The expanding foreign political figures featured in The Crown (2016). One Shot Characters for the most part. Beware of spoilers.
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Foreign Dignitaries and Leaders
Africa
Gamal Abdel Nasser
His Excellency Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, 2nd President of Egypt
Played By: Amir Boutrous
The second president of Egypt (1956-70). A committed anti-colonialist, his desire for a completely independent Egypt free from the influence of Britain and France will set off a chain of events leading to the Suez Crisis.- Bait-and-Switch: He reveals that he knows that Eden was the youngest brigade major in the British Army during WW1, and that he is more decorated than Nasser himself as an Egyptian colonel...then promptly calls him Captain Eden.
- Establishing Character Moment: He comments that Eden's Arabic is 'too good' when his colleague compliments it, and when he finally meets Eden at the British Embassy, he shows up in his uniform instead of a dinner jacket, indicating that he will challenge Britain no matter what.
- It's Personal: His snubs at Eden and his defiant behavior lead to Eden having a personal grudge against Nasser, which Eden will elevate to a national level by having Britain invade Egypt.
- No Sense of Humour: Is totally impervious to Eden's charms in Gloriana, and cleverly insults him several times.
- Occupiers Out of Our Country: His attitude to the British from the get-go, to Eden's chagrin. It's shown that the Egyptian population very much agrees with Nasser, with graffiti on the walls of a destroyed British hotel reading 'Death to the imperialists', and their overjoyed celebration when they learn the canal has been nationalized.
- Rebel Leader: 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 a British corporation. 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.
President Nkrumah
The Right Honourable Kwame Nkrumah, 1st President of Ghana
- Dancing Is Serious Business: The Queen dances with Nkrumah — the foxtrot, specifically — as part of a high-stakes political gamble that could decide the balance of Soviet power in Africa, which in the early 1960s was fast emerging as a Cold War battleground. To everyone's relief, the dance is a success. The implication is that, in exchange for his photo op dancing with the queen, Nkrumah will "come back to the fold" and squash Soviet hopes for Africa.
- Full-Circle Revolution: Mountbatten mentions that Nkrumah was ousted in a coup by 500 men in 1966.
- Rebel Leader: He helped coax Ghana toward independence, under the watchful eye of a British governor. During that time, he nurtured a cult of personality, promoted by newspapers as a kind of towering superhero who would soon vanquish the imperialists who had occupied the country for nearly a century.
- Toxic Friend Influence: A huge part of the Queen's diplomatic visit to Ghana is to "bring Nkrumah back into the fold" and prevent him from cozying up to the Soviets, who had their eyes on Ghana as a key African ally. In-series, that embrace of Soviet ideology is dramatized by a scene in which a portrait of the Queen is taken down in the Ghanaian parliament building and replaced with one of Lenin.
The Americas
President Eisenhower
The Honorable Dwight David Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States
Voiced by: Matthew Marsh
The 34th President of the United States (1953-61). Churchill presses the Palace to invite Eisenhower to England to discuss escalating tensions with Russia but ultimately the man himself doesn't make an appearance.- Affectionate Nickname: His nickname 'Ike' is used a few times. In Real Life, "I like Ike" badges were used as promotional material for his '52 election campaign.
- Artistic License – History: The Queen is told, in the mid 50s, that the "military industrial complex" is what concerns Eisenhower the most. In reality, he didn't express this concern until his farewell speech in 1961, on his way out of the office.
- Big Good: Of the Western Bloc in the early nuclear age.note
- Meet the New Boss: The new leader of the then called Free World. While not villainous, his American administration (shown in the figure of Secretary of State Dulles) has a somewhat unsympathetic vibe, pitying with disdain on the sorry state of Deputy PM Eden, whose ill health is used as an analogy for the declining status of Great Britain in the world order.
- Foil: To Churchill. Both are senior statesmen who achieved glory during WWII, with key differences:
- By the 1950s, Churchill is way past his prime and clinging to his Glory Days, whereas Eisenhower is at the peak of his power on the global stage and establishing doctrine.
- Both men had a military background, but Winston was an ideology-driven political animal who chose politics over the armed forces early in life and acted as a globally inspiring Armchair Commander during WWII, while Ike was a career officer, the actual Allied Supreme Commander, and only entered politics reluctantly, believing that generals should abstain from seeking high political office.
- Four-Star Badass: WWII Allied Supreme Commander Europe and later NATO. The man led Operation Overlord. note
- The Ghost: His impending visit to London and the Palace itself drives much of the plot of the Series 1 episode "Scientia Potentia Est", but it never comes to pass and it's finally cancelled. Images of him shown while Elizabeth is reading a book are not pictures of an actor but the historical ones, his voice, however, is portrayed by Matthew Marsh in a radio broadcast in Series 2 episode “Beryl.”
- Passing the Torch: It's clear that Western supremacy has been taken over by Ike, but Winston insists that this transfer of power has yet to be officiated, by him obviously.Winston: In the matter of world governance, they are not yet ready. They need an experienced and elder power to guide them, school them.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Churchill's rather paternalistic opinion of the man and his country.Winston: Americans like to wave the big stick and speak with a loud voice.
President Kennedy
The Honorable John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States
- The Ace: 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.
- The Casanova: His ladykiller ways are briefly shown, chatting up some girls at the end of a public event while his wife quietly observes.
- The Charmer: As per real life, JFK is depicted as a charming, slightly roguish character with a winning smile and easy confidence — in public anyway.
- Doomed by Canon: Having appeared prominently throughout, the Series 2 episode “Dear Mrs Kennedy” concludes with his tragic assassination, which compels the Queen to write the titular condolences letter.
- Drugs Are Bad: 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.
- Fee Fi Faux Pas: 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.
- Foil: To Queen Elizabeth, both being young world leaders in the early 60s who were not the apparent heirs of their dynasties upon birth (Kennedy's elder brother was killed in WWII, the elder brother of Elizabeth's papa was forced to abdicate). While Elizabeth would have preferred to grow up out of the spotlight, away from court, away from the scrutiny and the visibility, with a simpler happier life as a wife and mother, like any other ordinary English countrywoman, JFK is an elected charismatic leader and a natural-born public speaker who loves the limelight, but who in private is portrayed as a cruel person towards his wife. His presidency was nicknamed Camelot, like the Arthurian court, and his casual charm and hip energy greatly contrasts with the stuffy antiquated formality of the British monarchy.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Collectively with his wife, he's the target of some regal envy due to his hip, young charm.Philip: It's like meeting royalty.
- Eagle Land: He represents the raw, unrefined but dynamic mighty power of America.
- Killed Offscreen: The focus is set on the Palace's reaction to the news of his shooting. Philip finally tells Elizabeth that Kennedy has died.
- Manipulative Bastard: When Jackie finds out her catty comments have gotten back to Elizabeth, she discovers Kennedy had hoped she would insult the Queen in some way in order to drive the British into resolving a brewing global issue over Ghana possibly switching alliances to the Soviets.
- Stepford Smiler: Like his wife. Unlike his wife, he is much more controlling and violent, rather than bitchy and unhappy, in private.
- Too Cool to Live: Invoked over and over in Season 3. While Johnson repeatedly points out that this is at least a somewhat inaccurate portrayal of Kennedy, nobody will stop believing this of him.
- Warts and All: Very much how he and his wife are presented; — his controlling behaviour behind the scenes is explored in unflinching detail.
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: His accent is another contentious point regarding JFK's characterization in the series, being found misplaced and definitely not from New England.
- Young and in Charge: In his mid-forties, he was the second-youngest President in American history, senior only to Teddy Roosevelt (and the youngest ever to win the office by election).
Jackie Kennedy
Mrs Jacqueline Lee Kennedy (née Bouvier), First Lady of the United States
Played By: Jodi 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.- '60s Hair: As one of the premier fashion icons of the decade, Jackie launched a thousand imitators by pioneering 'The Bouffant' — hair styled so as to stand out from the head in a rounded shape.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: 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.
- Break the Haughty: 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 Windsor Castle. Jackie, feeling suitably sheepish and overawed by the setting, apologises for her rudeness.
- Broken Bird: Along with the Stepford Smiler traits, Jackie is overwhelmed emotionally by her situation. This reaches its zenith after returning from Dallas, as Elizabeth and the rest of the world watches her disembark Air Force One next to her husband's coffin, still wearing the pink dress covered in his blood.
- Drugs Are Bad: 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.
- Dude Magnet: Many of the Palace staff and even Prince Philip himself are captivated by her.
- The Fashionista: As per real life, Mrs. Kennedy's fashion sense is absolutely on-point for the period — something which makes the Queen feel rather frumpy.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: When she returns to England for a private visit — and to apologise for what she said behind Elizabeth's back — she arrives at Windsor Castle in a somber, grey outfit — including a pillbox hat — somewhat similar to what she would wear to Dallas...
- Green-Eyed Monster: Collectively with her husband, she's the target of some regal envy due to their young charm and global celebrity status.Queen Mother: She's so young! I always thought she was your age!
Elizabeth: She is. - Hidden Depths: As Prime Minister MacMillan mentions about the Kennedys' visit to Paris, Jackie is not only fluent in French but studied at the Sorbonne and knows history, politics, and philosophy well enough to impress the French intellectuals.
- My God, What Have I Done?: 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 behavior.
- Ojou: The United States expressly lacks a noble class like the United Kingdom's, and the nearest equivalent would be old, high-status, wealthy families like the Bouviers. Whilst Jackie isn't an aristocrat, or Lady in title, she has the bearing of one. Her sister however, glimpsed in-series during Jackie's infamously loose-lipped dinner party faux pas, did land a prince, and became 'Her Serene Highness Princess Caroline Lee Radziwiłł' after she married Polish aristocrat Prince Stanisław Albrecht Radziwiłł in 1959.
- Proud Beauty: She knows how to play up her natural good looks.
- Stepford Smiler: Which involves chattering earnestly and being terribly charming to everyone in public, but bitching about the Queen in private while being desperately unhappy and addicted to drugs.
- Warts and All: The legendary American icon is depicted as rather more fragile than normal, and something of a snide bitch.
- Younger Than They Look: She is only three years younger than the Queen in real life and actually looks younger (to the chagrin of Elizabeth).
President Johnson
The Honorable Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th President of the United States
- Always Someone Better: How he seems to feel about 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 at all popular. Margaret exploits this complex to bond with him.
- Commonality Connection: Margaret is able to establish a bond with Johnson through their shared frustration of feeling in the shadow of other people (Elizabeth for Margaret, Kennedy for Johnson). From there on, Margaret has him eating out of the palm of her hand.
- Crazy Enough to Work: By 1965, the United Kingdom was in debt to the USA to the tune of over a hundred million dollars, and despite all diplomatic efforts, the Government had failed at every turn to persuade Johnson to help with a bail-out. The final desperate solution? Send in Princess Margaret — a woman known for having a serious case of foot-in-mouth disease to charm the pants off him with a royal visit and secure the cash. It worked.
- Good Ol' Boy: Although a liberal, in Real Life he was about as close to this trope's ideal as a human being could possibly be, though in-series, his portrayal is a little more embittered and aggressive.
- Green-Eyed Monster: 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.
- Half-Witted Hillbilly: Invoked, while not actually true of Johnson (a classroom teacher before entering politics), in that he is regarded as such in-universe as being much less intelligent than the exalted Kennedy.
- Large and in Charge. An archetypal example of Texas' vastness, towering over his interlocutors at 6'4.
- Large Ham: LBJ's colorful language and overbearing demeanor is well reproduced by his actor.
- Male Restroom Etiquette: He utterly lacks it, loudly conducting business while using the facilities. The series actually downplays this habit, as the real Johnson would conduct meetings while defecating with the door wide open so as to be in full view of his aides.
- No Inside Voice: Johnson always speaks incredibly loudly.
- Odd Friendship: The loud, Texan, macho, middle-aged President who came from a modest background with the young, royal Princess Margaret. The two bond over a shared sense of being overshadowed, and a love of bawdy limericks.
- Pride: An invitation to shoot at Balmoral with the Queen herself is perhaps the most exclusive invitation in the world, though he palms it off out of sheer bloody-mindedness.
- The Resenter: Treats the British diplomats and the Crown's attempts at fraternising with coldness and refusal — mostly because Prime Minister Harold Wilson refused him support for the Vietnam War.
- Slobs Versus Snobs: 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 The Beautiful Elite that nonetheless shares his raunchy sense of humour.
- Younger Than They Look: Johnson is in his late 50s and was born just a decade before Kennedy, but initially, he looks a bit older, gray-haired and wrinkled, like a man from the black-and-white era who lacks the colorful dynamism of media darling JFK. Despite the outward appearance, he was in no way a dinosaur, being instead a boisterous and energetic leader, as the series reflects.
The Apollo 11 Astronauts
Commander Neil Armstrong, Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. and Command Module Pilot Michael Collins
Played By: Henry Pettigrew (Armstrong), Felix Scott (Aldrin), Andrew Lee Potts (Collins)
The Apollo 11 Astronauts who made the historic 1969 Moon Landing and are invited to visit Buckingham Palace.- Boring, but Practical: Their necessary personas, as the Queen rightly tells Prince Philip, due to the emphatically rules-based job they must perform.
- Broken Pedestal: Prince Philip goes full on Fan Boy for the Apollo crew, and contrives a private meeting with them so he can hear their stories and bathe in their wisdom, having been mightily impressed by their tremendous achievement. In reality, he finds them to be ordinary joes with little social sophistication or gravity, who were simply doing what they were told.
- Nice Guy: They are very pleasant-mannered men.
- Skilled, but Naive: Clearly amongst the most gifted of humans in terms of their astronautical skills, but their capacity for in-depth conversation is limited, and they come across vaguely child-like in their interactions with the Prince.
The Commonwealth
Prime Minister Bob Hawke
The Honourable Robert "Bob" Hawke, 23rd Prime Minister of Australia
- '50s Hair: He was famously called "the Silver Bodgie", in reference to a late 1950s Aussie youth subculture
where young men would wear their hair in a rockabilly style. The length of his sideburns are a later influence. - Aggressive Categorism: Despite putting forth a fairly robust argument for an Australian republic, he also resorts to some racially-charged slurs against “the poms” during a TV interview to get the crowd on-side. It fails, as Australia warms to Diana following her sensational royal tour.
- The Bogan: Downplayed, but often labelled as such in the press, and thoroughly self-embraced. Hawke was the first Australian PM from a relatively humble background, speaking in an unadorned standard Australian accent and embracing his down-to-earth, beer-sculling, blokeish, sports-loving, man-of-the-people image.
- Brutal Honesty: While cordial with Prince Charles, he is still outspoken about his beliefs regarding independence and of how Diana made both of them look foolish.
- Defector from Decadence: In his eyes. He strongly disapproves of Australia being part of the Commonwealth, and having a monarch, Queen Elizabeth, as Australia's Head of State, feeling Australia should 'grow up' and have its independence. The people, however, are not with him and to the present day the Crown remains in the exact same role as it was during the events depicted.
- Demoted to Extra: After being prominently featured in "Terra Nullius", Hawke narrowly averts being a One-Shot Character as he's shown again in "48 to 1", appearing in a non-speaking role when the 1985 Commonwealth meeting photo is taken.
- Drinking Contest: One of the very first things the viewer learns about him is that he held a world-record for drinking a yard glass of beer. Truth in Television, and he was very proud of it.
- Graceful Loser: Despite the Prince and Princess of Wales' trip to Australia stomping out the battle of independence, he is polite and cordial with Charles and even admits that Diana was the driving force for the massively positive PR boost to stay in the Commonwealth.
Sir Sonny Ramphal
The Honourable Sir Shridath Surendranath "Sonny" Ramphal, 2nd Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations
Played By: Tony Jayawardena
A Guyanese politician who was the second Commonwealth Secretary-General (1975-90), and a staunch ally of the Queen in her wranglings with Mrs Thatcher over sanctions against South Africa.- Dream Team: Mrs Thatcher is utterly formidable and unbending at the best of times, therefore it requires the combined diplomatic brain-power of Sonny, Palace writer and press secretary Michael Shea, and the Queen herself to dislodged the PM from her position of reluctance in forcing sanctions against apartheid South Africa. In the end, they convince Thatcher, the last remaining Commonwealth Nation Head and "1" of the titular "48:1", to sign off on economic "signals" in monitoring the rogue nation's actions.
- The Good Chancellor: He harbours a deep commitment to human rights, and became the first man from the “third world” to be appointed the Secretary General of the Commonwealth. He makes it his mission in Series 4 episode "48:1" to help the Queen and her government convince PM Thatcher to agree to sanctions to end the apartheid regime in South Africa.
- Nice Guy: Incredibly congenial and jolly for a senior official, the Queen is clearly very fond of him and respectful of his advice.
- Self-Made Man: From fairly humble beginnings in what was British Guiana, he went on to hold one of the most prestigious and trusted positions in the world as Commonwealth Secretary-General.
Eurasia
Emperor Hirohito
His Imperial Majesty Emperor Hirohito, 124th Emperor of Japan
Played By: Togo Igawa
The Emperor of Japan (1926-1989) and an acquaintance of the Duke of Windsor’s who disapproves of him giving up his throne.- The Emperor: He and his modern descendants are the last monarchs in the world to bear the title ‘emperor’ — traditionally seen as the highest rank of all. He is posthumously known as the Shōwa Emperor or Emperor Shōwa.
- Historical Downgrade: The huffy, judgemental attitude displayed by Hirohito towards David's decision to abdicate is pure fiction. As young crown princes, the two men became fast friends during the Imperial Family's tour of Europe in 1921, and Hirohito was well-aware of the fact that David had abdicated to marry Wallis; Hirohito himself had also cast aside centuries of tradition when he chose his own bride, refusing to accept the traditional role of concubines and determining that he would be faithful to just one woman.note Hirohito's visit to Villa Windsor was therefore simply an unofficial house-call made as one old friend who wished to be reunited with another.
- Hypocrite: A Riddle for the Ages is how liable Hirohito was for the crimes of the Japanese Empire during World War II. That he has the gall to be judging Edward VIII is rich when he is debatably an escaped war criminal.
- Lord Country: The Imperial House of Japan's dynastic name is 'Yamato', which by extension is a name for the whole of Japan itself.
- Physical God: Before 1945, and the defeat of fascist Japan by the Allied Forces, Hirohito was truly thought of by many Japanese as a literal divine being, claiming descent, as all his predecessors did, from the sun-goddess Amaterasu herself.
- Royal Blood: His lineage and role as the 124th Japanese Emperor is the oldest of any character depicted by the series, with Queen Elizabeth being the 63rd ruler in her line (87th if you go all the way back to Cerdic) and only Geoffrey Fisher's title and role as the 99th Archbishop of Canterbury coming anywhere close in terms of longevity.
- With Friends Like These...: He’s supposedly an old acquaintance of the Duke of Windsor’s but Hirohito is presented as incredibly irritated by and judgmental of David.
President Yeltsin
President Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, 1st President of the Russian Federation
Played By: Anatoliy Kotenyov
The first President of Russia, he came to office in 1991 after the fall of the Communist Regime. He pays a diplomatic visit to Buckingham Palace in 1994, which unearths some uncomfortable family history for the Queen and Prince Philip.- The Alcoholic: Yeltsin was a famous boozehound, and after Prime Minister John Major returns from a Russian visit, he relays to the Queen that Yeltsin (and he himself) were drunk the entire duration of his trip.
- Cultural Posturing: Feeling a little deflated after the Queen takes him to task over the destruction of Ipatiev House, where her Romanov cousins were murdered by the Bolsheviks, he puffs himself back up, noting that they have "shithouses in St Petersburg" bigger than Buckingham Palace.
- Just Following Orders: Yeltsin claims that the demolition of Ipatiev House, in his oblast, was ultimately an order from Brezhnev and Andropov and that he, being just a local authority, had no other option than to execute it.
- Meet the New Boss: The leader of The New Russia is a declared Anglophile, but his friendliness is outwardly at best.
- Tactful Translation: During a photocall, he openly insults the Queen in Russian, demanding to know why she took him to task over the destruction of Ipatiev House and noting that if she's not careful, she'll "end up with a bayonet up her arse too" — all of which is translated into frothy pleasantries by his aid.
- Vodka Drunkenski: Incarnate. He's presented as a boorish, drunken yob who, whilst exhibiting a fondness for all things royal, is also put out when the Queen chastises him over past Russian atrocities personally involving her family.
