A scene from “Unfinished Business”

Margaret Thatcher: I recognize that for your family, the transition of this nation from Empire to comparative supplicancy on the world stage must have come as a greater shock than to the rest of us. But I would argue that the Commonwealth is not the way to fill that gap. There are ways of Britain being great again, and that is through a revitalized economy, not through association with unreliable tribal leaders in eccentric costumes.

Queen Elizabeth II: But isn't that all I am, Prime Minister? A tribal leader in eccentric costume?

Margaret Thatcher: Certainly not. You're head of an evolved constitutional monarchy that stretches back to William the Conqueror. It's not comparing like with like.

Queen Elizabeth II: Ah, now that's where we differ. You see, I consider myself to be exactly like them. To me, Ghana, Zambia, Malawi are all great sovereign nations with great histories. I am aware you probably don't share that view. To you, the Commonwealth is something of a distraction, a waste of time. But in many ways, I have given my life to it. It was the pledge I made forty years ago.

Margaret Thatcher: On the wireless. "To our great imperial family." I remember listening to it as a student at Oxford. But we cannot let the values of the past distract us from the realities of the present, particularly where Britain's economic interests are concerned.

Queen Elizabeth II: Forty-eight countries of the Commonwealth are now preparing a statement condemning the South African regime, and recommending tougher sanctions. What they, what I would like you to do, is sign that statement.

Margaret Thatcher: If I didn't know better, that sounded very much like a directive.

Queen Elizabeth II: Think of it as a question.