Hidden Family 

Ugh God, that is horrible. I looked it up, the nurses interviewed in a documentary mentioned they have no records of anyone visiting them or even sending them a damn birthday card or Christmas card. The WORST and most hypocritical part is that Queen Mother was a patron of a charity for the mentally disabled.

Literally anything happens. The Queen Mother: But... *the abdication*

That "Shame on all of you!" is POWERFUL AF, Helena Bonham Carter is such a good actress!!!!

Me, one hour before my shift - "I'm sorry, I won't be able to come into the office today." Salty Boss - "Why?" Me - "The abdication of course."

This is especially terrible when you read the story of Princess Alexandrine of Prussia. She was born during WWI and diagnosed with Downs Syndrome shortly after birth. Unlike the British Royal Family, her family did not hide her away and she appeared in family photographs and attended public engagements. She was clearly very loved. What was the British Royal Family's excuse?

In this episode, Margaret was struggling with her own mental health, so to her, this was not only a horrible revelation, but another betrayal by her family.

The Queen's cousin Katherine Bowes-Lyon died in just 2014, very recent. It is shameful that she and her institutionalisation is not publicly acknowledged and regretted.

“if you don’t fit the perfect mold of silent dutiful supplication. you will be spat out, or hidden or worst : declared dead” okay diana and meghan reference 🥺

4:40 “Darwin had nothing on you lot” Jesus Margaret, that was bloody quick

This is just disgusting…… I’m glad they portrayed this situation accurately here…. Don’t give me this BS that the Queen Mother thought her nieces were dead until the 80s…… they were locked up, disowned and forgotten by their family to protect their reputations and only given minor acknowledgment when their actions were exposed…….. shameful.

Assuming that this actually happened, it really humanizes the glamorous and rather snobbish image of Princess Margaret, to show that she was horrified to find out that members of her family were locked up for being mentally imbalanced rather than attended to with care and love.

The deaf mother of the Duke of Edinburgh was also at one time cruelly incarcerated in a mental institution (and even considered for enforced hysterectomy) until she finally managed to escape. On both sides of the Royal Family, compassion and the milk of human kindness did not come easily.

Easily one the most satisfying scenes in the show, there towards the end. The Royal Family did not want anything disturbing the crown, their Royal image and their duties. Margaret was a good woman to call out the cruelty that that family displayed half the time. And to think her mother (who I’m sure in good will really had some somewhat understandable reasons for doing it, considering the times back then) was one to justify just about anything.

I live near Earlswood, where they were kept... we all knew about it growing up, and I was shocked at how many only discovered through The Crown.

Helena Bonham's performance here gives me chills GODAMN

The sad thing is none of them ever went to visit or even attend one of their funerals

*family does some awful thing* Queen mother: THE ABDICATION!

I love Princess Margaret. She is a true person, not a doll

As a fellow disabled person who has autism this saddens me deeply that someone could be so cruel by keeping the perfect children and throwing away the so called “reject batch of disabled children” and forgetting they even existed just so someone can protect there public imagine. This disgusts me how can people be so heartless and cruel to someone just because they ain’t quote on quote “PERFECT”. All children no matter who they are deserve the love of their friends family and loved ones, and not treated like garbage to be set out to the curb for garbage pickup.

this scene is iconic and very emotional in every way, Margaret had every right to stand up. Image ruins everything in the end and silence can't be bought by money or suppressed by an institution like the monarchy for very long. truth will out regardless.

Not so fun fact: the Bowes Lyons, Queen Elizabeth’s maternal family, the Queen mother’s side of the family has a long history of genetic and physical disability most likely due to rampant inbreeding in order to maintain family wealth. In fact during the 19th century a child was born to the family which was said to be so deformed it was barely recognizable as a human. With flesh as smooth as porcelain and a head as round and bulbous as an egg. He was said to have died at birth as a stillborn but the midwife from the local village who was witness to the birth reporter that he was very much alive. Villagers at the time held the belief that the monster child survived and was locked away in the ancestral home of the Bowes Lyons, Glamis Castle. For years rumors circled about the true heir of Glamis castle and the title to the earldom of Strathmore. It is said that the egg man of Glamis was bricked into one of the rooms of the castle and was only allowed to interact with the guard in front of his room. The one window being his only connection to the outside world. The rumors were so prevalent they even reached the inner circle of Queen Victoria herself. Years after the heirs of the earl of Strathmore decided to see if the legends were true and tried to find the secret room. She had the house staff put up white cloth over every window in the castle to see if there was a room that was unseen from the inside. When all the clothes were put up, the countess noticed that there was one room with no cloth a room she had never seen before in one of the castles towers. She never was able to find the room and left it alone. Until years later when a surveyor and conservationist was looking at the house and found a secret room behind a brick wall, inside were a small cot, a chair, a small table, and a toilet more of a closet than a room. And considering the Bowes Lyon had a history of hiding afflicted members of their family maybe the legends just might be true.

As a mother of 2 teenagers with profound autism, I can't understand how someone could do this. I realize times were different, but my children are my entire life. I'm obsessed with them. I take them everywhere, no matter how hard it is. I would never hide them. I'm so proud of them!

Wait until you hear what happened to JFK's sister. Their mother who buried 2 murdered sons said what they did to her daughter is the thing that haunted her the most.

The Queen Mother was so irritating in this scene and in this season in general. Don’t know much about the real lady, but her characterisation is a dreadful woman

Ms. Helena is always absolutely incredible in anything she appears on.

Hopefully one day the Royal Family will realize their mistake and give the sisters a proper memorial service

I think one of the most telling parts of all this is that when Nerissa died in 1986 only hospital staff were at the funeral and her grave stone was a simple plastic cross with a serial number and surname written on it until the story hit the news and blew up. Only then did Nerissa's nieces and nephews bother to buy an actual (though very simple and unadorned) headstone. The RF can claim ignorance or insist the 5 girls in the hospital were still loved and considered family but the facts speak for themselves.

I just realised that Helena has played both people in that last scene

Marrying your cousins to keep the money and the power in the families has a nasty outcome, who knew.🤷🤷‍♂🤷‍♂🤷‍♂🤷‍♂🤷‍♂🤷🤷🤷

The absolute horror of all this is - it was NEVER rectified. They continued to hide and ignore these people who are now most likely now long gone. I suspect very few members of the public are aware of this outrageous and cruel behaviour on the part of the Royal family. It also illustrates how dangerous it is to inbreed!

I love the sense of outrage that Margaret exhibits when she comes upon the cruel truth of her cousins being hidden away. She is clearly a human being with compassion who has been placed, through no fault of her own, in a family that exhibits poor judgement, a family that is obsessed with appearances, protecting the brittle reality of their vulnerabilities.

I actually agree with mostly Princess Margaret in this scene. I think Princess Margaret had a right to get angry with her mom. Even though the five members of the royal family acted like that they’re still human beings.

Helena bonham carter nailed this role 🙌

'Hereditary Principle' is my favorite episode of season 4... HBC was amazing.

This is not the first time King George V had a son Prince John who was hidden away as well and he was the child of a king

Had Diana been around this time, she would've visited and brought attention to this.

I don't understand how such an emotional and empathetic character could ever make fun of Diana (not talking about the real Margaret here, we don't know what their relationship was like)

Wasn’t only in the royal family…there are many families around the world who’ve done exactly the same thing.

hard to believe that Nerissa and Katherine were indeed actually related to the Royal Family, but taken away and hidden from the public because of their mental health, even declared dead when they were very much alive, and nobody in the entire Royal Family ever visited them, it's a bloody outrage

I have a mild learning disability this is disgusting thank you for giving disabled people like a voice a chance to be heard and for showing that we are human beings as well we laugh we cry he hurt we feel

4:03 no it’s not. It’s wicked and it’s cold hearted

If princess margaret would have been like elena boham carter's princess margaret she would have left the royal family and marry Peter and she would have made the vow to princess diana's coffin

There were articles about the Queen's cousins in British papers as far back as the 80's. It turns out that it was well known, but nobody was talking. I think that one of the worst aspects is that the royals didn't provide funds to make their living space more comfortable.

I don't get it tho, I know downs children and other mental afflictions are more difficult to deal with but they're actually so nice and refreshing company compared to otherwise regular people. I had a neighbour with downs growing up and she was fun, she used to sing and dance and we all used to play alot growing up. So I don't get what this stigmas about really. 😳

If she is still alive right now, she would blame the global warming on the abdication 😂😂😂😂

No wonder Charles ears big

‘Darwin had nothing on you lot’ > ‘King Kong ain’t got shit on me’

This episode is why Margaret is my fav

Margaret was a Dragon...she knew she would go to the Dungeon just as easily...Chained, and put a-way...she was Hell to Pay! :)

HBC is simply amazing in this role

Even as bleak as that hospital seemed the actual stuff going on was waaaaayy worse. That place was actually looked hygienic.

From what I can tell, these cousins did need institutional care.

Even the Kennedy's in Massachusetts hid a daughter, Rosalie or something like that, and then a doctor suggested a prefrontal lobotomy and that Madd her a vegetable and forever hidden away and never mentioned

Margaret may have all her flaws, but she was definitely the most human out of all of them

Not a single member of the royal family attended the funerals of those sisters

We located rest of the family and bring the family together today 2024

I don't know about the British Royal Family, but Margaret in this series really gets to my heart. She is one of the most humane characters in the series, besides Diana or Anne. 😊

4:30 "Or worse....declared DEAD" Queen Elizabeth and Phillip "There's a thought."

I never would’ve found out the queen had cousin with disabilities if it wasn’t for this show ..

I was an extra in this one in The Crown on armchair with no lines Caroline

The irony is that the mental illness came from aunt fenella's family, not the bowes lyons.

There were no siblings besides the two also they were not aware of their relationship to them but did have photos of them. Also I feel it's important to point out that these were the Queen's mother's family members not the Windsors it was ultimately the Queen's Brothers family decision to do what they did

"Hello, I'm calling today because we noticed we haven't received a payment on your home in 3 months, is there a particular reason for that?" "The abdication, of course."

Queen mother annoyed me so much in this episode

Isn't Helena marvellous?!!!!!

Darwin had nothing on that lot.

Terrible absolutely terrible

If you have grown up being bullied or a social black sheep...this is kind of relatable in a way. I hope I offend nobody by saying this

The consequences of generational inbreeding

The scene at the beach, I thought I saw parts of Bellatrix

Shame Shame Shame ...

The dangers of inbreeding.

I know that actor as the priest. He was the asshole knight in Dragonheart 2!!!! I instantly recognized him. Happy he got a part for such an esteemed show and still working as an actor.

Well since Edward VIII. had no children, his brother or niece would eventually have inherited the throne some 36 years later. Whom would they have blamed then?

Unfortunately it was considered the correct thing to do and not abusive, if a little cold. I knew of a woman in the US, born in 1910. She was intellectually slightly below average in a family of exceptionally high achievers, some with careers that made them public figures. She had impulsivity issues and got involved with a man her family considered inappropriate when she was 16. She was institutionalized after she ran away from home and never lived outside a private mental hospital again.

That ending Darwin had nothing on you lot!! Shame on all of you! I'm still baffled she didn't get an academy or an Oscar for that brilliant performance at all

I can understand even though I don’t agree with why they hid them… but what’s outrageous is the difference in social standing and quality of life between theirs and the royal family. That’s what makes it totally unacceptable

Real life not withstanding, the Queen Mother was profoundly unbearable many times in this series. It was quite satisfying seeing Margaret stick it to her in this scene.

That’s how it was back in those days. If you were poor working class it was worse. Some of those institutions were horrific and the way they were treated .

It must be stressed that It was not QE2's or Princess Margaret's choice to hide these cousins. They did not even know that they were alive. It was the evil Queen Mother and her family who decided they should be declared dead. Place the blame where it is due.

Wow only God can truly love people without limits Families can let u down as soon as u become ill

HBC is great when she’s away from Tim Burton

I hope the line, "Darwin had nothing on you lot", was really said.

I feel like seasons 1-4 were one long tutorial on how NOT to deal with mental health issues.

I love the rain

ahh so weird she's played both of them!

Ugh this is why despite feeling sorry for what her family is going through, and feeling curiosity about King Charles, I will not making any fawning declaration over the Queen's passing. The Windsor family ain't all that the monarchists crack them up to be.

Its from inbreeding that goes back centuries within the Royal family.

It really should be pointed out that the 2 cousins were only related by marriage to the British royal family and that their mothers family, who went by the name Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis , were known to have several members with a genetic disability of unknown origin. It was the Queen Mother's family who decided to hide them away, not the Windsors.

She is rather good, isn't she.

HBC, one of the greatest actresses alive!!!!

Did they flip a coin on Charles?

“Darwin had nothing on you lot.” 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 generations of royals destroyed by that quip.

関口裕美様 英国赤十字社 ウェールズ公妃ダイアナ つかえていました。 よろしくお願いいたします。 伊東智美ＭI6とCIA

In real life princess Margaret did nothing about it. This was written just for TV. But I like this storyline. Helena Bonham Carter is an outstanding actress.

田原俊彦様 英国赤十字社 ウェールズ公妃ダイアナ つかえていました。 よろしくお願いいたします。 伊東智美ＭI6とCIA

副島淳様 英国赤十字社 ウェールズ公妃ダイアナ つかえていました。 よろしくお願いいたします。 伊東智美ＭI6とCIA

田畑智規様 英国赤十字社 ウェールズ公妃ダイアナ つかえていました。 よろしくお願いいたします。 伊東智美ＭI6とCIA

I work in a group home for IDDs. Rarely do family members ever come to visit. They barely acknowledge and this is in 2024! I am not surprised. I'm saddened.

As if Margaret was a decent person. She was the worst of the lot.