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(crowd cheering)

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The crown.

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(uplifting music)

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Once the ultimate symbol of power

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throughout the world.

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We want the king.

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We want the king!

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But today, the very nature

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of royalty is under threat.

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In this landmark series,

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we use specialized archive colorization techniques

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to bring to life over 100 years of royalty.

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(dramatic music)

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And discover why over half the world's royal families

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have lost their thrones.

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While others have kept their crowns on their heads.

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(dramatic music)

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In this episode, Britain's King George V

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must keep his country safe

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from the dangers of fascism and Nazi Germany.

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George V realized that

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either you were gonna give in to them

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or you were gonna take them on.

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But his eldest son's affair

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with married woman, Wallis Simpson,

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is throwing the crown into crisis.

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There was a huge worry at the time

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it would ruin the monarchy.
(dramatic music)

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And when the prince befriends Hitler,

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the British government and Royal family have

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to take drastic action before it's too late.

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And so Edward's situation and deep Nazi beliefs

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become a very real problem for the British royal family.

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(dramatic music)

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(upbeat music)

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It's the 1920s.

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World War I is over.

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It's time to celebrate.

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After the First World War,

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people were just happy to be alive.

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(upbeat music)

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We're through the worst of it,

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we fought the war to end all wars,

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and now we can look to the future.

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Europe's major capital cities

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like Paris and London catch fire with creativity.

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And a new music scene emerges from America.

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Jazz.

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The young live fast and party hard.

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The decade soon becomes known as the Roaring Twenties.

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{\an8}Why were they roaring?

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{\an8}They were roaring because people wanted to let rip.

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(people cheering)

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(suspenseful music)

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But there's another side to this post-war era.

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The faces and bodies of the men

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who sacrificed themselves for this peace.

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So during the 20s,

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there was this sort of ghostly element to it.

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{\an8}The men who'd survived in the trenches,

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{\an8}not all of them came back whole.

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(people shouting)

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The war's survivors are shell-shocked

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and many are angry at the royal rulers

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who led them into a world war.

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Anti-monarchy feelings are sweeping across the continent.

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The royal families of Germany, Austria-Hungary,

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and Russia have already lost their thrones.

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(suspenseful music)

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And in Britain, the monarchy is under threat

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from the spread of communist ideas.

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(suspenseful music)

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King George V has clung on to his power.

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But with growing discontent at home after the horrors

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of World War I, could he be next?

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{\an8}There's no doubt that George V

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{\an8}was affected by this revolutionary turmoil

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{\an8}at the end of the First World War.

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He's seen two of his cousins,

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Nicholas and Wilhelm, topple from their thrones.

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He knew that if he was going to retain his throne,

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{\an8}he was going to have to do something

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{\an8}to connect with his people.

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While George looks for a way

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to keep the British public on his side,

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he witnesses one of his royal allies in Europe

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take a huge political gamble to stay on the throne.

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(dramatic music)

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King Victor Emmanuel is the ruler of Italy.

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Like King George in Britain,

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Victor's Italy is also on the winning side in World War I.

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But victory has brought Italy nothing but pain.

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(suspenseful music)

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Italy's a total mess after World War I.

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{\an8}And, like for many participants in World War I,

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{\an8}there is a lot of frustration

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that the war did not give Italy what it wanted.

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The people have had

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to make enormous sacrifices to survive.

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And the financial cost of the war

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is now causing a political crisis.

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(suspenseful music)

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Italian democracy is very different

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from Britain's at this time.

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The Italian king is not just a figurehead.

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He has all the power

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and is the only person who can appoint the prime minister.

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Italy in the 1920s has a form of parliamentary democracy,

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but the ultimate authority in the country is still the king.

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He decides whether the country goes to war

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and, crucially, he appoints the prime minister.

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The King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele,

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is struggling to keep the country together.

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There is a quick succession of governments

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and parliamentary votes of no confidence.

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And, in fact, no political faction can gain enough tract

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and enough support to hold the country together for a while.

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Italy is slowly descending into political chaos.

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(suspenseful music)

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The people of Italy are desperate

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for a political alternative.

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But if communism takes hold in Italy,

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this will put the king in a dangerous position.

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Victor Emmanuel's power in Italy after World War I

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is fragile because of the revolutionary spread,

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particularly the spread of communism,

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after the Russian Revolution.

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There is no place for monarchs in that system.

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(dramatic music)

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The Italian king observes

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a new right-wing figure emerge from the political chaos.

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A man who does believe in hierarchy and social order.

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His name is Benito Mussolini,

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and he thinks he can make Italy great again.

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Mussolini wanted to revive the Roman Empire

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and create a massive, shall we say,

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Italian space in the Mediterranean

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for the Italian race to thrive.

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Mussolini's vision for Italy

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follows a new ideology called fascism.

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Fascism is a ultra-nationalist, authoritarian, racist

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political movement that believed in state control

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of the economy, the regimentation of society.

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And what fascism did not accept is that everyone was equal.

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(dramatic music)

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When Victor Emmanuel hears about fascism, he's intrigued.

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Could Mussolini defend Italy from communism,

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and help him stay on the throne?

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(suspenseful music)
(people shouting)

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Mussolini's right-wing party rapidly grows in popularity.

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And at a fascist rally in October, 1922,

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Mussolini gives his followers a command

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to march on the capitol of Italy

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and the seat of the king's power, Rome.

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(suspenseful music)

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(people shouting)

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When the fascists arrive in the city, things turn violent.

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They demand that their leader

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becomes the new prime minister.

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By unleashing this, you know,

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effectively a coup d'etat against the existing government

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in Italy, there is a tremendous threat of bloodshed.

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(suspenseful music)

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Now Victor Emmanuel must make a choice.

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Will he allow the fascists to continue the march

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or will he use his military to crush them?

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The then prime minister,

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who's a liberal prime minister,

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says to the king, look,

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you know, these guys are marching on Rome, but don't worry.

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The military have assured me

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we can deal with them, no problem.

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You just need to give me the order.

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(suspenseful music)

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But Victor Emmanuel never gives the command.

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Instead the king decides

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to make Mussolini his new prime minister.

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(dramatic music)

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Victor Emmanuel's decision to align himself with fascism

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is motivated by a royal instinct to survive.

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Vittorio Emanuele may have thought

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that Mussolini was his best chance

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at bringing some order to Italy.

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(suspenseful music)

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I think he's beginning to associate in his own mind

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with fascism being the way forward.

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At first, it seems the plan works.

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(suspenseful music)

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Mussolini creates effective infrastructure, jobs,

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and gets the economy moving enough

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to alleviate many of the problems caused

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by the economic crisis.

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The King of Italy keeps his crown.

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But, over time, Mussolini shows his true colors.

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His leadership transforms into a dictatorship

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and Mussolini changes its title from prime minister

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to Il Duce, the leader.

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While Victor Emmanuel keeps his crown for now,

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it's clear to every Italian who really wields power.

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(suspenseful music)
(people cheering)

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The fate of the King of Italy is a dire warning

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for Britain's George V.

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Royal flirtations with fascism can backfire.

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George needs another way to hold on to power.

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They hatch this plan,

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the king and his family have to find a way

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of really connecting with the British people.

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And particularly, interestingly,

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the British working classes.

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(people cheering)

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{\an8}Although today, of course,

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{\an8}we take it for granted that the royal family

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will smile and shake hands and visit hospitals

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and chat to people,

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that was not the case with the Victorian monarchy.

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And it was very much King George V

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that moved it into the modern era.

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(suspenseful music)

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During the 1920s, George V goes further

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than just meeting with his people.

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He appoints Ramsay MacDonald,

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Britain's first prime minister from the Labor Party,

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the party for the working people.

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In many ways,

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George V creates the idea of the British monarchy

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as everyone's monarchy,

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not just the elites' monarchy.

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(people cheering)

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Then in 1932,
(bright music)

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perhaps the most significant change George V makes,

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is when he speaks to his subjects personally

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through the magic of radio

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in what becomes known as the King's Christmas Speech.

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(peaceful music)

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{\an8}I speak now from my home and from my heart

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{\an8}to you all.

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{\an8}To all, to each,

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{\an8}I wish a happy Christmas.

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{\an8}God bless you.

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Although he had this very ponderous

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sort of slow, rather melancholy delivery,

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people absolutely loved it.

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You have the voice of the empire coming through to you,

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directly to you.

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You know, it's a sort of magic thing, isn't it?

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And it's instantly over the airwaves.

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This fantastically important person

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is talking straight into your living room.

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But behind the scenes is a dark secret.

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The king is terminally ill.

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Diagnosed with chronic bronchitis,

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he is only expected to live a few more years.

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George must ensure whoever inherits the throne continues

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to win the love and respect of the British people.

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The future of the monarchy depends upon it.

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(suspenseful music)

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King George V's two eldest sons are Prince Edward,

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the heir to the throne, and Prince Bertie,

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who, as the second oldest son,

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is the so-called spare to the throne.

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As king, you've got to have an heir to inherit everything

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and a spare, in case that person dies before you do.

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(solemn music)

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The two brothers are total opposites

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and Edward seems to get all the fun.

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(bright music)

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Edward is the first in line to the crown

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and will be the next King of England.

269
00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:14,280
And that makes him very desirable.

270
00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:15,230
As a young man,

271
00:13:15,230 --> 00:13:17,630
{\an8}Prince Edward was probably for most eligible bachelor

272
00:13:17,630 --> 00:13:18,463
{\an8}in the world.

273
00:13:18,463 --> 00:13:20,457
{\an8}He was somebody who was very good looking.

274
00:13:20,457 --> 00:13:21,720
He was very charming.

275
00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:23,493
He was magnetic to women.

276
00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:29,400
The outwardly dapper, fashionable, very modern.

277
00:13:29,830 --> 00:13:31,450
He's obsessed with America.

278
00:13:31,450 --> 00:13:33,093
He loves jazz.

279
00:13:33,990 --> 00:13:36,150
And he very quickly gets a reputation

280
00:13:36,150 --> 00:13:38,766
as a sort of handsome man about town.

281
00:13:38,766 --> 00:13:40,040
(bright music)

282
00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:43,860
To prepare Edward for his future role of king,

283
00:13:43,860 --> 00:13:46,470
his father sends the prince on foreign tours

284
00:13:46,470 --> 00:13:50,490
of the British Empire, to represent the crown.

285
00:13:50,490 --> 00:13:53,183
And Prince Edward is adored.

286
00:13:54,469 --> 00:13:56,970
You look at the public perception,

287
00:13:56,970 --> 00:13:59,680
of course he was greeted as hugely popular

288
00:13:59,680 --> 00:14:00,990
because he was charming.

289
00:14:00,990 --> 00:14:02,480
He had a wonderful smile.

290
00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:04,533
He had film star good looks.

291
00:14:05,590 --> 00:14:08,370
Prince Edward had this charisma to him.

292
00:14:08,370 --> 00:14:11,316
He was somebody who people could actually warm to.

293
00:14:11,316 --> 00:14:12,170
(upbeat music)

294
00:14:12,170 --> 00:14:14,840
But behind the good looks and charm,

295
00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:19,195
Edward is also haunted by the legacy of World War I.

296
00:14:19,195 --> 00:14:20,490
(suspenseful music)

297
00:14:20,490 --> 00:14:22,330
He served in the British Army

298
00:14:22,330 --> 00:14:25,560
and saw the war's horrors firsthand.

299
00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:29,000
But, unlike other men of his generation,

300
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:31,563
the prince didn't fight on the front line.

301
00:14:32,650 --> 00:14:35,210
I think there might've been a bit of survivor's guilt.

302
00:14:35,210 --> 00:14:36,200
There was a feeling that,

303
00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:38,260
although he was allowed to join up,

304
00:14:38,260 --> 00:14:40,293
he hadn't been allowed to do the job.

305
00:14:44,490 --> 00:14:46,510
During the 20s and 30s,

306
00:14:46,510 --> 00:14:50,893
the handsome prince gains of reputation as a ladies, man.

307
00:14:53,500 --> 00:14:56,980
It became very clear that actually Edward loved

308
00:14:56,980 --> 00:14:59,500
the company of the various women

309
00:14:59,500 --> 00:15:02,810
that he was meeting on his tours.

310
00:15:02,810 --> 00:15:04,910
Although King George wants his son

311
00:15:04,910 --> 00:15:06,660
to connect with the people,

312
00:15:06,660 --> 00:15:09,930
this is not what he had in mind.

313
00:15:09,930 --> 00:15:13,560
George would like him to marry possibly a princess,

314
00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:18,470
but actually a nice suitable aristocratic English rose.

315
00:15:19,610 --> 00:15:21,480
He gets this sort of horrible feeling,

316
00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:23,750
oh no, here's this sort of loose cannon

317
00:15:23,750 --> 00:15:25,760
in the royal family at a time

318
00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:27,620
where I cannot afford a loose cannon

319
00:15:27,620 --> 00:15:30,554
if we're to keep the monarchy together.

320
00:15:30,554 --> 00:15:31,850
(suspenseful music)

321
00:15:31,850 --> 00:15:34,970
And Edward seems to have a particular choice

322
00:15:34,970 --> 00:15:37,270
in the women he wants.

323
00:15:37,270 --> 00:15:39,530
Married women.

324
00:15:39,530 --> 00:15:42,530
Prince Edward having relationships with married women

325
00:15:42,530 --> 00:15:43,430
makes a lot of sense

326
00:15:43,430 --> 00:15:45,600
because, you know, if an accident happened,

327
00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:48,110
if one of them got pregnant well, so what?

328
00:15:48,110 --> 00:15:50,310
That's normal in a marriage for somebody to get pregnant.

329
00:15:50,310 --> 00:15:52,940
Nobody needs to know that it's the illegitimate son

330
00:15:52,940 --> 00:15:54,358
of the future king.

331
00:15:54,358 --> 00:15:56,120
(people cheering)
(suspenseful music)

332
00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:58,850
As King George's illness gets worse,

333
00:15:58,850 --> 00:16:01,690
so do his fears for his playboy son

334
00:16:02,530 --> 00:16:05,173
and the future of the British throne.

335
00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:08,920
He writes to the prime minister of England

336
00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:11,600
and shares a deeply personal wish

337
00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:15,670
that the crown skips Edward

338
00:16:15,670 --> 00:16:19,533
and instead goes to his second son, Bertie.

339
00:16:21,540 --> 00:16:24,890
After I'm dead, the boy will ruin himself

340
00:16:24,890 --> 00:16:26,460
within 12 months.

341
00:16:26,460 --> 00:16:30,020
I pray to God that my eldest son will never marry

342
00:16:30,020 --> 00:16:33,313
and that nothing will come between Bertie and the throne.

343
00:16:36,260 --> 00:16:37,860
He was frightened that his son

344
00:16:37,860 --> 00:16:41,380
would take up all of his hard work and throw it away.

345
00:16:41,380 --> 00:16:43,830
But King George is powerless

346
00:16:43,830 --> 00:16:46,580
to change the line of succession.

347
00:16:46,580 --> 00:16:49,050
After he dies, Edward,

348
00:16:49,050 --> 00:16:52,580
his oldest son, will become King of Britain

349
00:16:54,087 --> 00:16:57,230
and his son will have to face a new threat

350
00:16:57,230 --> 00:16:58,513
to Britain's peace.

351
00:16:59,660 --> 00:17:02,380
This time from abroad.

352
00:17:02,380 --> 00:17:07,350
Adolf Hitler.
(suspenseful music)

353
00:17:07,350 --> 00:17:09,950
Since losing World War I,

354
00:17:09,950 --> 00:17:13,140
Germany has abolished its monarchy,

355
00:17:13,140 --> 00:17:16,510
which saw George V's royal cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm,

356
00:17:16,510 --> 00:17:20,003
the Emperor of Germany, thrown out of the country.

357
00:17:20,900 --> 00:17:23,860
And now Adolf Hitler, the leader

358
00:17:23,860 --> 00:17:27,563
of the far right Nazi Party has taken control.

359
00:17:28,580 --> 00:17:31,560
Hitler's leadership style is inspired

360
00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:35,463
by none other than Italy's Benito Mussolini.

361
00:17:36,854 --> 00:17:41,280
{\an8}Adolf Hitler very much used Mussolini's fascism in Italy

362
00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:45,343
as a template for what he wanted to do in Germany.

363
00:17:46,630 --> 00:17:48,350
{\an8}Hitler tries to emulate

364
00:17:49,290 --> 00:17:51,620
{\an8}the ways in which Mussolini speaks,

365
00:17:51,620 --> 00:17:54,920
as a big declamatory style.

366
00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:56,320
Italiani!

367
00:17:56,320 --> 00:17:58,390
And so Hitler, 10 years later,

368
00:17:58,390 --> 00:18:01,960
would also begin speeches decrying, German folk.

369
00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:03,180
And so on and so forth.

370
00:18:03,180 --> 00:18:06,580
He even copied Mussolini's style in a physical sense.

371
00:18:06,580 --> 00:18:08,010
(dramatic music)

372
00:18:08,010 --> 00:18:09,870
Mussolini soon becomes one

373
00:18:09,870 --> 00:18:12,130
of Hitler's closest allies,

374
00:18:12,130 --> 00:18:14,840
and they both build up armed forces

375
00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:17,253
and put on great military shows.

376
00:18:17,253 --> 00:18:18,950
(dramatic music)

377
00:18:18,950 --> 00:18:20,250
{\an8}One will visit the other,

378
00:18:20,250 --> 00:18:23,220
{\an8}and there'll be a great display of their armed forces.

379
00:18:23,220 --> 00:18:25,120
You know, this is how powerful we are.

380
00:18:26,390 --> 00:18:27,940
Anyone looking from the outside

381
00:18:27,940 --> 00:18:30,310
and seeing these great displays of military strength

382
00:18:30,310 --> 00:18:33,940
must've imagined that trouble was ahead.

383
00:18:33,940 --> 00:18:37,210
Like Mussolini, Hitler also has ambitions

384
00:18:37,210 --> 00:18:41,770
to create a new empire through territorial expansion.

385
00:18:41,770 --> 00:18:46,260
He is determined to make up for Germany's humiliating defeat

386
00:18:46,260 --> 00:18:47,567
in World War I.

387
00:18:47,567 --> 00:18:49,650
(dramatic music)

388
00:18:49,650 --> 00:18:53,740
Over in Britain, King George V is deeply worried.

389
00:18:53,740 --> 00:18:56,810
He hasn't forgotten the horrors of World War I.

390
00:18:57,790 --> 00:19:02,550
And now another global war is on that horizon

391
00:19:02,550 --> 00:19:04,493
that could threaten his crown.

392
00:19:05,690 --> 00:19:07,930
George V undoubtedly was concerned

393
00:19:07,930 --> 00:19:10,560
about this type of display of military strength

394
00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:11,660
by the fascist powers.

395
00:19:11,660 --> 00:19:14,180
Because he realized that, ultimately,

396
00:19:14,180 --> 00:19:15,740
if they were gonna get what they wanted,

397
00:19:15,740 --> 00:19:17,360
either you were gonna give in to them,

398
00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:18,550
or you were gonna take them on.

399
00:19:18,550 --> 00:19:19,383
If you were gonna take them on,

400
00:19:19,383 --> 00:19:20,720
that was gonna lead to war.

401
00:19:22,010 --> 00:19:23,520
Hitler begins building up

402
00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:27,341
one of the most powerful armies the world has ever seen.

403
00:19:27,341 --> 00:19:30,091
(dramatic music)

404
00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:33,130
And by 1936,

405
00:19:33,130 --> 00:19:36,440
with the collapse of the democratic republic in Spain,

406
00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:40,210
fascism is starting to spread here too.

407
00:19:40,210 --> 00:19:44,600
A fascist leader called General Franco takes control

408
00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:45,913
of part of the country.

409
00:19:47,670 --> 00:19:50,410
While Britain braces itself for war,

410
00:19:50,410 --> 00:19:53,124
disaster strikes at home.

411
00:19:53,124 --> 00:19:55,594
(bell clangs)

412
00:19:55,594 --> 00:19:57,370
(melancholy music)

413
00:19:57,370 --> 00:19:58,940
King George V,

414
00:19:58,940 --> 00:20:02,633
who has led Britain through the last war, dies.

415
00:20:04,410 --> 00:20:07,110
His oldest son inherits the throne

416
00:20:07,110 --> 00:20:09,173
and becomes King Edward VIII.

417
00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:13,490
But while his father rejected fascism,

418
00:20:13,490 --> 00:20:15,990
what does Edward think?
(melancholy music)

419
00:20:15,990 --> 00:20:17,490
Everybody was looking at him thinking,

420
00:20:17,490 --> 00:20:19,000
what's he going to do next?

421
00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:20,183
Where could this go?

422
00:20:21,290 --> 00:20:23,150
At his father's funeral,

423
00:20:23,150 --> 00:20:26,900
Edward faces his first test of character.

424
00:20:26,900 --> 00:20:29,880
He becomes the target of a fascist plot

425
00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:32,511
that could destabilize the British throne.

426
00:20:32,511 --> 00:20:33,790
(suspenseful music)

427
00:20:33,790 --> 00:20:36,740
His German cousin, the Duke of Coburg,

428
00:20:36,740 --> 00:20:39,030
has been sent on a secret mission

429
00:20:39,030 --> 00:20:43,360
to try and turn Edward into a supporter of Hitler.

430
00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:46,410
The duke is a devout Nazi,

431
00:20:46,410 --> 00:20:49,730
and even turns up to King George's funeral

432
00:20:49,730 --> 00:20:53,130
in a Nazi uniform.
(dramatic music)

433
00:20:53,130 --> 00:20:55,760
He was a believer and a close friend of Hitler.

434
00:20:55,760 --> 00:21:00,760
And he had been trying many times to get close to Edward.

435
00:21:02,670 --> 00:21:04,750
Because, if the rumors are true,

436
00:21:04,750 --> 00:21:08,140
Edward is more open to siding with Germany

437
00:21:08,140 --> 00:21:09,910
than his father was.

438
00:21:09,910 --> 00:21:12,990
He'd gone on many tours to Germany

439
00:21:12,990 --> 00:21:14,190
{\an8}when he was a young man.

440
00:21:14,190 --> 00:21:17,540
{\an8}So he had friends, he had relations, he had families.

441
00:21:17,540 --> 00:21:19,943
He could speak German fluently.

442
00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:23,420
He'd said, I see no reason

443
00:21:23,420 --> 00:21:27,076
for there to be any difficulty between our two countries.

444
00:21:27,076 --> 00:21:29,330
{\an8}You know, the bad feeling about the First World War

445
00:21:29,330 --> 00:21:32,123
{\an8}is now over and hopefully we can get on and have peace.

446
00:21:33,820 --> 00:21:36,850
Edward doesn't see the danger in fascism

447
00:21:36,850 --> 00:21:39,985
and feels that Hitler actually doing a good job.

448
00:21:39,985 --> 00:21:41,650
(suspenseful music)

449
00:21:41,650 --> 00:21:44,400
He believed the Hitler was a vigorous reformer.

450
00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:45,233
And what he believed was

451
00:21:45,233 --> 00:21:48,460
that somebody like Hitler was needed for Britain.

452
00:21:48,460 --> 00:21:50,670
Edward and the Duke of Coburg

453
00:21:50,670 --> 00:21:52,130
strike up a friendship

454
00:21:52,130 --> 00:21:56,513
and he invites the new king to visit Hitler in Nazi Germany.

455
00:21:58,340 --> 00:22:00,020
He was interceding,

456
00:22:00,020 --> 00:22:04,690
trying to use both his genuine belief in Hitler

457
00:22:04,690 --> 00:22:08,190
and his understanding that Edward,

458
00:22:08,190 --> 00:22:09,820
if not actually a Nazi,

459
00:22:09,820 --> 00:22:13,760
certainly a believer in German friendship

460
00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:15,367
and a believer in fascism.

461
00:22:15,367 --> 00:22:16,390
(dramatic music)

462
00:22:16,390 --> 00:22:18,490
He wasn't just making idle chit chat.

463
00:22:18,490 --> 00:22:20,300
He was actually trying

464
00:22:20,300 --> 00:22:24,260
to have potentially the first Nazi king there'd ever be

465
00:22:24,260 --> 00:22:25,160
and ever could be.

466
00:22:26,390 --> 00:22:27,860
Unlike his father,

467
00:22:27,860 --> 00:22:32,770
Edward is easily influenced and susceptible to flattery.

468
00:22:32,770 --> 00:22:36,849
Could Edward really be turned into a Nazi king?

469
00:22:36,849 --> 00:22:39,060
(dramatic music)

470
00:22:39,060 --> 00:22:41,570
After Edward becomes King of Britain,

471
00:22:41,570 --> 00:22:45,330
another big questions swirls around him.

472
00:22:45,330 --> 00:22:47,720
Who will he make his queen?

473
00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:51,080
Without a wife or an heir to the throne,

474
00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:54,060
the line of succession is under threat.

475
00:22:54,060 --> 00:22:58,853
Everyone wants to know who will he make his princess bride?

476
00:22:59,870 --> 00:23:03,700
At a royal ceremony proclaiming his accession to the throne,

477
00:23:03,700 --> 00:23:08,700
Edward stuns the world when he watches it from a window

478
00:23:08,830 --> 00:23:11,416
with a mysterious woman by his side.

479
00:23:11,416 --> 00:23:15,170
(suspenseful music)

480
00:23:15,170 --> 00:23:18,080
A photographer manages to catch a picture,

481
00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:21,180
an image of a shadowy woman by his side.

482
00:23:21,180 --> 00:23:24,333
And, of course, this woman is quickly identified.

483
00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:28,263
Her name is Wallis Simpson.

484
00:23:29,860 --> 00:23:32,473
But at first, she is kept a secret.

485
00:23:34,540 --> 00:23:36,910
This was thought to be so scandalous,

486
00:23:36,910 --> 00:23:40,000
the leading newspaper publisher of the day made sure

487
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:42,240
that it was kept out of every single newspaper.

488
00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:44,160
Although it was commonly known in America

489
00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:47,810
and in Europe that the king had his special friend,

490
00:23:47,810 --> 00:23:50,283
it wasn't actually known in Britain at all.

491
00:23:51,620 --> 00:23:55,043
So who is Wallis Simpson?

492
00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:00,610
She's born on the other side of the world,

493
00:24:00,610 --> 00:24:03,253
near the East Coast American city of Baltimore.

494
00:24:04,100 --> 00:24:06,970
Her father died when she was very young

495
00:24:06,970 --> 00:24:09,420
and her mother tried to bring her up

496
00:24:09,420 --> 00:24:12,502
as a very feisty, independent woman.

497
00:24:12,502 --> 00:24:13,820
(suspenseful music)

498
00:24:13,820 --> 00:24:16,330
She was somebody who was ambitious for money.

499
00:24:16,330 --> 00:24:18,500
She was ambitious for jewels.

500
00:24:18,500 --> 00:24:21,000
And I think you could argue she was ambitious

501
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:22,460
for love as well.

502
00:24:22,460 --> 00:24:24,090
Although Wallis's first marriage

503
00:24:24,090 --> 00:24:25,600
ends in divorce,

504
00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:30,140
she moves to London with her second husband, Ernest Simpson.

505
00:24:30,140 --> 00:24:32,740
The ambitious couple quickly become a part

506
00:24:32,740 --> 00:24:35,460
of the royal social scene.
(suspenseful music)

507
00:24:35,460 --> 00:24:37,490
Half of her wanted security.

508
00:24:37,490 --> 00:24:39,970
Half of her wanted to reach for the stars

509
00:24:39,970 --> 00:24:42,423
and she recognized that in herself.

510
00:24:43,340 --> 00:24:47,830
But then Wallis meets the then king-in-waiting

511
00:24:47,830 --> 00:24:51,840
and Edward soon falls head over heels for Wallis

512
00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:55,733
and finds her lack of deference of big turn on.

513
00:24:56,620 --> 00:24:59,140
{\an8}She doesn't respect monarchy very much

514
00:24:59,140 --> 00:25:00,880
{\an8}and she doesn't respect him for being a monarch.

515
00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:02,550
{\an8}And he finds this dazzling.

516
00:25:02,550 --> 00:25:06,340
His entire life has been about, you know,

517
00:25:06,340 --> 00:25:07,300
inheriting the throne.

518
00:25:07,300 --> 00:25:08,660
And here's a woman who doesn't see him for that

519
00:25:08,660 --> 00:25:10,120
and sees him for him.

520
00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:12,720
And wants him romantically.

521
00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:14,550
Now Edward is king,

522
00:25:14,550 --> 00:25:18,810
he wants to marry Wallis and make her Queen of England.

523
00:25:18,810 --> 00:25:21,940
But there's a big problem.

524
00:25:21,940 --> 00:25:23,750
She's still married to Ernest Simpson,

525
00:25:23,750 --> 00:25:26,560
who seems aware of this relationship as well,

526
00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:28,030
because they're not hiding it.

527
00:25:28,030 --> 00:25:29,630
They're flaunting it.

528
00:25:29,630 --> 00:25:31,710
For Edward to marry Wallis,

529
00:25:31,710 --> 00:25:33,700
Wallis would need to get a divorce

530
00:25:33,700 --> 00:25:36,360
for the second time in her life.

531
00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:39,670
But the Church of England is strictly against divorce.

532
00:25:39,670 --> 00:25:41,550
And as the new head of state,

533
00:25:41,550 --> 00:25:46,200
this also makes Edward head of the Church of England.

534
00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:48,500
And if you have the head of the state

535
00:25:48,500 --> 00:25:52,410
who obviously does not respect Christian values,

536
00:25:52,410 --> 00:25:54,150
does not respect marriage,

537
00:25:54,150 --> 00:25:56,553
which is between God and a man and a woman.

538
00:25:57,690 --> 00:25:59,930
If he doesn't respect vows in church,

539
00:25:59,930 --> 00:26:03,302
why should he respect the vows he makes as king?

540
00:26:03,302 --> 00:26:05,270
(dramatic music)

541
00:26:05,270 --> 00:26:08,243
His late father's worst fears are coming true.

542
00:26:09,870 --> 00:26:13,160
The British people are split about what they think

543
00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:14,403
their king should do.

544
00:26:15,650 --> 00:26:19,320
But it is Edward that must choose the woman he loves

545
00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:21,063
or his duty to the crown.

546
00:26:22,670 --> 00:26:24,733
A nation awaits.

547
00:26:28,237 --> 00:26:30,930
{\an8}(birds chirping)

548
00:26:30,930 --> 00:26:32,630
{\an8}Windsor Castle.

549
00:26:32,630 --> 00:26:36,410
Edward positions himself in front of a microphone.

550
00:26:36,410 --> 00:26:39,070
Millions tune in to listen

551
00:26:39,070 --> 00:26:42,973
as Edward lets his people know his decision.

552
00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:46,910
{\an8}You must believe me

553
00:26:47,940 --> 00:26:52,940
{\an8}when I tell you that I have found it impossible

554
00:26:53,140 --> 00:26:56,010
{\an8}to carry the heavy burden of responsibility

555
00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:00,340
{\an8}and to discharge my duties as king

556
00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:03,070
{\an8}as I would wish to do

557
00:27:04,410 --> 00:27:09,410
{\an8}without the help and support of the woman I love.

558
00:27:10,579 --> 00:27:13,000
(suspenseful music)

559
00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:16,330
Edward is the first king in British history

560
00:27:16,330 --> 00:27:18,643
to voluntarily give up the throne.

561
00:27:19,550 --> 00:27:23,220
And he throws the monarchy into crisis.

562
00:27:23,220 --> 00:27:25,190
And Edward choosing to do that meant

563
00:27:25,190 --> 00:27:27,290
that most of his public, not everyone,

564
00:27:27,290 --> 00:27:30,820
but most of the country essentially saw him

565
00:27:30,820 --> 00:27:34,663
and they thought, he could have been such a brilliant king.

566
00:27:35,820 --> 00:27:37,530
So we have to consider the idea

567
00:27:37,530 --> 00:27:40,841
that the monarchy was at this very, very precarious stage.

568
00:27:40,841 --> 00:27:44,030
(dramatic music)

569
00:27:44,030 --> 00:27:46,240
This royal crisis couldn't have come

570
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:48,400
at a worse time for Britain.

571
00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:53,220
Hitler and Mussolini are threatening war in Europe.

572
00:27:53,220 --> 00:27:57,300
Britain needs a strong ruler to steer its people

573
00:27:57,300 --> 00:27:59,480
through the storm ahead.

574
00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:03,440
And it gets Edward's younger brother,

575
00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:04,463
Prince Bertie.

576
00:28:05,650 --> 00:28:09,060
Prince Bertie is 18 months younger than Edward,

577
00:28:09,060 --> 00:28:10,780
but, unlike his brother,

578
00:28:10,780 --> 00:28:14,130
is already happily married to British aristocrat,

579
00:28:14,130 --> 00:28:17,240
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, with two daughters,

580
00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:19,932
Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret.

581
00:28:19,932 --> 00:28:22,740
(melancholy music)

582
00:28:22,740 --> 00:28:24,360
But although the younger brother

583
00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:26,510
has a greater sense of duty,

584
00:28:26,510 --> 00:28:30,690
he doesn't have the same natural charisma as Edward

585
00:28:30,690 --> 00:28:33,680
and is chronically shy.

586
00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:35,430
You know, he's a classic second son.

587
00:28:35,430 --> 00:28:38,183
You know, plays second fiddle his whole childhood.

588
00:28:39,110 --> 00:28:40,030
He's not as good looking.

589
00:28:40,030 --> 00:28:41,893
He's not as flamboyant.

590
00:28:43,150 --> 00:28:45,920
Bertie was born with knocked knees.

591
00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:47,400
And, while a child,

592
00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:50,150
his father made him wear a painful leg brace

593
00:28:50,150 --> 00:28:52,830
to correct the abnormality.

594
00:28:52,830 --> 00:28:54,330
And he has a stammer.

595
00:28:54,330 --> 00:28:56,100
Which is made much worse by the fact

596
00:28:56,100 --> 00:28:58,380
that every time he stammers in front of his father,

597
00:28:58,380 --> 00:29:00,280
{\an8}his father says, you know, what?

598
00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:01,113
{\an8}Get it out!

599
00:29:01,113 --> 00:29:02,750
{\an8}Spit it out!

600
00:29:02,750 --> 00:29:05,260
But Bertie has hidden qualities

601
00:29:05,260 --> 00:29:08,690
that could help endear him to the British public.

602
00:29:08,690 --> 00:29:13,100
Bertie's strength is that he is ordinary and dutiful.

603
00:29:13,100 --> 00:29:17,820
And so he represents really much more the ordinary man.

604
00:29:17,820 --> 00:29:19,090
Bertie's ordinariness

605
00:29:19,090 --> 00:29:22,080
could make him a safe choice of monarch.

606
00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:24,670
Well, who do you want to inherit the throne?

607
00:29:24,670 --> 00:29:25,503
We are living at a time when

608
00:29:25,503 --> 00:29:27,310
there's a lot of social upheaval.

609
00:29:27,310 --> 00:29:28,690
To keep the monarchy,

610
00:29:28,690 --> 00:29:29,760
you need to make sure

611
00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:32,030
that the king doesn't do anything strange,

612
00:29:32,030 --> 00:29:35,255
doesn't do anything to risk this institution.

613
00:29:35,255 --> 00:29:38,080
(suspenseful music)

614
00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:40,860
After Edward gives his abdication speech,

615
00:29:40,860 --> 00:29:43,240
the crowd is passed on to Bertie,

616
00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:45,650
who shows respect to his late father

617
00:29:45,650 --> 00:29:48,753
when he becomes known as King George VI.

618
00:29:51,950 --> 00:29:55,033
The British people have a new king on the throne.

619
00:29:55,950 --> 00:29:57,833
The third king that year.

620
00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:00,730
As the first act of his reign,

621
00:30:00,730 --> 00:30:05,040
the new monarch gives his brother a new royal title.

622
00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:08,470
It had to be decided what you would call the ex-king.

623
00:30:08,470 --> 00:30:11,010
Couldn't be just a prince.

624
00:30:11,010 --> 00:30:13,650
He couldn't be an ex-king.

625
00:30:13,650 --> 00:30:16,020
They needed to come up with a title for him.

626
00:30:16,020 --> 00:30:20,540
Edward becomes His Royal Highness, the Duke of Windsor.

627
00:30:20,540 --> 00:30:24,783
A duke is the highest ranking title in the British nobility.

628
00:30:25,770 --> 00:30:28,630
A new king, a new duke.

629
00:30:28,630 --> 00:30:33,093
But is it the new beginning the British royal family needs?

630
00:30:34,544 --> 00:30:38,360
(suspenseful music)

631
00:30:38,360 --> 00:30:39,970
Britain has just survived

632
00:30:39,970 --> 00:30:42,853
its biggest royal upset in generations.

633
00:30:44,380 --> 00:30:47,180
King George's own family's secure.

634
00:30:47,180 --> 00:30:49,500
His wife and two daughters

635
00:30:49,500 --> 00:30:52,373
mean the future succession is guaranteed.

636
00:30:53,350 --> 00:30:56,920
But tensions between King George and his brother, Edward,

637
00:30:56,920 --> 00:30:58,373
soon boil over.

638
00:31:00,090 --> 00:31:04,610
In June, 1937, Edward and Wallis marry.

639
00:31:04,610 --> 00:31:07,510
Not in Britain, but in France,

640
00:31:07,510 --> 00:31:10,930
at the home of one of their millionaire friends.

641
00:31:10,930 --> 00:31:14,143
And none of the British royal family attend.

642
00:31:15,470 --> 00:31:19,130
Suddenly, they had become non-people.

643
00:31:19,130 --> 00:31:22,660
And when their closest friends had asked

644
00:31:22,660 --> 00:31:25,440
if they could come to the wedding and be part of it,

645
00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:27,770
the king and queen made it very clear

646
00:31:27,770 --> 00:31:30,400
that if they went to the wedding,

647
00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:32,750
they would be cut off.

648
00:31:32,750 --> 00:31:34,270
As Edward's wife,

649
00:31:34,270 --> 00:31:38,600
the marriage makes Wallis the Duchess of Windsor.

650
00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:40,640
But his brother, King George VI,

651
00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:43,230
refuses to give Wallis the royal title

652
00:31:43,230 --> 00:31:45,663
of Her Royal Highness or HRH.

653
00:31:47,858 --> 00:31:50,880
The HRH title confers royalty.

654
00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:51,980
It means you're royal.

655
00:31:51,980 --> 00:31:56,400
Subjects of the crown, the male ones bow their head to you.

656
00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:59,250
The females curtsy.

657
00:31:59,250 --> 00:32:01,040
They treat you as a royal.

658
00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:02,760
And this meant that,

659
00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:05,903
although Edward was a royal, Wallis wasn't.

660
00:32:07,070 --> 00:32:10,440
Edward minded that Wallis wasn't given HRH,

661
00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:12,660
probably more than anything else in his life.

662
00:32:12,660 --> 00:32:14,670
He saw it as an ongoing snub.

663
00:32:14,670 --> 00:32:17,140
He saw it as an insult from his country.

664
00:32:17,140 --> 00:32:19,410
(suspenseful music)
(people shouting)

665
00:32:19,410 --> 00:32:21,320
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor turn

666
00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:25,323
their backs on Britain and start a new life in France.

667
00:32:26,460 --> 00:32:30,610
King George VI now fears what his brother might do next

668
00:32:30,610 --> 00:32:33,800
to damage the royal family's reputation

669
00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:36,253
and put the British crown in jeopardy.

670
00:32:39,330 --> 00:32:42,470
Just 10 months after George has become king,

671
00:32:42,470 --> 00:32:46,053
his brother Edward decides to go on a trip with Wallis.

672
00:32:47,170 --> 00:32:51,761
An unsanctioned trip to Nazi Germany.

673
00:32:51,761 --> 00:32:54,540
(ominous music)

674
00:32:54,540 --> 00:32:59,130
Edward's Nazi uncle, the Duke of Coburg, hosts the two

675
00:32:59,130 --> 00:33:01,460
and arranges a high-profile meeting

676
00:33:01,460 --> 00:33:04,013
between the newlyweds and Hitler.

677
00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:08,523
They are treated like royalty.

678
00:33:09,810 --> 00:33:12,830
Edward wanted his wife to be treated

679
00:33:12,830 --> 00:33:16,740
with all the respect and courtesy of a member

680
00:33:16,740 --> 00:33:17,980
of the royal family

681
00:33:17,980 --> 00:33:20,460
and the one people who were willing to do that

682
00:33:20,460 --> 00:33:22,600
were, of course, the Nazis.

683
00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:25,160
Hitler is charmed by Wallace

684
00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:26,730
and tells his interpreter

685
00:33:26,730 --> 00:33:29,983
that the duchess would have made a good queen.

686
00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:34,040
Photographs of Edward shaking his hand,

687
00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:35,300
of all of them being photographed

688
00:33:35,300 --> 00:33:36,380
with Wallis standing next to him,

689
00:33:36,380 --> 00:33:38,720
that was the best possible propaganda

690
00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:40,320
that Hitler could have had.

691
00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:41,660
When King George learns

692
00:33:41,660 --> 00:33:45,400
about his brother's trip to meet Hitler, he's mortified.

693
00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:49,683
He calls it a bombshell, and a bad one too.

694
00:33:50,890 --> 00:33:53,910
Relations between Britain and Germany are already

695
00:33:53,910 --> 00:33:55,180
on a knife edge.

696
00:33:55,180 --> 00:33:59,530
And now his brother is befriending the enemy.

697
00:33:59,530 --> 00:34:01,743
But worse is yet to come.

698
00:34:03,041 --> 00:34:04,360
(dramatic music)

699
00:34:04,360 --> 00:34:06,723
September, 1939.

700
00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:10,880
World War II finally kicks off

701
00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:13,250
after Hitler invades Poland.

702
00:34:13,250 --> 00:34:16,240
Britain comes to the help of their Polish ally

703
00:34:16,240 --> 00:34:18,563
and declares war on Germany.

704
00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:20,940
Britain and France attempt

705
00:34:20,940 --> 00:34:23,460
to stop Hitler's advance across Europe,

706
00:34:23,460 --> 00:34:26,570
but they're no match for the German Army.

707
00:34:26,570 --> 00:34:28,930
I mean, the early stages of the Second World War

708
00:34:28,930 --> 00:34:33,568
are one of an unbroken run of successes for Germany.

709
00:34:33,568 --> 00:34:35,470
(artillery booming)
(suspenseful music)

710
00:34:35,470 --> 00:34:37,440
And in less than eight months,

711
00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:40,783
Hitler's army has control of most of Central Europe.

712
00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:46,960
In May, 1940 at the instruction of senior politicians,

713
00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:50,790
King George appoints Winston Churchill as prime minister

714
00:34:50,790 --> 00:34:53,143
to lead Britain's fight against Hitler.

715
00:34:54,180 --> 00:34:57,390
But after a humiliating defeat in France,

716
00:34:57,390 --> 00:34:59,270
British troops are forced to evacuate

717
00:34:59,270 --> 00:35:01,770
from the beaches of Dunkirk.

718
00:35:01,770 --> 00:35:05,610
Nazi Germany now occupies most of France.

719
00:35:05,610 --> 00:35:07,970
And this is a huge concern for King George

720
00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:11,520
because his brother, Edward, lives

721
00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:14,020
in the French capital, Paris.

722
00:35:14,020 --> 00:35:16,270
Is the former British king

723
00:35:16,270 --> 00:35:19,443
about to be captured by the Nazis?

724
00:35:19,443 --> 00:35:21,850
(suspenseful music)

725
00:35:21,850 --> 00:35:24,790
The British royal family expect Edward

726
00:35:24,790 --> 00:35:26,390
to support his fellow countrymen

727
00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:29,736
and return to England immediately.

728
00:35:29,736 --> 00:35:31,329
(guns popping)

729
00:35:31,329 --> 00:35:34,200
(plane buzzing)
(ominous music)

730
00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:35,450
So it would have made perfect sense

731
00:35:35,450 --> 00:35:37,157
for Edward to have gone to England

732
00:35:37,157 --> 00:35:39,530
and to have found some sort of accord with his family.

733
00:35:39,530 --> 00:35:41,270
But, Edward being Edward,

734
00:35:41,270 --> 00:35:44,750
he never did the sensible or the decent thing.

735
00:35:44,750 --> 00:35:47,330
Instead of supporting the British troops

736
00:35:47,330 --> 00:35:49,160
and his British family,

737
00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:51,700
Edward goes to the south of France

738
00:35:51,700 --> 00:35:54,063
before heading to fascist Spain.

739
00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:57,540
George sees his brother's disloyalty

740
00:35:57,540 --> 00:36:01,070
as the ultimate betrayal.
(suspenseful music)

741
00:36:01,070 --> 00:36:02,683
Churchill is furious.

742
00:36:04,480 --> 00:36:06,860
{\an8}It's always been termed a betrayal

743
00:36:06,860 --> 00:36:09,103
{\an8}because he didn't do his duty.

744
00:36:10,380 --> 00:36:12,010
For King George,

745
00:36:12,010 --> 00:36:14,907
this has now gone beyond a family feud.

746
00:36:14,907 --> 00:36:15,740
(siren wails)

747
00:36:15,740 --> 00:36:18,110
Edward is now seen as a threat

748
00:36:18,110 --> 00:36:20,703
to not just the survival of the British crown,

749
00:36:21,700 --> 00:36:24,077
but to the very fabric of the nation.

750
00:36:24,077 --> 00:36:26,827
(dramatic music)

751
00:36:28,030 --> 00:36:30,010
By June, 1940,

752
00:36:30,010 --> 00:36:32,990
the Nazis have control of mainland Europe

753
00:36:32,990 --> 00:36:35,210
and are now thinking of their next step,

754
00:36:35,210 --> 00:36:36,923
how to conquer Britain.

755
00:36:39,690 --> 00:36:42,800
Churchill marshals Britain's defenses,

756
00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:44,653
but they have a critical weakness.

757
00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:48,650
The former King Edward has left France

758
00:36:48,650 --> 00:36:51,096
and he's now in fascist Spain.

759
00:36:51,096 --> 00:36:52,150
(dramatic music)

760
00:36:52,150 --> 00:36:54,020
Fleeing to Spain at the time

761
00:36:54,020 --> 00:36:56,420
that England seems to need people

762
00:36:56,420 --> 00:36:58,270
and need people to be there,

763
00:36:58,270 --> 00:37:00,680
if only for purely symbolic reasons,

764
00:37:00,680 --> 00:37:03,030
{\an8}it was either an act of cowardly pragmatism

765
00:37:03,030 --> 00:37:03,980
{\an8}or simply of cowardice,

766
00:37:03,980 --> 00:37:05,760
{\an8}depending on which way you look at it.

767
00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:09,520
The Nazis now see an astonishing opportunity

768
00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:13,570
to win the former King of England over to Hitler's side.

769
00:37:13,570 --> 00:37:15,960
And if he won't come willingly,

770
00:37:15,960 --> 00:37:18,530
they have plans to kidnap him.

771
00:37:18,530 --> 00:37:22,223
Hitler launches on operation, codename Willi.

772
00:37:24,550 --> 00:37:25,630
Operation Willi has always

773
00:37:25,630 --> 00:37:27,583
been slightly shrouded in mystery.

774
00:37:28,860 --> 00:37:31,480
What he intended to do was to launch an operation

775
00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:35,200
whereby Edward and Wallis would be taken from Spain

776
00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:37,100
and brought to Germany.
(suspenseful music)

777
00:37:37,100 --> 00:37:39,260
The Nazis want to use Edward

778
00:37:39,260 --> 00:37:41,820
to bargain a peace settlement with Britain.

779
00:37:41,820 --> 00:37:43,400
And if they succeed,

780
00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:46,360
they'll dethrone his brother, King George,

781
00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:49,620
and restore Edward to the British throne.

782
00:37:49,620 --> 00:37:53,150
{\an8}And to use the king as a kind of puppet

783
00:37:53,150 --> 00:37:57,313
and to present him as the true ruler of Britain.

784
00:37:59,570 --> 00:38:00,490
But what they hoped

785
00:38:00,490 --> 00:38:02,633
was that Edward could be persuaded not

786
00:38:02,633 --> 00:38:05,950
to have to be kidnapped, that he could come willingly.

787
00:38:05,950 --> 00:38:09,170
Hitler might have plans for Edward and Wallis,

788
00:38:09,170 --> 00:38:14,110
but so too do Prime Minister Churchill and King George.

789
00:38:14,110 --> 00:38:16,573
They want Edward out of the picture.

790
00:38:17,720 --> 00:38:21,430
So, Winston Churchill sends Edward a telegram,

791
00:38:21,430 --> 00:38:24,500
instructing him to take a new job

792
00:38:24,500 --> 00:38:27,560
as governor of the Bahama Islands.

793
00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:31,500
The British-owned islands are over 4,000 miles away

794
00:38:31,500 --> 00:38:36,500
from Britain and, crucially, Nazi Germany.

795
00:38:36,680 --> 00:38:40,163
The question is, will Edward go?

796
00:38:41,050 --> 00:38:43,250
Initially, Edward and Wallis

797
00:38:43,250 --> 00:38:46,990
were very distrustful of the choice

798
00:38:46,990 --> 00:38:48,748
to send them off to The Bahamas.

799
00:38:48,748 --> 00:38:50,130
(dramatic music)

800
00:38:50,130 --> 00:38:52,630
While Edward delays his departure,

801
00:38:52,630 --> 00:38:56,740
Hitler sends in one of his most effective undercover agents,

802
00:38:56,740 --> 00:38:59,510
Walter Schellenberg.
(suspenseful music)

803
00:38:59,510 --> 00:39:03,710
He was somebody who was a kind of a Nazi James Bond,

804
00:39:03,710 --> 00:39:05,940
I suppose is the easiest way of describing him.

805
00:39:05,940 --> 00:39:10,440
He was this Nazi secret agent who was very suave.

806
00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:12,770
Schellenberg attempts to scare the couple

807
00:39:12,770 --> 00:39:16,910
into staying in Europe by feeding Edward's worst fears,

808
00:39:16,910 --> 00:39:18,520
that the British are out to get him.

809
00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:23,220
And the appointment in The Bahamas is a death trap.

810
00:39:23,220 --> 00:39:26,210
The key to Operation Willi was to play

811
00:39:26,210 --> 00:39:30,310
on the suspicions and indeed paranoia

812
00:39:30,310 --> 00:39:31,410
that the Windsors had

813
00:39:31,410 --> 00:39:35,610
about British intelligence wanting to assassinate them.

814
00:39:35,610 --> 00:39:38,780
At one point, Walter Schellenberg actually paid people

815
00:39:38,780 --> 00:39:41,330
to throw stones at the windows

816
00:39:41,330 --> 00:39:44,233
of the house that the Windsors were staying in.

817
00:39:45,218 --> 00:39:47,920
But Schellenberg's mind games fail.

818
00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:51,170
The Windsors depart for their position in The Bahamas

819
00:39:51,170 --> 00:39:52,683
and set sail from Europe.

820
00:39:53,880 --> 00:39:57,690
And King George VI can breathe easy.

821
00:39:57,690 --> 00:40:00,283
His brother is out of Hitler's reach.

822
00:40:01,170 --> 00:40:03,730
For now.
(dramatic music)

823
00:40:03,730 --> 00:40:06,363
As Edward suns himself in The Bahamas,

824
00:40:07,270 --> 00:40:11,300
King George and Britain now face the full force

825
00:40:11,300 --> 00:40:12,950
of Hitler's war machine.

826
00:40:14,090 --> 00:40:15,840
His Luftwaffe air force

827
00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:18,793
launch daily attacks on cities all over Britain.

828
00:40:19,985 --> 00:40:24,972
For 57 days, London is bombed from the air.

829
00:40:24,972 --> 00:40:27,722
(dramatic music)

830
00:40:30,594 --> 00:40:31,890
(melancholy music)

831
00:40:31,890 --> 00:40:34,010
King George and his wife, Queen Elizabeth,

832
00:40:34,010 --> 00:40:38,280
work hard to show the British royal family are not blind

833
00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:40,180
to the country's suffering.

834
00:40:40,180 --> 00:40:42,520
Bertie was a very, very shy private man.

835
00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:44,680
And he was suddenly thrust into the limelight,

836
00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:46,680
{\an8}the biggest limelight there was,

837
00:40:46,680 --> 00:40:50,083
{\an8}during a time where Britain was in crisis.

838
00:40:51,970 --> 00:40:54,370
George VI makes public visits

839
00:40:54,370 --> 00:40:58,530
to bomb sites and refuses to leave London,

840
00:40:58,530 --> 00:41:02,075
even when Buckingham Palace becomes a bombing target.

841
00:41:02,075 --> 00:41:03,410
(dramatic music)

842
00:41:03,410 --> 00:41:08,410
This was a hugely important part of Bertie as a man.

843
00:41:08,730 --> 00:41:13,640
As King George VI, he represented his people.

844
00:41:13,640 --> 00:41:15,670
He was brave with his people.

845
00:41:15,670 --> 00:41:19,557
He stayed in London and he appeared in front of them.

846
00:41:19,557 --> 00:41:22,307
(dramatic music)

847
00:41:23,310 --> 00:41:24,870
Although the king's advisors

848
00:41:24,870 --> 00:41:27,530
recommend Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret

849
00:41:27,530 --> 00:41:29,450
evacuate to America,

850
00:41:29,450 --> 00:41:33,343
the family decide to stay to form a united front.

851
00:41:35,326 --> 00:41:37,570
When Princess Elizabeth turns 18,

852
00:41:37,570 --> 00:41:39,810
she gets behind the war effort,

853
00:41:39,810 --> 00:41:42,023
training as a truck driver and a mechanic.

854
00:41:43,110 --> 00:41:46,360
The whole family work hard to boost morale

855
00:41:46,360 --> 00:41:49,121
and get the country through its darkest hours.

856
00:41:49,121 --> 00:41:50,920
(suspenseful music)

857
00:41:50,920 --> 00:41:53,570
I mean, it was really bad.

858
00:41:53,570 --> 00:41:56,460
The rationing was abhorrent.

859
00:41:56,460 --> 00:41:59,640
People were dying every night in bombing raids.

860
00:41:59,640 --> 00:42:00,700
You had, you know,

861
00:42:00,700 --> 00:42:04,280
the king and queen going from place to place,

862
00:42:04,280 --> 00:42:07,640
encouraging everyday people to work their hardest,

863
00:42:07,640 --> 00:42:09,060
to appreciate them,

864
00:42:09,060 --> 00:42:11,608
knowing how important that was to them.

865
00:42:11,608 --> 00:42:13,635
(suspenseful music)

866
00:42:13,635 --> 00:42:16,210
But while George's family keeps up morale

867
00:42:16,210 --> 00:42:17,610
on the home front,

868
00:42:17,610 --> 00:42:21,509
his brother continues to cause trouble for the royals.

869
00:42:21,509 --> 00:42:23,430
(suspenseful music)

870
00:42:23,430 --> 00:42:25,670
Now, the Windsors are in The Bahamas,

871
00:42:25,670 --> 00:42:27,700
they're quick to integrate themselves

872
00:42:27,700 --> 00:42:30,550
within a tight-knit circle of millionaires

873
00:42:30,550 --> 00:42:32,720
and Nazi sympathizers.

874
00:42:32,720 --> 00:42:35,240
Edward continues to cause trouble for Britain

875
00:42:35,240 --> 00:42:38,870
when he gives a pro-Hitler interview to the American press

876
00:42:38,870 --> 00:42:41,080
in December, 1940.
(suspenseful music)

877
00:42:41,080 --> 00:42:43,140
He'd made quite unguarded comments,

878
00:42:43,140 --> 00:42:45,030
in which he'd say that he felt that England

879
00:42:45,030 --> 00:42:46,930
should have sought terms with Germany

880
00:42:46,930 --> 00:42:48,310
or that his brother was somebody

881
00:42:48,310 --> 00:42:50,914
who wasn't the best king he could have been.

882
00:42:50,914 --> 00:42:51,830
(suspenseful music)

883
00:42:51,830 --> 00:42:56,680
He also had a complete lack of belief in Britain's victory

884
00:42:56,680 --> 00:42:58,160
in the Second World War.

885
00:42:58,160 --> 00:42:59,410
And so, as a result,

886
00:42:59,410 --> 00:43:02,970
he did say some extremely stupid and embarrassing things.

887
00:43:02,970 --> 00:43:05,710
The United States are officially neutral

888
00:43:05,710 --> 00:43:07,030
at this stage,

889
00:43:07,030 --> 00:43:09,520
but the interview causes so much attention

890
00:43:09,520 --> 00:43:12,707
that the couple come under the surveillance of the FBI.

891
00:43:12,707 --> 00:43:14,664
(dramatic music)

892
00:43:14,664 --> 00:43:15,610
Well, the main reason why the Windsors

893
00:43:15,610 --> 00:43:17,956
were under surveillance by U.S. intelligence

894
00:43:17,956 --> 00:43:20,396
was for fear that they were actually Nazis.

895
00:43:20,396 --> 00:43:23,396
(suspenseful music)

896
00:43:25,116 --> 00:43:27,040
And what had happened with Operation Willi,

897
00:43:27,040 --> 00:43:28,760
with Edward's visit to Germany,

898
00:43:28,760 --> 00:43:32,750
with the constant belief that he had these Nazi sympathies

899
00:43:32,750 --> 00:43:36,001
was that it was not known what he was going to do.

900
00:43:36,001 --> 00:43:38,472
(dramatic music)

901
00:43:38,472 --> 00:43:40,270
(plane rumbling)

902
00:43:40,270 --> 00:43:42,780
But not long after Edward's interview,

903
00:43:42,780 --> 00:43:47,053
America enters the war on the side of the British.

904
00:43:48,077 --> 00:43:51,580
And the tides of war begin to turn against Germany

905
00:43:51,580 --> 00:43:54,025
and their fascist ally, Italy.

906
00:43:54,025 --> 00:43:57,025
(suspenseful music)

907
00:43:59,320 --> 00:44:01,540
In July, 1943,

908
00:44:01,540 --> 00:44:05,640
Allied troops begin to take back mainland Europe.

909
00:44:05,640 --> 00:44:09,200
They start by landing on the Italian island of Sicily

910
00:44:09,200 --> 00:44:10,670
and then work their way up

911
00:44:10,670 --> 00:44:13,133
through Italy's mainland peninsula.

912
00:44:14,220 --> 00:44:16,975
Mussolini's army fails to stop them.

913
00:44:16,975 --> 00:44:19,640
(suspenseful music)

914
00:44:19,640 --> 00:44:22,560
{\an8}So even though Mussolini claimed to have prepared Italy

915
00:44:22,560 --> 00:44:25,670
{\an8}for war and for nationalist triumph,

916
00:44:25,670 --> 00:44:29,353
by 1943, Italy is falling apart.

917
00:44:32,210 --> 00:44:34,400
{\an8}Mussolini's Armies are really on the verge of collapse.

918
00:44:34,400 --> 00:44:36,340
{\an8}They'd been defeated in North Africa.

919
00:44:36,340 --> 00:44:38,473
{\an8}They'd been defeated in Russia.

920
00:44:38,473 --> 00:44:40,090
(suspenseful music)

921
00:44:40,090 --> 00:44:41,590
It's the beginning of the end.

922
00:44:43,010 --> 00:44:43,950
The Italian Army

923
00:44:43,950 --> 00:44:47,040
has already suffered huge losses in the war.

924
00:44:47,040 --> 00:44:50,135
And public opinion is turning against Mussolini.

925
00:44:50,135 --> 00:44:53,480
(suspenseful music)

926
00:44:53,480 --> 00:44:55,770
Victor Emmanuel realizes that,

927
00:44:55,770 --> 00:44:58,070
to survive on the Italian throne,

928
00:44:58,070 --> 00:45:00,530
he must get rid of the Mussolini.

929
00:45:00,530 --> 00:45:03,580
The king attempts to distance himself from fascism

930
00:45:03,580 --> 00:45:05,493
and has Mussolini arrested.

931
00:45:06,400 --> 00:45:09,430
After the collapse of Mussolini's fascist regime,

932
00:45:09,430 --> 00:45:12,240
Italy soon turns its back on Hitler

933
00:45:12,240 --> 00:45:14,403
and swaps to the Allies' side.

934
00:45:15,240 --> 00:45:18,730
When the war finally draws to a close two years later,

935
00:45:18,730 --> 00:45:22,885
Mussolini falls into the hands of the angry Italian mob.

936
00:45:22,885 --> 00:45:23,810
(solemn music)

937
00:45:23,810 --> 00:45:25,730
Mussolini's end is particularly grisly.

938
00:45:25,730 --> 00:45:26,690
And you could say, you know,

939
00:45:26,690 --> 00:45:29,320
in some ways, a deserved fate for such,

940
00:45:29,320 --> 00:45:32,060
you know, a bombastic and aggressive dictator.

941
00:45:32,060 --> 00:45:35,600
(solemn music)
(people shouting)

942
00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:39,270
They're hung upside down from a burnt-out petrol station

943
00:45:39,270 --> 00:45:41,980
in Piazzale Loreto in Northern Milan

944
00:45:41,980 --> 00:45:43,283
for all of Milan to see.

945
00:45:47,150 --> 00:45:50,226
Just two days after Mussolini's execution,

946
00:45:50,226 --> 00:45:53,940
Adolf Hitler accepts Germany has lost the war

947
00:45:53,940 --> 00:45:55,333
and commits suicide.

948
00:45:57,330 --> 00:45:59,830
With the two fascist leaders dead,

949
00:45:59,830 --> 00:46:03,713
World War II in Europe comes to a bloody end.

950
00:46:07,090 --> 00:46:11,250
People across Europe celebrate the end of the fighting

951
00:46:11,250 --> 00:46:14,165
and now look to an uncertain future.

952
00:46:14,165 --> 00:46:16,290
(people cheering)
(uplifting music)

953
00:46:16,290 --> 00:46:17,770
Victor Emmanuel of Italy

954
00:46:17,770 --> 00:46:20,243
has tried to distance himself from Mussolini,

955
00:46:21,310 --> 00:46:24,163
but the people of Italy won't easily forget.

956
00:46:26,040 --> 00:46:29,410
Victor Emmanuel has attempted to save his throne

957
00:46:29,410 --> 00:46:32,700
and the monarchy by disassociating himself

958
00:46:32,700 --> 00:46:34,510
with Mussolini and the fascists.

959
00:46:34,510 --> 00:46:37,250
But, frankly, it's too little too late.

960
00:46:37,250 --> 00:46:40,830
Around 25 million Italians vote

961
00:46:40,830 --> 00:46:43,630
on whether to keep their royal family

962
00:46:43,630 --> 00:46:44,680
or become a republic.

963
00:46:45,600 --> 00:46:47,120
Italy becomes a republic,

964
00:46:47,120 --> 00:46:50,470
and so Vittorio Emanuele and the House of Savoy

965
00:46:50,470 --> 00:46:52,263
become normal citizens.

966
00:46:53,130 --> 00:46:55,760
Emmanuel loses his crown

967
00:46:55,760 --> 00:46:58,180
and goes into exile in Egypt,

968
00:46:58,180 --> 00:47:00,323
where he dies a few years later.

969
00:47:01,920 --> 00:47:03,850
But he's not alone.
(solemn music)

970
00:47:03,850 --> 00:47:07,500
The monarchs of countries like Yugoslavia, Bulgaria,

971
00:47:07,500 --> 00:47:11,000
and Romania also lose their thrones

972
00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:13,183
during the aftermath of World War II.

973
00:47:14,930 --> 00:47:18,320
But King George VI survives

974
00:47:18,320 --> 00:47:20,100
and celebrates the victory

975
00:47:20,100 --> 00:47:22,465
from the Buckingham Palace balcony.

976
00:47:22,465 --> 00:47:23,690
(crowd cheering)
(uplifting music)

977
00:47:23,690 --> 00:47:25,500
George VI is rightly regarded

978
00:47:25,500 --> 00:47:27,468
as one of Britain's greatest rulers.

979
00:47:27,468 --> 00:47:28,410
(people cheering)

980
00:47:28,410 --> 00:47:31,680
George resisted the allure of fascism

981
00:47:31,680 --> 00:47:34,940
and avoided the mistakes of the Italian royal family.

982
00:47:34,940 --> 00:47:37,680
I think he's not regarded so much as a great ruler

983
00:47:37,680 --> 00:47:40,060
because he was comfortable being king,

984
00:47:40,060 --> 00:47:42,610
but because he was the right man at the right time.

985
00:47:43,790 --> 00:47:45,880
I think that we were very lucky as a country

986
00:47:45,880 --> 00:47:49,345
that we lost an awful king and gained a great one.

987
00:47:49,345 --> 00:47:51,320
(uplifting music)

988
00:47:51,320 --> 00:47:54,600
But George is not out of the woods just yet.

989
00:47:54,600 --> 00:47:57,650
If his brother Edward's link to Hitler is discovered

990
00:47:57,650 --> 00:47:59,810
by the public, it could be the death

991
00:47:59,810 --> 00:48:01,283
of the British monarchy.

992
00:48:02,610 --> 00:48:05,000
How far will the royal family go

993
00:48:05,000 --> 00:48:07,493
to keep their fascist secrets hidden?

994
00:48:09,440 --> 00:48:11,730
In this post-war world

995
00:48:11,730 --> 00:48:16,103
where fascists face trial and execution,

996
00:48:17,080 --> 00:48:19,749
fascism is the dirtiest of words

997
00:48:19,749 --> 00:48:22,300
(dramatic music)

998
00:48:22,300 --> 00:48:24,540
For any royal family to survive,

999
00:48:24,540 --> 00:48:27,410
they must go to extremes to get their people

1000
00:48:27,410 --> 00:48:30,960
to forget their wartime pasts.

1001
00:48:30,960 --> 00:48:33,223
They must adapt to a new world order,

1002
00:48:34,970 --> 00:48:37,459
dominated by a different kind of war.

1003
00:48:37,459 --> 00:48:39,040
(dramatic music)

1004
00:48:39,040 --> 00:48:42,423
A war not of attacks and invasions,

1005
00:48:43,410 --> 00:48:46,669
but a war of propaganda and espionage.

1006
00:48:46,669 --> 00:48:49,419
(dramatic music)

1007
00:48:50,830 --> 00:48:53,753
A war between East and West.

1008
00:48:54,840 --> 00:48:58,530
Between the USA and the USSR.

1009
00:49:00,451 --> 00:49:02,070
The Cold War.

1010
00:49:02,070 --> 00:49:04,820
(dramatic music)