Mrs Brown Page #14

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INT. WINDSOR CASTLE, PRINCE'S BEDCHAMBER - DAY

Some days later. A tableau.

QUEEN VICTORIA sits at the foot of the bed, a matriarch

surrounded by her ROYAL FAMILY. They watch DOCTOR JENNER

bend to examine the ghostly figure of BERTIE. He listens

for a pulse. Finally, he looks up.

JENNER:

Better.

VICTORIA lets out a deep breath. She takes hold of

PRINCESS ALEXANDRA'S hand.

VICTORIA:

Should the good Lord see fit to spare

my son, I will order a mass to be

celebrated at St. George's. The

people must share with their Queen,

her prayers and hopes for their future

King.

INT. WINDSOR CASTLE, CORRIDOR OUTSIDE BEDCHAMBER - DAY

A few minutes later, BROWN stands in the corridor when the

door bursts open and VICTORIA marches straight past him

with PONSONBY at her side.

PONSONBY:

(aside to BROWN)

The Queen will be riding to St.

George's on the fifth.

BROWN:

(launching straight in)

I recommend Her Majesty uses the

covered carriage with a full Horse

Guard. In the event of any

disturbance I will ensure --

VICTORIA:

(cutting in)

I will ride to St. George's in an open

carriage. It is time the Queen was

seen by her public.

VICTORIA turns and disappears down the corridor, followed

by PONSONBY. We linger on BROWN'S humiliation, closer and

closer until ...

EXT. WINDSOR CASTLE, ST. GEORGE'S - DAY

Some weeks later.

A series of angles on BROWN as he walks amid the mass of

onlookers pressing against a cordon of guards surrounding

the cathedral. All the time, his eyes flick left and

right, searching the faces in front of him for potential

assassins. Over his intense watchfulness we hear ...

DEAN WELLSELLY (O.S.)

... praise and magnify thy glorious

name for that thou has raised thy

servant Albert Edward, Prince of Wales

from the bed of sickness.

We pray thee to perfect the recovery

of thy servant and to crown him day by

day with more abundant blessings both

for body and soul, through Jesus

Christ our Lord ...

The CONGREGATION mutters a vast ...

CONGREGATION (O.S.)

Amen.

EXT. WINDSOR CASTLE, ST. GEORGE'S - DAY

VICTORIA and other members of the ROYAL FAMILY walk down

the steps towards the cheering crowd. As DEAN WELLSELLY

and BROWN follow, BROWN sees ARTHUR O'CONNER break from the

onlookers, pulling out a gun. BROWN yells out:

BROWN:

NO!!

He races toward O'CONNER and hits him flying, bangs him to

the ground and twists the gun out of his hand. As they

fall we hear laughter and:

BERTIE (O.S.)

So there he is, Arthur O'Conner...

INT. WINDSOR CASTLE, DINING HALL - NIGHT

It's a few days later and BERTIE is entertaining a private

dinner party. They include QUEEN VICTORIA, PRINCESS

ALEXANDRA, PRINCESS LOUISE and HENRY PONSONBY. BROWN is in

attendance. He stands off to one side, near the door.

BERTIE:

(bristling with confidence)

... all seven stone of the man,

paddling madly towards us through a

sea of Horse Guards, waving something

that looks vaguely like a pen. I

thought he must be one of the mother's

ardent readership in search of the

Royal indenture...

More chortling. VICTORIA watches her son, smiling proudly.

BROWN looks straight ahead.

BERTIE (CONT'D)

I believe I saw him first and then

alerted Brown. I'm not convinced that

he wasn't taking a snooze on top of

the box. Anyway, we had our man

pinned down and I must say, Brown

acquitted himself admirably. Of

course the gun was a fake, but all the

same, it was well done.

No-one registers BROWN. But while VICTORIA does not look

at him, she is acutely aware of his presence.

VICTORIA:

I intend Brown to be rewarded with a

special medal cast in gold. It will

be called The Devoted Service Medal.

The guests applaud politely. BERTIE clinks his glass for

attention and raises it high.

BERTIE:

A toast. Victoria Regina!

The others raise their glasses in unison.

EVERYONE:

Victoria Regina!

VICTORIA smiles. BROWN remains alone by the door.

DISRAELI (O.S.)

The people of England have expressed

in a manner which cannot be mistaken,

that they will uphold the ancient

monarchy of England ...

INT. CRYSTAL PALACE - DAY

DISRAELI is delivering his come-back speech at a banquet of

Tory delegates.

DISRAELI:

... If the first great object of the

Tory Party is to maintain the

institutions of the country, the

second is, in my opinion, to maintain

the Empire of England ... the

hereditary, the traditionary policy of

the Tory Party. Go to your homes,

teach them these truths, which will

soon be imprinted on the conscience of

the land ...

FADE TO BLACK.

CAPTION:
"1883"

FADE IN:

INT. WINDSOR CASTLE, BROWN'S QUARTERS - NIGHT

The sound of rain driven hard against a window. We creep

slowly down the corridor until we are back with the fifty

year-old BROWN. With his whiskey for company, he is

sitting at his desk, writing in the diary.

The diary-manuscript is now falling apart with wear, but

there remain a few blank pages. Slowly, he fills them in.

BROWN (V.O.)

We should not live in expectation of

contentment. Fifteen years of

vigilance will not guarantee peace of

mind. Yesterday, intruders were again

reported in the South Wing. I believe

my prompt arrival may have averted any

crisis, but it was a timely reminder.

It is a great comfort to me that my

efforts in securing the Queen's safety

over the years have not been in vain.

Certainly Her Majesty sends me no word

that she's dissatisfied. And I feel

sure that if she were unhappy she

would have found the occasion to

speak to me in person, as she has so

often done in the past.

A knock at the door.

BROWN (CONT'D)

What is it?

We hear a young PAGE, breathless from running.

PAGE:

North woods, sir.

BROWN grabs his gun and rushes out.

EXT. WINDSOR CASTLE, QUADRANGLE - NIGHT

BROWN appears at the door and strides into the storm. He

walks quickly across the wide quadrangle, rain soaking his

hair and clothes.

Two GUARDS watch BROWN as he races out into the storm.

A coin flips through the air to be caught by an

outstretched hand. The second GUARD grins.

EXT. THE GROUNDS OF WINDSOR CASTLE - NIGHT

BROWN races across the open ground towards the forest.

EXT. THE GROUNDS OF WINDSOR CASTLE, FOREST - NIGHT

And now we are back with the opening sequence. Truncated,

severe, and shot from a slightly different angle. The

driving rain, BROWN hurtling through the trees, the crack

to his left, he spins and plunges on.

EXT. THE GROUNDS OF WINDSOR CASTLE, FOREST - NIGHT

Close-up on BROWN as he bangs against a tree, heaving for

air. He searches the dark, stops, listens and races on.

EXT. THE GROUNDS OF WINDSOR CASTLE, FOREST - NIGHT

BROWN tears through the trees, pistol raised at full arm's

length.

EXT. THE GROUNDS OF WINDSOR CASTLE, FOREST - NIGHT

He bursts into a clearing, breaks to the centre and stops.

Pistol raised, he turns a circle, eyes on the wildly

swaying trees. A branch snaps behind him. He spins round,

bellows deep from his heart:

BROWN:

God save the Queen!!

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