez Canal company in Port Said, as Nasser makes a speech to an enthusiastic crowd about the need for Egypt to take back its own resources.

[[folder: President Kennedy]]
!!President John F. Kennedy
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kennedy_9.jpg]]

->'''Played By''': Michael C. Hall

The 35th President of the United States of America. A young and glamorous figure, his charm and energy contrasts greatly with the stuffy antiquated formality of the British monarchy, but also with the private life he keeps hidden from the public.

* TheAce: In Johnson's eyes, JFK will always know the right thing to say, the right fork to pick up, and which bird not to shoot but "save" for a member of Royalty.
* TheCharmer: As per real life, JFK is depicted as a charming, slightly roguish character with a winning smile and easy confidence -- in public anyway.
* DrugsAreBad: The Kennedys are depicted as habitual drug users, who take uppers and downers to help them get through the rigours of public life and dealing with the media. How true this was is a contentious matter and still up for debate.
* FeeFiFauxPas: He's over-familiar and both he and his wife use the incorrect forms of address, referring to the Queen as "Royal Majesty" -- much to the (humorous) consternation of the Queen's private secretaries.
* WartsAndAll: Very much how he and his wife are presented; -- his controlling behaviour behind the scenes is explored in unflinching detail.

[[folder: Jackie Kennedy]]
!!Mrs Jacqueline Kennedy, First Lady of The United States
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jacquieo.jpg]]

->'''Played By''': Jodie Balfour

The wife of John F. Kennedy. As young and glamourous as her husband, she is the subject of much envy and insecurity on the part of Elizabeth, but also the source of some unexpected commonalities.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Jackie is depicted as being sweet and chatty with the Queen in person, only to cut her up -- especially her dress sense -- behind her back.
* BreakTheHaughty: After the Queen is made aware of Jackie's bitchy comments about both her dress sense and Buckingham Palace itself (a "2nd rate country hotel"), she decides to bring out the big guns and contrives a luncheon ''à deux'' at the monumentally splendid [[BigFancyCastle Windsor Castle]]. Jackie, feeling suitably sheepish and overawed by the setting, apologises for her rudeness.
* DrugsAreBad: The drugs her husband's doctor administers causes her to lose her sense of decorum and become rather loose-lipped -- which includes bad-mouthing the Queen, after acting sweet as pie to her face.
* DudeMagnet: Many of the Palace staff and even Prince Philip himself are captivated by her.
* TheFashionista: As per real life, Mrs. Kennedy's fashion sense is absolutely on-point for the period -- something which makes the Queen feel rather frumpy.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After she finds out that Elizabeth has been made aware of her bitchy remarks, she behaves ''far'' more sheepishly during a luncheon with the Queen at Windsor Castle, and apologises for her behaviour.
* NotSoDifferent: It's suggested that both Elizabeth and Jackie are ultimately rather shy women who would be much happier living a life outside of the spotlight. Which is partly why Elizabeth is so hurt when she learns that Jackie has been making snide comments about her behind her back.
* ProudBeauty: Despite the splendour of her surroundings, Buckingham Palace falls to impress her (which is slightly ludicrous, given its sheer size and opulence).
* WartsAndAll: The legendary American icon is depicted as rather more fragile than normal, and something of a snide bitch.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: She is only three years younger than the Queen in real life and actually looks younger (to the detriment of Elizabeth).

[[folder: President Johnson]]
!!President Lyndon Johnson


->'''Played By''': Creator/ClancyBrown

The 36th President of the United States of America, succeeding to the job after Kennedy's assassination. He is very aware of being in the shadow of one of the country's most popular Presidents after his tragic death, and remains deeply resentful of Britain over failing to support America in the Vietnam War.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: How he seemed to feels about [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy JFK]] who overshadows him both in life and after his tragic death, especially when the output of the war in Vietnam isn't making him any popular. Margaret exploits to bond with him.
* BadassBaritone: While not true of the real Johnson, casting Clancy Brown makes this inevitable.
* GreenEyedMonster: He very much resents his inability to break out from Kennedy's shadow and become known for his own accomplishments, which naturally makes him perfectly primed to be won over by Princess Margaret and her similar issues.
* OddFriendship: The loud, Texan Macho, middle-aged President with the young, blue blood, Royal Princess Margaret.
* TheResenter: Treats the British diplomats and the Crown's attempts at fraternising with coldness and refusal, because Wilson refused him support for the Vietnam War.
* SlobsVersusSnobs: The basis of his resentment of living in Kennedy's shadow and how he feels the Royal Family might look down upon him. Averted after meeting Margaret, a very haughty member of TheBeautifulElite that shares his raunchy sense of humor.

[[/folder]]


!! Other Characters
[[folder: Clementine Churchill]]
!!Dame Clementine "Clemmie" Churchill
[[quoteright:187:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clemmie.PNG]]
->'''Played By''': Harriet Walter

->''"I had hoped I'd seen the back of this place."''

The wife of Winston Churchill. Loyal and devoted to her husband, her devotion extends to trying to help him realise that he is no longer the man of energy and accomplishment that he believes himself to be.

----

* BurnBabyBurn: Her solution to the loathed Sutherland portrait.
* EatingTheEyeCandy: Churchill accuses her of doing this to his portrait painter, Graham Sutherland. She doesn't deny it.
* HappilyMarried: To Sir Winston.
* OhNoNotAgain: Openly unhappy about living at 10 Downing Street a second time.
* ParentingTheHusband: Clemmie has to do this on a few occasions.
** She commands Winston (in a whisper) to shut up as he rather loudly reminds her why Philip's sisters were not invited to the royal wedding... in the middle of the royal wedding.
** After Winston's stroke, she lectures him for deceiving the Queen about the extent of his health problems. She orders him back to bed in case the excitement of President Eisenhower's upcoming visit becomes too much for him... which it does seconds later.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Venetia Scott]]
!!Miss Venetia Scott
[[quoteright:235:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/venetiascott.PNG]]
->'''Played By''': Kate Phillips

->''"You were 24. All energy and hope and passion and fire. It's remarkable."''

A personal secretary to the Prime Minister.

----

* AudienceSurrogate: As she experiences the particulars and peculiarities of life working at Number 10, so do we.
* CompositeCharacter: Winston Churchill never had a secretary named Venetia Scott. However, her experiences as his secretary are in line with that of his many real-life secretaries.
* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: After reading Winston's memoirs, she is inspired to make her own mark on the world however she can. [[spoiler: Her death makes enough of a mark on Winston that he calls for a public inquiry into the cause of the Great Smog, which eventually leads to the Clean Air Act 1956.]]
* {{Determinator}}: After walking her sick roommate through the Great Smog to the hospital, she tells the skeptical doctor she can get the Prime Minister to supply more money. After he mocks her, she immediately sets off to do just that, [[spoiler: with tragic results]].
-->I'll show you!
* GirlFriday: To Winston.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold
* HeroWorshipper
* LookBothWays: [[spoiler: Subverted in that the Great Smog basically makes this impossible.]]
* LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Averted; she's had enough disappointing one-night stands that she'd rather read Winston's memoirs at home than join her roommate at the pub.
* MoralityPet: To Winston; [[spoiler: her death during the Great Smog]] finally makes him see it as more than just extreme weather.
* PluckyOfficeGirl: She manages to get her friend to a hospital amidst the toxic fog and vows to get the government involved...[[spoiler: only to get run over by a bus]].
* SatelliteCharacter: Subverted. While most of what we know of her character revolves around her relationship with Winston, we also get to meet her roommate, see her neighbourhood and learn a little bit about her family.
* SurpriseCarCrash
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Graham Sutherland]]
!!Mr Graham Sutherland
->'''Played By''': Creator/StephenDillane

An English artist of the modernist school, who is commissioned by both Houses of Parliament to paint a portrait of Winston Churchill to celebrate his eightieth birthday. Devoted to capturing truth within his art, his refusal to be bound by the idealistic and mythic view of Churchill that the man himself holds and promotes leads to painful realisations and tension.

----

* FriendlyEnemy: Sutherland is a modernist, something that hardly fails to get the deeply conservative (both in art and politics) Churchill's back up, and he accuses Sutherland at several points of being a "socialist." Nevertheless, Sutherland sincerely claims to have accepted the commission because he is an admirer of Churchill, and the two men end up finding some points of commonality and friendship. This is partly why Churchill reacts so poorly to the portrait that Sutherland ends up painting; he views it as a personal betrayal as well as political sabotage.
* JerkassHasAPoint: From Churchill's perspective, at least; he initially accuses Sutherland of performing a cruel character assassination with his portrait, but ultimately cannot argue when Sutherland retorts that all he did was paint the truth, and the truth -- as much as Churchill tries to pretend otherwise -- is simply that Churchill is an elderly man in the twilight of his life.
--> '''Sutherland:''' I showed those sketches to your wife throughout. She remarked on how accurate they were.\\
'''Churchill:''' That is the whole point! It is not a reasonably truthful image of me!\\
'''Sutherland:''' It ''is'', sir.\\
'''Churchill:''' It is not! It is cruel!\\
'''Sutherland:''' ''[Finally snapping]'' ''AGE IS CRUEL!'' If you see decay, it’s because there’s decay. If you see frailty, it’s because there’s frailty. I can’t be blamed for what is, and I refuse to hide and disguise what I see. If you are engaged in a fight with something, then it’s not with me. It’s with your own blindness.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Mrs. Churchill describes him as "a bit of a Heathcliff"
* WartsAndAll: What Churchill dislikes about his portrait by Sutherland, as he wanted the portrait to show him as Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister and Statesmen, not Winston Churchill, a tired, 80-year-old man. After arguing with Sutherland about the portrait, he admits privately to his wife that the portrait is the truth, and he can do nothing about it. As in real life, Lady Churchill later has the portrait burned as the episode ends.
* WhamLine: Compared to Stephen Dillane's otherwise understated delivery, his "AGE IS CRUEL!!!" really hits home.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Eileen Parker]]
!!Mrs Eileen Parker
->'''Played By''': Chloe Pirrie

The wife of Mike Parker, Philip's Private Secretary. She has a much less glowing view of his life and connections to royalty than he does.

----

* AwfulWeddedLife: She is married to Mike and is very unhappy with him, and it doesn't help that he isn't there for the children and cheats on her. She decides to get a divorce as soon as she could.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Elizabeth and Tommy are astonished that Eileen should speak to them so bluntly and harshly.
* MamaBear: One of the this is one of the things that motivate her to finally get a divorce, he neglected to call their daughter to wish her happy birthday.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: She delivers one to Tommy and Elizabeth, telling them that the work with the Royal family damages family and marital relations of their employees.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lady Dorothy Macmillan]]
!!Lady Dorothy Macmillan
->'''Played By''': Sylvestra Le Touzel

The wife of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. They do not have a particularly happy relationship.

----

* FatBitch: She is very heavyset and has a very unpleasant (to the point of emotionally abusive) attitude towards Harold.
* YourCheatingHeart: She has a boyfriend on the side for years, but their trysts are depicted as less of an issue than her disrespect of her husband is.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Lord Altrincham]]
!!The Right Honourable John Grigg, 2nd Baron Altrincham
->'''Played By''': John Heffernan

An English aristocrat and journalist, who holds views on the antiquated and out-of-touch nature of the monarchy and need for modernisation that causes much controversy.

----

* TheDentistEpisode: Skips out on a repeatedly postponed dental appointment throughout the season 2 episode "Marionettes."
* CompassionateCritic: He only criticizes Elizabeth because he wants the monarchy to succeed and the last longer. and part of that means modernizing the monarchy and for the monarchs to connect with the common people.
* PompousPoliticalPundit: Defenders of the monarchy view him as such.
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The end credits mention how the Crown eventually implemented nearly all of Altrincham's suggestions for reform, as well as [[MeaningfulRename the renunciation of his title]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Edward Millward]]
!!Edward "Tedi" Millward
-> '''Played by:''' Mark Lewis Jones

A proud Welsh nationalist and republican who finds himself tutoring Prince Charles in the Welsh language ahead of Charles' investiture as Prince of Wales.

----

* BerserkButton: He's enraged by intellectual laziness, especially when Charles cheerfully confesses to have not yet gone to the university's library and demonstrates complete ignorance of Welsh history.
* GoodParents: He and his wife Silvia are a very happy and close family with their young son Andras. It's lampshaded how much Charles longingly notices this.
* HappilyMarried: Met his wife at a march is clearly affectionate with her and their son, they even share the same in-jokes.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Unloads on Charles for not taking his Welsh education seriously and compares Charles unfavorably to Edward VIII and Edward VII (and presumably George V as well), who all showed little to no interest in Wales despite being past Princes of Wales.
* SeriousBusiness: He despises the monarchy, but he also won't give up the chance to teach and promote the Welsh language and impart some knowledge of Wales and its history on someone in an influential position.
* SympathyForTheDevil: For Millward, Charles represents a repressive force that's been holding down Wales for centuries. But he also comes to see Charles as a lonely soul who's been profoundly damaged by his upbringing.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Silvia Hart Millward]]
!!Silvia Hart Millward
-> '''Played by:''' Nia Roberts

A proud Welsh Nationalist and wife of Edward who is less than pleased about her husband tutoring a member of the Royal Family in the Welsh language.

----

!!Friends & Acquaintances of the Royal Family

[[folder: Lord Porchester]]
!!The Honourable Henry "Porchey" Herbert, Lord Porchester
[[quoteright:228:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/porchey.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Joseph Kloska

A childhood friend of Elizabeth and her racing manager. Known as "Porchey", the two have a close friendship, something which creates tension between Elizabeth and Philip.

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: The series implies, albeit gently, that he harbours feelings for the Queen -- something that invokes the green-eyed monster in Philip after the two of them spend time together.
* BirdsOfAFeather: He and the Queen share a passionate interest in horse breeding, racing, and husbandry.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Always known simply as "Porchey" to all friends and acquaintances. Confusingly, as the Queen points out, his father is also similarly monikered.
* NiceGuy: Sweet, jolly and laid back -- after Philip's drunken behaviour increases, the Queen seeks comfort in his presence.
* ReallyGetsAround: Not necessarily him personally, though Philip points out that his father is a known womaniser, and that therefore every aristocratic family in England has a touch of Porchey in it.

[[folder: Billy Wallace]]
!!Mr William Euan Wallace
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/billywallace.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Nick Hendrix

A friend of Princess Margaret and part of her active social circle. He proposes marriage to her, but the engagement does not last.

* DirtyCoward: After hearing his drunken boasts that he's been sleeping around, despite being engaged to Margaret, a group of her male friends forces him into taking part in a duel with pistols. Despite his manly boasting, he's depicted kicking and screaming his way to the duel site. Furthermore, when Margaret gets sick of his smug boasting and moves towards him to deliver TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, he quickly flinches back from her in fear.
* OnTheRebound: Margaret only really agrees to his proposal because she's still smarting from being forced to break it off with Peter.
* ReallyGetsAround: Once his engagement to Margaret is announced, he finds himself on the end of increased female attention -- and takes full advantage.
* TenPacesAndTurn: In defence of her honour, he is forced by a zealous group of Margaret's male friends into taking part in an ancient DuelToTheDeath.
* UnreliableNarrator: When Margaret discovers him lying drunk in bed with a pistol wound to the leg after his disastrous duel, he boasts that he manfully accepted the challenge -- however, his blusterful narration is overlaid with imagery of him screaming and crying like a baby, begging for his life.
* YourCheatingHeart: Despite a rather rushed engagement to Princess Margaret in 1956, he drunkenly boasts to her of his womanising to her very face.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Vyners]]
!!Commander Clair and Lady Doris Vyner
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vyners.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': David Yelland & Caroline Goodall

Friends of the Queen Mother, who invite her to stay with them in the aftermath of her husband's death.

----

* ArcadianInterlude: Her trip to Scotland is viewed as such by the Queen Mother. The Vyners welcoming house is incredibly isolated -- as the Queen remarks, it's "at the ends of the Earth" -- and is situated in Dunnet on the far north east coast. To the Queen Mother, her native Scotland is absolute sanctuary from the chaos of London.
* IAmVeryBritish: The Vyners have very little, if any, trace of a Scottish accent, and provide a perfect example of the near omnipresent use of RP amongst the British aristocracy, from Lands End to John o’Groats -- it is an accent of social class, as opposed to region.
* SacredHospitality: They offer the Queen Mother a much-needed bolthole in her native Scotland.

[[folder: Camilla Shand]]
!!Miss Camilla Shand
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/emerald_fennell_camilla_parker_bowles_the_crown_season_3_horizontal.png]]

->'''Played By''': Emerald Fennell (Seasons 3&4)

A friend of Prince Charles. The two fall in love, but their relationship proves to have very drastic effects in the future.

* BirdsOfAFeather: Both share a passion for horses, particularly the regal sport of polo.
* TheDitherer: Her inability to let go of her former boyfriend Andrew Parker Bowles, even as she nears an engagement with Charles, gives the Queen Mother the perfect excuse to break them up.
* FirstLove: Famously Prince Charles' first and only true love; Series 3 depicts the start of their relationship.
* PreppyName: Camilla Rosemary Shand, combining two stereotypically upper-class given names with a surname that doesn't just sound inherently Sloaney, but also has ancient aristocratic connections.

%% [[folder: Lady Diana Spencer]]
%% !!Lady Diana Frances Spencer
%%
%% ->'''Played By''': Emma Corrin (Season 4)
%%
%% The future wife of the Prince of Wales and a member of the venerable Spencer family. She came to prominence in February 1981, following her engagement to the Prince.
%% ----

%% * TheBeautifulElite: Undoubtedly beautiful, and the daughter of an English Earl, cementing her elite-status from birth.
%% * BlueBlood: Bluer even than Royal Family's, with a line stretching back to the early 1200s, her family are considered one the preeminent aristocratic families in England.
%% * NatureAdoresAVirgin: In 1981, Prince Charles was required to marry a blue-blooded virgin -- 19 year old Diana fits the bill perfectly.
%% * YoungFutureFamousPeople: Series 4 will depict the beginnings of her relationship with Charles when she was a relative unknown, but fast-forward to the time of her death and she was dubbed "the most famous woman in the world".

%% [[/folder]]

!! Her Majesty's Government
[[folder: Sir Winston Churchill]]
!!The Right Honourable Prime Minister Sir UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s1_010.jpg]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/JohnLithgow

->''"The party needs me. The country needs me.'' She ''needs me!"''

Elizabeth's first Prime Minister. The man who led Britain during the Second World War, Churchill is a dominant, commanding figure with a legendary reputation and great respect from the public who, when Elizabeth becomes queen, has recently been elected to his second term as Prime Minister. However, it quickly becomes apparent both that his best days are long behind him and that he stubbornly refuses to accept this fact.

* BornInTheWrongCentury: Well, ''born'' in the right century, he just lived far past it: Winston is truly one of the last Victorians, banging on about the Empire and uninterested in domestic affairs, hopelessly out of touch with the changing world and changing Britain of the 1950s.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Subverted. Churchill is a LivingLegend with weird habits like taking his dog to cabinet meetings or having his daily briefings read to him while he's in the tub. But while he used to be a brilliant leader despite his quirks, due to old age, he no longer is.
* TheCameo: A single appearance in Series 2 during a few WWII brief flashbacks, and [[BackForTheDead a final one]] in Series 3.
* CigarChomper: He's often seen smoking a cigar.
* ClothingReflectsPersonality: While most officials at No. 10 and in the Royal household wear contemporary suits, his uniform, even for an average workday, is a morning coat and bow tie.
* ADayInTheLimelight: "Assassins" is set during his 80th birthday and chronicles his private life and struggles during the painting of his portrait.
* DrinkOrder: Averted. Elizabeth offers tea "or something stronger" at their first private audience, but he adheres to the Victorian tradition of the Sovereign never offering refreshment to the Prime Minister.
* EmbarrassingNickname: "Crybaby," per the Duke of Windsor. Winston [[ProneToTears goes on to prove him right]], at least a little, by tearing up while reminiscing about his friendship with the late King.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When he arrives at Elizabeth's wedding, after making sure that he is the last of the guests to arrive, he delays until the choir starts singing "I Vow to Thee My Country"[[labelnote:*]]This song was not part of the real-life wedding service[[/labelnote]], and strides into the abbey, every bit the great statesmen he presents himself as, even though at the time, he was still the Leader of the Opposition. He even gives a loud aside to his wife disapproving of Lord Mountbatten's presiding over Indian independence and remarking that Philip's sisters married prominent Nazis, establishing him as a staunch Imperialist clinging to the glory of the good old days, a hopeless will. When he returns to Number 10, he is no longer the great statesman able to do the job and Great Britain is no more a great power.
* FakeBrit: John Lithgow is American.
* GloryDays: His arc on the series is essentially this; while he still commands respect due to leading Britain during the Second World War, it is made abundantly clear that his wartime reputation is the only reason he manages to keep his job; he is not up to the job of leading a modern Britain, is increasingly frail and failing, is barely interested in anything except foreign affairs, and refuses to accept that both his time as an effective leader and Britain's time as a dominant global power has passed.
* GrumpyOldMan: As cranky as they come.
* HappilyMarried: To Clementine; he is always at his most candid with her.
* IKissYourHand: Always greets Elizabeth this way.
* IronicEcho: A subtle example, but one which demonstrates CharacterDevelopment. At his first audience with the Queen, he is shocked and flustered when she politely offers him a seat and a beverage, insisting that according to tradition the Sovereign never offers the Prime Minister such comforts. This immediately establishes both his tradition-bound nature and his authority over the young, inexperienced Queen. At his last audience with the Queen, however, he is sitting in an armchair with a cup of tea beside him, having come to accept that he's too old (and ill) to go on and it's time to retire (and by extension, heralding some modernising changes).
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: His main character arc is him not knowing when to do this; eventually, he folds after his stroke in June 1953, after (ahistorically) lying to Elizabeth about the extent of his health woes.
* LivingLegend: Which is why Elizabeth is a little daunted to have him as her first Prime Minister.
* NotNowKiddo: A hilarious inversion during Elizabeth's wedding, when Clementine and a choir boy shush him after he complains about Philip's sisters' choice of husbands.
-->'''Winston''': You know why his three sisters aren't here...
-->'''Clemmie''': Shhh.
-->'''Winston''': They're all married to Nazis!
-->'''Clemmie''': Oh, do shut up.
-->'''Winston''': PROMINENT NAZIS!
-->'''Choir boy''': Shhh!
* OnlyFriend: The only political ally and relevant sympathizer of Edward VIII during the constitutional crisis and one of the few people who never really speaks ill of the late monarch, despite knowing the full extent of his transgressions. It's not reciprocal, as the Duke of Windsor has enough contempt for everybody. His friendship has its limits, however; when the Duke tries to bring up the issue of Wallis Simpson being granted the title of Her Royal Highness he is bluntly shot down.
* PassingTheTorch:
** His reluctant and slow relinquishment of the leadership in favour of Eden causes much friction. Ultimately, his stroke in June 1953 pushed him to retire.
** Later used on a meta level, as Lithgow makes a brief return in the Season 3 premiere to provide a connecting thread as the entire main cast is replaced with older actors.
* PerilousOldFool: It's made clear that age has diminished him. He sleeps through most meetings, sees everything in the context of his GloryDays, and is laid out by frequent ill health. Eventually, Elizabeth is forced to confront him with the constitutional requirement for the Prime Minister to be of sound body and mind, convincing him to resign.
* SkewedPriorities: Part of what fuels the crisis in "Act of God" is that Churchill, who just sees the Great Smog enveloping London and causing chaos as a bit of bad weather, gets a bee in his bonnet about Prince Philip taking up flying as a hobby and begins to fixate on preventing that rather than doing anything about the fact that London has been virtually brought to a lawless standstill by the smog.
* TimeShiftedActor: The one notable aversion in the series. John Lightow plays him throughout the 40s, 50s, and 60s.
* WhatTheHellHero: Elizabeth's reaction when she finds out he's been keeping information about his health from her. [[note]]Historically, Elizabeth was well-aware of Churchill's extreme ill health, and Operation Hope Not was formulated as a reaction, although it would only be implemented more than a decade later, leading Lord Mounbatten to quip, "(Churchill) kept living and the pallbearers kept dying."[[/note]]