History Series / ThePalace

* MyNameIsNotDurwood: George keeps calling Jimmy "Johnny."

-->"Everyone smile and look delighted, or else."

* BottleFairy: Isabelle sure loves her vodka.

* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Alice can, anyway.

* SpySpeak: Peter Bayfield informs Richard of his father's passing with the words "tower bridge."

Complementing the upstairs shenanigans of the Royal Family are those of the palace staff. Assorted footmen, valets, maids, and pages, all with their own agendas, keep things running more or less smoothly as they jostle for position and play out their own downstairs dramas.

* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: George and Izzy.

* AtTheOperaTonight: The whole family is supposed to go to a [[RichardWagner Wagnerian]] opera at the start of the first episode, but Izzy flakes out by claiming she has to study, and Abigail gets Rich and George out of it by lying for them. Richard later expresses regret at "bugger[ing] off to the club," since his father dies during the opera.

* BeleagueredAssistant: Abigail, specifically, but Jonty and Sir Iain count too.

* {{Blackmail}}:
** Jeremy keeps Queen Charlotte's [[SecretDiary diary]] in his room every night for safekeeping, although [[UndyingLoyalty he has never read a word of it]]. Jimmy steals it and hints at all the shocking stories he will reveal if Jeremy doesn't wait on him hand and foot. It works, but Jeremy's misery at having failed the queen eats away at him, ruining Jimmy's fun. Jimmy eventually gives back the diary, admitting that he was just bluffing about the scandals -- the diary is, in fact, quite dull.
** Eleanor exploits Abi by threatening to show Rich the tell-all manuscript, but Abi eventually just [[TakeAThirdOption confesses]] to the king.
* BlackSheep: In episode 3, Sir Iain delivers some background information about James's estranged brother, Prince David, who "lives in a little cottage these days, miles from anywhere." Apparently he got divorced, then lost his whole estate after his business went bankrupt. He had (and perhaps still has) problems with drugs and alcohol. As for the bad blood between James and David, we'll never know its exact source, but Iain hints that it was David's fault and warns George not to let the same thing happen to him.

* {{Confessional}}: Eleanor informs the Archbishop of Canterbury of her mother's affair by pretending to confess her "anger" to him; of course, her real intention is to make him doubt her brother's legitimacy.
* ContrivedClumsiness: George takes out his anger on Rich by hitting him with a cricket ball. Hard.

* DoubleEntendre:

* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Alice can, anyway.

* EvilMatriarch: Charlotte is generally well-meaning, but she's got more than a few tricks up her sleeve and treats most of her children horribly at various points.

* GossipEvolution: Jimmy sees Richard and a woman (Miranda) making out on the throne, and tells his fellow live-in workers about it. Within twenty-four hours, the story has reached the national media -- in a ''much'' more salacious form.

* PropRecycling: Eleanor gleefully runs her hands through newspaper clippings disgracing Richard, but it's obvious that some of the clippings are identical -- a rare example of recycling props within a single shot.
* RebelliousPrincess: Isabelle, when she tries to renounce her HRH and runs away.
* RelationshipUpgrade: Abigail and Richard post-Episode 7, but it doesn't move past SecretRelationship (we're left hanging after the finale).
* RightInFrontOfMe: Happens a few times with Miranda before other characters learn that she is Richard's "mystery woman."

* SpareToTheThrone: George. For most of the series, he shows no interest in ever being a monarch, and tells Eleanor that if Rich dies, she can be queen. However, when Rich's legitimacy is challenged in Episode 8, making George's accession an imminent possibility, he starts to think that it might not be such a bad deal.
* SpySpeak: Peter Bayfield informs Richard of his father's passing with the words "tower bridge."

* StraightGay: David and Neil, at least compared to Jimmy and (especially) Jeremy.

* TroubledFetalPosition: In the first episode, Richard excuses himself from an overwhelming WalkAndTalk to collapse in the corner of a bathroom, breathing shakily.
* UnequalPairing: Abigail and Richard.

-->'''Charlotte:''' That's witches, sweetheart. They cut our heads off.

* VolleyingInsults:

-->'''George:''' Oh, hello there, nutter. Didn't recognize you without your straightjacket.

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* WalkAndTalk

* ContrivedClumsiness: George takes out his anger on Rich by hitting him with a cricket ball.

* InventedIndividual: "Tom and Jessica Howard," the couple Richard is supposedly visiting when he's with Miranda.

* [[StealthHiBye Stealth Hi/Bye]]:
** A pensive Rich disappears in the middle of a round of golf with George.
** George is enjoying a nice bath until he opens his eyes and jumps, startled. Not only has Sir Iain entered the room without a sound, but he's casually perched ''on the side of the tub.''

* TheWrongfulHeirToTheThrone: George, potentially. In Episode 8, Eleanor starts a rumour about Rich's possible illegitimacy so that he will be forced to take a [[DaddyDNATest paternity test]] before his coronation. She knows that if he is indeed illegitimate, she will become queen, as the Prime Minister would never allow the supremely unsuitable George to become head of state.

* [[StealthHiBye Stealth Hi/Bye]]: George is enjoying a nice bath until he opens his eyes and jumps, startled. Not only has Sir Iain entered the room without a sound, but he's casually perched ''on the side of the tub.''

* UpperClassTwit

'''Jonty:''' Do you know what they're going to say? It's going to be vicious. Something like... "What a Right Royal Dick" or... "Royal Member Gets a New Job."
'''Abi:''' "Bonk-ingham Palace."
'''Sir Iain:''' Yes, thank you, Abi.
'''Jonty:''' "Crown Jewels Get a Fresh Polish."
'''Abi:''' "My-penis-mer Abbey."

* {{Blackmail}}: Jeremy keeps Queen Charlotte's [[SecretDiary diary]] in his room every night for safekeeping, although [[UndyingLoyalty he has never read a word of it]]. Jimmy steals it and hints at all the shocking stories he will reveal if Jeremy doesn't wait on him hand and foot. It works, but Jeremy's misery at having failed the queen eats away at him, ruining Jimmy's fun. Jimmy eventually gives back the diary, admitting that he was just bluffing about the scandals -- the diary is, in fact, quite dull. Later, Eleanor exploits Abi by threatening to show Rich the tell-all manuscript, but Abi eventually just [[TakeAThirdOption confesses]] to the king.

* DontCallMeSir: In the first episode, [[PlayedForDrama Rich is distressed]] when his mother and sisters curtsy and call him "Your Majesty" for the first time. Averted otherwise.

* OneSteveLimit: There are two characters named David, but one of them is a ''Prince'' David, and [[TheGhost never appears onscreen]] anyhow.

* PlotTriggeringDeath: King James.

That this show tanked in the {{ratings}} and only got [[BritishBrevity eight episodes]] may be a genuine travesty or a godsend; as ever, YourMileageMayVary.

* EmbarrassingNickname: Alice "Fatty" Templeton (though Richard uses it more as an AffectionateNickname, and the now-thin Alice laughs it off).

* {{Blackmail}}: Eleanor, once Simon gives her a copy of Abigail's manuscript. Abi eventually just [[TakeAThirdOption confesses]] to the king.

* [[StealthHiBye Stealth Hi/Bye]]: George is enjoying a nice bath, when he opens his eyes and jumps, startled. Not only has Sir Iain entered the room without a sound, but he's casually perched ''on the side of the tub.''

-->'''Sir Iain:''' "I suppose losing all that was what brought on the breakdown. And all because of [[CrypticBackgroundReference a silly joke at King James's expense]]. But then that's what happens when you incur the wrath of the monarch."

* HollywoodAtheist: Richard. Subverted in that we're told that he doubts, and that he is wary about becoming Supreme Governor of the Church of England because he doesn't believe that he's a monarch ordained by God. But we're not given his reasoning and it's never brought up again, so apparently it's not that big of a deal.

* ErmineCapeEffect: Even ignoring the [[RequisiteRoyalRegalia coronation scene]], they're generally primed and polished whenever they're seen in public. Well. Except for George.

* {{Blackmail}}: Eleanor, once Simon gives her a copy of Abigail's manuscript. Abi eventually just confesses to the king.

* MoralMyopia: Various characters exhibit this. Abi draws attention to it in Episode 2:
-->'''Abigail:''' Can I just be sure we're all clear here... this is a hit-and-run, a man could die, and, well... we're happy to cover that up?