AS our new King settles into the role for which he was born, and for which he waited more than seven decades, the new play at Yeovil’s Swan Theatre recalls the series of events that led to his grandfather becoming King, and consequently his mother becoming Queen.
Royce Ryton’s Crown Material, at the Swan from 10th to 15th July, tells the fascinating story of Edward VIII’s abdication. It is set in Marlborough House between 1936 and 1945, and focuses on the private family drama of the man who chose the “woman I love” over his royal destiny, and eventually leading to the abdication. His younger brother became George VI and his older daughter, Elizabeth, would become our longest-reigning monarch, a role she was not born to, but fulfilled with dignity, compassion, skill and diplomacy.
First performed in 1972, Crown Matrimonial is an engrossing and moving study of a major constitutional crisis and an overwhelming issue of private and public conflict.
The Swan production is directed by Robert Graydon. Curtain up is at 7.45pm.
Pictured: Mark :Payne, the Swan Theatre chairman, takes the leading role as the lawyer Walter Monckton KC.