Annotated Quotations

It should be noted that the annotations that go along with these quotes are just my personal impressions. There would certainly be many other ways to interpret these lines.

THE QUEEN: He was kind enough to give a shy young girl like me quite an education. In time one has hopefully added experience to that education, and a little wisdom.
- Here the Queen is representing herself humbly whilst reminding Tony Blair that she has a lot of experience on her side and that he is just the latest in a long line of Prime Minister's under her reign.

THE QUEEN: He's a hard one to read.
- The Queen gives her initial impressions of Tony Blair to her secretary, Robin.

THE QUEEN: This isn't a matter of state, it's a private matter.
- The Queen displays her caution when it comes to the public's perception of the Royal family.

THE QUEEN: No member of the royal family will speak publicly about this. This is a private matter, we would all appreciate it if it could be respected as such.
- The Queen makes it clear that Diana's death is not something she believes to be in the public's interest. She is claiming it as something within Royal dominion (and therefore private), and resists the idea that the event should become public property.

TONY BLAIR: The public, ma'am? The British people, you don't think a private funeral might be denying them a chance to share in the grief?
THE QUEEN: This is a family funeral, Mr. Blair, not a fairground attraction. I think the Princess has already paid a high enough price for her exposure to the press, don't you?
- Blair is quick to recognise the importance of the event to the public and the damage the Queen could be doing by refusing to acknowledge this. The Queen however has trouble distinguishing the public from the media, and places any blame or fallout firmly on the media's shoulders.

TONY BLAIR: Her instinct is to do nothing, say nothing.
CHERIE BLAIR: Are you surprised? She hated her guts.
TONY BLAIR: They screwed up her life, let's hope they don't screw up her death.
- Cherie offers some implied characterisation in regards to the Queen. Blair worries that the Royal family may not afford Diana the honour that is due to her (or the honour that the public demands).

TONY BLAIR: The people everywhere, not just here in Britain - everywhere. They kept faith with Princess Diana. They liked her. They loved her. They regarded her as one of the people. She was the people's princess, and that's how she will stay, how she will remain, in our hearts and in our memories, forever.
ROBIN: Bit over the top, don't you think?
- Robin sums up the Royal attitude to Diana's death and then notices that the other 'regular' people around him are all crying. This symbolises how out of touch the Royals are with the public.

FUNERAL DIRECTOR: There's simply no precedent for the funeral of an ex-HRH.
TONY BLAIR (afterwards): "Precedent?" Where do they find these people?
- This sequence signifies the Royal obsession with protocol and Blair's disbelief at how dispassionate they are in regards to the death of Diana.

PRINCE CHARLES: My mother, the Queen, comes from a generation not best equipped. She grew up in the war... I think what we need, what this country needs, is a more modern perspective.
- Charles recognises the oncoming media backlash heading for the Royal family and tries to pre-emptively ally himself with Blair in order to represent himself as a more likeable figure. Whether he truly believes in this sentiment is unknown, the implication is that he is primarily concerned with self-preservation.

WOMAN ON STREET: She gave us so much. Why couldn't we just give her a little bit and left her alone? It hurts me so much.
- An example of the grief experienced by the public, shown to us in the context of the film in order to truthfully represent what the greater public was going through at the time. In this sense, the 'masses' are represented non-fictionally via archival footage.

THE QUEEN: If a photographer were to see them it might give out the wrong signal.
- The Queen refers to Prince Philip's idea of taking the boys hunting, and displays her fear and distrust of the media and how it might misrepresent the Royal family to the public.

PRINCE CHARLES: Whatever else you thought of Diana, she was a wonderful mother - you must never forget it. She adored those boys... warm, physical, never afraid to show her feelings.
THE QUEEN: Especially whenever a photographer was in sight.
- Here the Queen offers a conflicting view of Diana's relationship to the media. It's certainly oppositional to the Earl of Spencer's view (as detailed in his eulogy), and it also contradicts the way the Queen represents the media's role in Diana's death to Blair earlier in the film (see quote further up the page about "paying a high enough price"). This suggests that the Queen doesn't even represent herself truthfully to Blair, and that her personal viewpoint is that Diana courted the media's attention (something that is also alluded to by the film itself in the scene that recreates Diana's death, see Film Techniques: Visual for more). Charles' dialogue also shows how he intends to speak of Diana now that she is dead, which in turn may represent him in a more positive light to the public.

PRINCE CHARLES: That was the extraordinary thing about her - her weaknesses and transgressions only made the public love her more. They hate us. Why do they hate us so much?
THE QUEEN: Not us, dear.
- Charles continues to struggle with the public's perception of both himself and the Royal family. The Queen demonstrates her aloof position by pointing out that Charles is the source of Royal unpopularity.

MARTIN BASHIR: Do you think you'll ever be Queen?
PRINCESS DIANA: No, I don't think I will.
MARTIN BASHIR: Why is that?
PRINCESS DIANA: I'd like to be a Queen of people's hearts, but I don't see myself being a Queen of this country. I don't think many people would want me to be Queen... actually, when I say 'many people' I mean the establishment I married into, because they decided that I'm a non-starter.
- Archival footage of the infamous Panorama interview that Martin Bashir conducted with Princess Diana (see links for more). Diana talks about the royal family as an establishment and how she prefers to represent herself.

TONY BLAIR: Will someone please save these people from themselves.
- Blair's reaction to Royal flag protocol. The flag above the palace denotes the presence of a monarch only, whereas the public percieves it as the flag of their nation and not the flag of one family. There has been a long tradition of not lowering the flag for any reason other than the absence of the monarch. The issue that arises from this in the film highlights how much times have changed.

PRINCE CHARLES: The two Dianas - the public's and our's - bear no relation to one another at all.
- A very important quote that highlights the difference between private and public personas, something that any significant member of the Royal family has to deal with in great spades.

THE QUEEN: That's the way we do things in this country... quietly, and with dignity. It's what the rest of the world has always admired us for.
- The Queen blames the press for the public's reaction (she alludes to them being whipped into a frenzy by the media) and naively believes that restrained grief and sober mourning is the dignified and correct reaction that will win out in the end. It demonstrates once again how much times have changed and how out of touch the Queen has become.

THE QUEEN: When you no longer understand your people maybe it is time to hand over to the next generation
- The Queen acknowledges a shift in values in the world. Diana's death and the public's outcry at the Royal family brings this to the Queen's attention. She isn't able to see it until something like this happens to bring it well and truly out into the open.

QUEEN MOTHER: Do you think any of your predecessors would've dropped everything and gone up to London because a bunch of hysterics carrying candles needed help with their grief?
- The Queen Mother refers to Royal traditions that go back a thousand years, and encourages the Queen to fight for the institution she represents by not being dictated to by the public in the slightest.

TONY BLAIR: I actually think history will show it was a good week for you
THE QUEEN (knowingly): And an even better one for you, Mr. Blair.
TONY BLAIR: But there are 52 weeks in a year, ma'am. Two and a half thousand since you became Queen. And when the time comes to assess your legacy they wont remember these few days.
THE QUEEN: Oh really? You don't think that what affection people once had for this institution has been diminished?
TONY BLAIR: No, not at all. You are now more respected than ever.
THE QUEEN: I gather some of your closest advisors were less fullsome in their support.
TONY BLAIR: One or two... but as a leader I could never have added my voice to that chorus.
THE QUEEN: Because you saw all those headlines and you thought, "One day that might happen to me".
- The Queen foresees a similar thing happening to Blair one day (IE. The media turning on him) and suggests that his support for her comes from his own knowledge of that and not out of their kinship as leaders. This deflates his enthusiasm and the Queen demonstrates that she still has the balance of power on her side despite all that has happened. This exchange also examines the way history will represent both of them.

THE QUEEN: Nowadays people want glamour and tears, the grand performance. I'm not very good at that. I prefer to keep my feelings to myself and foolishly I believed that's what the people wanted from their Queen - not to wear one's heart on one's sleeve. Duty first, self second.
- The Queen reflects on the way the public would like her to appear compared to the way she represents herself.