No doubt about it, the first two series of The Crown are widely held up by fans as the glory days – but there’s one episode in the final sixth series that might be amongst the show's best.
In the eighth episode, entitled Ritz, which features a sadly ailing Princess Margaret (with an extraordinary performance from Lesley Manville), we’re given a charming flashback to the end of World War II and VE day.
In The Crown’s fictionalised telling, the young Margaret and Lilibet (her nickname for her sister, Elizabeth) manage to sneak out of Buckingham Palace for a rollicking knees up at the Ritz. But two unaccompanied young women going out on the town without a male chaperone is clearly unthinkable, so they draft in two gentlemen acquaintances, Peter Townsend and Porchey, to be their escorts.
But who was Porchey and where else did he appear in the series?
The Queen and Porchey’s relationship
The character of Porchey actually appeared in the first three series of The Crown (played by Joseph Kloska, then John Hollingworth in season three). He was a close confidant of the Queen since she was a young girl.
Born in 1924, the 7th Earl of Carnarvon, the Baron, and later Lord, of Porchester – or Henry George Reginald Molyneux Herbert, to give him his full name – usually went by the nickname Porchey.
Queen Elizabeth II met Porchey in her teenage years, and she often visited him at his family’s estate, Highclere Castle – coincidentally known as the real-life Downton Abbey.
Porchey’s son, the 8th Earl of Carnarvon and the Queen’s godson, told The Daily Telegraph of their life-long friendship: “It was a very equal friendship ranging over many interests. They were from the same generation. They had been through the war. They shared a great love of the countryside and wildlife as well as horses. He and the Queen had a similar passion for every aspect and detail of horse breeding.”
In 1969, Porchey was appointed the Queen’s racing manager, and according to The Guardian: “He maintained his highest racing profile. In the 1970s, the royal studs were continuing to breed quality horses, and notable racecourse successes included Highclere's in the 1974 French Oaks on the eve of Royal Ascot, and Dunfermline's wins in the Oaks and the St Leger in Jubilee Year (1977).”
And while The Crown suggests that there may have once been a romantic interest there, he married Jean Margaret Wallop in 1956, and the couple had three children together. The Queen married Prince Philip earlier in 1947.
Porchey in The Crown
Prince Philip is shown getting jealous about the Queen and Porchey’s relationship in the first series, as Claire-Foy-as-The Queen tells him: “I have nothing to hide from you. Porchey is a friend. And yes, there are those who would have preferred me to marry him. Indeed, marriage with him might have been easier, might have even worked better than ours. But to everyone’s regret and frustration, the only person I have ever loved is you.”
In season six, Porchey (Joe Edgar) – pictured in his military regalia, as he was commissioned into the Royal Horse Guards, serving in Egypt and Italy in World War II – is shown sneaking the princesses out of the palace for a night on the tiles at The Ritz hotel.
While it’s likely this is just a storyline conjured up for the series, the Queen and Porchey had a very close relationship throughout their lives – he was referred to as her “closest confidant” and “best friend” until his death in 2001.
Porchey’s death
Porchey died on 11 September, 2001, the same day as the 9/11 terrorist attack. In the episode, the Queen is seen telling Margaret: “He collapsed watching the news. Heart attack. Poor Jean.”
This is true – he died, aged 77, of a heart attack, and had been watching the news reports of September 11 earlier in the day.
Imelda-Staunton-as-HRH then adds: “He would bring horse news, which is the only news I ever really want to hear. Used to hold up his mobile phone when horse bidding was underway so I could hear the action.”
Porchey was later succeeded by his son-in-law, John Warren, as Queen Elizabeth’s racing manager.
