Over-Analyzing The Crown: S3E10 Cri de Coeur

All My Posts on The Crown
S3: 1 & 2: “Olding” & “Margaretology” 3: “Aberfan” 4: “Bubbikins, 5: “Coup” 6: “Tywysog Cymru” 7: “Moondust" 8: “Dangling Man” 9: “Imbroglio” 10: “Cri de Coeur”
S4: 1: “Gold Stick” 2: “The Balmoral Test” 3: “Fairytale” ( + Cinderella References) 4: “Favourites” 5: “Fagan” 6: “Terra Nullius” 7: ”The Hereditary Principle” 8: “48:1” 9: “Avalanche”
The Medals, Sashes, and Tiaras of The Crown; Tiaras/Crowns Overviews: Season 1 ; Season 2

Princess Margaret’s marriage to Tony Armstrong Jones (Lord Snowdon) has fallen apart, as he’s having yet another fairly public affair with a younger woman who Margaret merely calls “The Thing” (but in reality, is named Lucy Lindsay-Hogg). Margaret is miserable and depressed, and ends up taking a younger lover (Roddy Llewellyn) to cheer herself up. Simultaneously, Queen Elizabeth prepares for her Silver Jubilee, celebrating her 25th year on the throne.

Antony Armstrong and Lucy Lindsay-Hogg in real life (Credit: Nikki English / Shutterstock).

Roddy Llewellyn and Princess Margaret in real life (Credit: Hulton Deutsch / Getty).

Harry Treadaway as Roddy Llewellyn and Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret in The Crown

The name of this episode comes from a heartless comment the Queen Mother makes about Margaret’s suicide attempt, calling it more of a “cri de coeur, instead of a coup de grace.” A cri de coeur is “a passionate appeal, complaint, or protest.” A coup de grace is a final blow or shot given to kill a wounded person or animal.
The episode starts with Elizabeth visiting Margaret at her home, in the aftermath of one of the couple’s fights. Broken glass lies everywhere. Margaret says it’s just part of who they are though; “War is our love. A brutal fight to the death is our mating dance.” She even makes excuses for Tony’s affair: “He can’t help himself, my priapic little snapper.”
Poor Margaret. She looks absolutely fabulous at her birthday party, with lovely 60s hair, even though her husband is conspicuously absent and off with his lover. When she states this to her family and asks them to take her side “and impose sanctions” on Tony, they’re assholes who take his side. ON HER BIRTHDAY. I understand Prince Philip’s point; Margaret can certainly be a difficult person, but surely she doesn’t deserve this level of disrespect.
I know Margaret and Tony have kids. We’ve seen them briefly in S3E7, Moondust, at the rocket launch party at the palace. Where are they during this episode? Do we ever see them? Margaret carelessly tells Elizabeth that the nanny has them but otherwise doesn’t really refer to them (to be fair, neither does Tony, except when he explains his anger over the photos of Margaret and Roddy by saying “she’s the mother of my children”). I’ve watched it multiple times and haven’t noticed them anywhere.
Margaret packs up her things for her getaway in a suitcase that looks very old and worn, possibly in a reference to how she herself feels. On her trip out, she wears an acid green shirt and skirt with brown fur coat. She wore green and brown a fair amount in both “Margaretology” and “Aberfan” as well (S3E2 and S3E2), when her marriage was rocky, but still holding together, with some good times.
The Queen and the Queen Mother also both wear a fair amount of green in this episode, possibly in reference to this being a Margaret-centric episode.
Jesus Christ, Tony left her a “love note” in a book that says “you look like a cheap pantomime dame.” What a horrible person. Does her family really not see this side of him ever?
It broke my heart to see Margaret arrive at her friend’s house sleeping in the back of the car, presumably too mentally and emotionally exhausted to deal with anything right now (and possibly a little drunk already). Her friend ushers everyone back into the house rather than wake her; I guess there isn’t really a better way to handle that situation.
This friend, by the way, apparently is Anne Tennant, Lady Glenconner, who was very close to Margaret in real life and actually wrote a memoir about her that came out this year called “Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown.” I need to buy that! Anne was a maid of honor at Elizabeth II’s coronation and an Extra Lady-in-Waiting to Margaret. This show is good enough at details that it’s possible she’s been shown throughout the three seasons without me noticing; I’ll have to go check at some point.

Roddy Llewellyn in real life (Credit: Mirrorpix / Getty).

Harry Treadaway as Roddy Llewellyn and Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret on the Crown

The swimsuit Margaret picks up for Roddy when they’re out shopping looks very similar to one he wore in real life (see comparison photos), although it’s hard to tell how close they are, when the photo is in black and white.
After Roddy shows up, Margaret actually starts smiling and laughing and looking happy again. While she’s playing the piano and singing with Roddy, she looks fucking amazing. We’ve never seen season 3 Margaret look this happy.
Also - Margaret has sung a SHIT ton in this season, taking advantage of Helena Bonham Carter’s lovely voice. I think she only sung once in the first season (a Christmas carol with her father, I believe, in S1E2), and never in the second season. Bonham Carter is also clearly having the time of her life in this role; I read in an interview that she was surprised to get the role, since her predecessor as Margaret , Vanessa Kirby (5’7”), was several inches taller than Helena (5’2”). The real life Princess Margaret was 5’1”, so Bonham Carter is much close in height. I guess this show cares far more about good acting than they do about making the actors look exactly like their predecessors or their historical counterparts (see also, Derek Jacobi taking over as the Duke of Windsor, even though at 5’8”, he was considerably shorter than his predecessor Alex Jennings, who was 6’2”).

Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth on The Crown

A real souvenir teapot made for the Queen’s silver jubilee.

I made an audible gasp when Tony pulled out old pictures of the royal family for the Queen and we see Claire Foy and Matt Smith in the photos again. It’s the first time we’ve seen any depiction of either of those actors since the S3E1 intro of Olivia Colman with the coinage changeover. It inspired a surprising amount of nostalgia in me.
Tony did design a few things for the Royal Family over the years, most notably, the stage and setup at Charles’ investiture as Prince of Wales, but I couldn’t find any evidence that he designed any Silver Jubilee memorabilia, as he and Margaret were on pretty terrible terms at that point. However, memorabilia like that did totally exist at the time and is still made today for big royal events like weddings. I actually use several royal memorabilia plates as soap dishes in my own house, including one for Elizabeth’s actual silver jubilee! (I also have one for the Queen Mother’s 90th birthday and one from Elizabeth’s father’s jubilee). Yes, I’m definitely an anglophile. :D

The real life Princess Margaret and Tony Armstrong Jones, with a focus on Margaret’s engagement ring.

Margaret’s engagement ring as shown in The Crown season 2 “Matrimonium.”

Right after the photos of Margaret and Roddy have come out in the press and she’s been revealed to the world as a “whore,” she’s seen crying in bed, wearing a ruby ring surrounded by diamonds, and sporting red fingernails. This seems to indicate her “tramp” status (which is insanely hypocritical, since Armstrong Jones had cheated on her many times at this point without even really trying to hide it. But alas, this intense shaming of Margaret did happen in real life.). Also, I’m nearly positive that this is meant to represent Margaret’s engagement ring from Tony. I can’t find a photo of Bonham Carter wearing the ring, but the shot of her crying makes it look a lot like the ring Tony proposed with in S2E7 Matrimonium and the one Princess Margaret wore in real life. In real life, Armstrong Jones “designed” the ring for Margaret, choosing a ruby center stone to reflect Margaret’s middle name, Rose.
The next scene shows Tony working in his dark room under a red light; this color theming seems to show their continuing connection, even as they both move on to loving other people. A lot of reviewers have criticized Tony’s line in this scene about how he’s still upset about the situation because Margaret’s the mother of his children as hypocritical, but I see it more as, an acknowledgment of, yes I absolutely understand her right to do this, but also, it still hurts because of our past and our familial connection through our kids.
Wow, this portrayal of the Queen Mother is really nasty, isn’t it? She’s so awful to her daughter, even though she absolutely knows that Tony has been cheating on her for ages.
When they land back in England (they couldn’t like, fly in Roddy through a back way to reduce the controversy at all? really?), Roddy and Margaret are both wearing staid colors, burgundy and greys, which are a big departure from the wild bright prints they wore while on vacation. They match each other and also, interestingly enough, match the house she lives in; this is most noticeable when she runs away from Tony and after Roddy.
I hope we see Roddy again in Season 3. I love that actor, Harry Treadaway, who I knew previously from Penny Dreadful (and didn’t recognize at all initially, as he was hardly portrayed as a heartthrob when he was Dr. Frankenstein). It also would be terribly inaccurate if we don’t see him again, as in real life, Margaret and Roddy were together for 8 years.
While calling Roddy a boy, Tony is literally wearing the youngest looking clothes we’ve ever seen him in –a blue denim jacket, blue denim jeans, and a hippie looking necklace.
“You look like a Jewish manicurist” (something he said about her to his lovers/friends in S2E7 “Matrimonium”) and “How do I loathe thee, let me count the ways” – these are the worst “love notes” ever. They’re clearly hate notes.

The Queen and Harold Wilson in real life. — The Queen and Harold Wilson in real life (Credit: PA Images).

We then take a brief break away from Margaret and Tony to go say hello to Harold Wilson again, who’s back as Prime Minister for a bit. Elizabeth’s “unconstitutional cheer” note about Wilson resembles very much something her father said about Winston Churchill in the first episode .
- King: “My dear Winston, congratulations. Would it be terribly unconstitutional of me to say how happy I am? I miss our weekly chats. Your predecessor is a fine parliamentarian. A good man. But as company, as a companion….”
  Winston: “An empty taxi pulled up at the house of commons and Mr. Atlee got out.”
- Queen: “I let out an unconstitutional cheer when you beat Mr. Heath this time.”
This also is emphasized when after he tells her that he has Alzheimers and will be stepping down soon, she offers to dine with him at Downing Street. Just like Winston Churchill. My heart. /sob/
They really were this close in real life and to date, Wilson and Churchill are the only PMs who’ve had the Queen over to Downing Street for dinner. However, his second time in office as Prime Minister lasted for two years, not the …two minutes? shown in The Crown. In reality, it would have been pretty shitty to be elected into office and then immediately resign like that.
Sometimes I want to throw things at the queen mother. Like when she asks if margaret’s suicide attempt was a cry for help.
Towards the end of the episode, the queen is back in Margaret’s bedroom where the episode started, looming over her. Margaret is in bed, noticeably sick and wearing purple, which only seems to emphasize how worn down and tired she looks. The Queen is wearing her pearl necklace while she visits Margaret., which ties back to their connection in S3E2, when they both constantly wore pearl necklaces (Margaret wears hers less now).
I looked up that pearl necklace actually; in real life, her three-strand pearl necklace was gifted to her by her father King George VI.
In the show, Margaret claims she’ll be the first divorcee in the English royal family since Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves (which is funny, but Henry VIII himself considered their marriage, and his earlier one with Catherine of Aragon, annulled, and therefore, not ended via divorce). This isn’t quite true, although she certainly was the most senior member of the royal family to get a divorce at this time. In 1967, the marriage of George Lascelles, Earl of Hareford (Elizabeth II’s first cousin), to Marion Stein ended after his mistress Patricia Tuckwell gave birth to his son. This was very scandalous for times and he was ostracized for quite a while. He married Tuckwell later that year, but had to do so in Connecticut, as at the time, registry office marriages were barred for people covered by the Royal Marriages Act and divorcees could not marry in the Church of England. His first wife Stein went on to marry the famous politician Jeremy Thorpe, who was later tried on charges of conspiracy and incitement to murder, a situation which recently gained new notoriety in “A Very English Scandal” (which is hilarious, and you should really watch it if you get a chance).
Margaret was definitely not the first royal since Henry VIII to /try/ to get a divorce. That honor goes to Prince George of Wales, who married Princess Caroline of Brunswick in 1795. George apparently detested Caroline completely and after he became King George IV, sued her for divorce based on infidelity (something he had also committed). They went through a scandalous and embarrassing divorce hearing, but Parliament refused to grant the divorce.
In many ways, Margaret’s own troubles really helped pave the way for younger royals and made their lives easier. Three of Elizabeth’s children have had divorces (Princess Anne from her husband Captain Mark Philips in 1992, Prince Andrew from his wife Sarah Ferguson in 1992, and Prince Charles from his wife Lady Diana Spencer in 1997). since the events shown in this episode and none of them were faced with quite as many obstacles as Margaret was. And although Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor, abdicated the thrown so he could marry Wallis Simpson, a divorcee with two living former husbands, and Princess Margaret was previously kept from marrying divorcee Captain Peter Townsend, Prince Harry married divorcee Meghan Markle in 2018 without any apparent trouble.
Tony Armstrong Jones and Lucy Lindsay-Hogg married in 1978 pretty soon after his divorce from Princess Margaret came through. He and Lucy separated in 2000 after it was revealed that Tony had fathered a child with another woman two years earlier.
Armstrong Jones would stay relatively close with the royal family after his divorce (although he and Margaret avoided each other) and later photographed the Queen for her 80th birthday. He also took photos of Diana, Princess of Wales. You can see some of his photography here.

The real life Queen at her Silver Jubilee

Queen Elizabeth at her Silver Jubilee in The Crown

It looks like the Queen and Philip have gone back to sleeping in separate beds again. We got a hint of that in the episode previously, when we saw the bedrooms across from each other as they discussed their upcoming 25th anniversary party. They did this throughout the first season but in the second season, it seemed that they grew closer and we saw them wake up and go to sleep in the same bed together several times.
As the Queen and Margaret talk about her upcoming Silver Jubilee, Elizabeth notes that she’s had 6 prime ministers so far and asks what she’s achieved so far. Margaret points out that she’s been there and steady and keeping things going. As she says, “If you show a single crack, we’ll see it isn’t a crack, but a chasm, and we’ll all fall in.” (no pressure on Elizabeth there, right?)
The Queen’s silver jubilee outfit features an accurate but ridiculous pink hat with cloth bells on it.