As the 1960s and '70s unfold, the royal family contends with conflict and betrayal while striving to uphold tradition in the face of an evolving world.
The royal family mourns the passing of Winston Churchill. The United Kingdom ushers in a new prime minister, the Labour Party's Harold Wilson whom Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth hear might be a Soviet spy.
While Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon visit the USA, the queen, at the bidding of Harold Wilson, asks them to make a side trip to Washington, D.C. to ask President Johnson for financial assistance for the United Kingdom.
A horrible disaster in the Welsh town of Aberfan leaves scores of children dead, but when the Queen takes a week to decide to visit the town to offer solace to its people, she must confront her reasons for postponing the trip.
Left without a home by a political coup in Athens, Philip's eccentric mother, Princess Alice of Greece, is invited to live in Buckingham Palace by the Queen.
While the Queen travels abroad to learn about horse training, unhappiness among the British elite with the devaluation of the pound involves Lord Mountbatten in a plan to oust Harold Wilson.
Prince Charles is sent to Aberystwyth to learn Welsh from an ardent nationalist in preparation for the ceremony for his investiture as Prince of Wales.
Charles visits the exiled Duke of Windsor in his Paris chateau, only to find him very ill. But will the Queen make peace with her uncle before he dies?
While Princess Anne dates her elder brother's polo rival Andrew Parker Bowles, Prince Charles falls deeply in love with Camilla Shand causing the Queen Mother and Lord Mountbatten to interfere.
As her marriage falls apart, Princess Margaret finds solace in the arms of a much younger landscape gardener. The Queen and the nation celebrate Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee.
