Now she's touring the UK as Queen Mary in a revival of Royce Ryton's seventies hit play Crown Matrimonial.

It is inconceivable that the late Queen Mary, consort of George V and grandmother to the present monarch, received anything like "fan mail". Many respectful letters from loyal subjects, no doubt. But anything else, more familiar, would have been almost treasonable.

Patricia Routledge, however, does get fan mail. By the sack-load, and "from all over the world".

Millions have loved her in the BBC's Keeping Up Appearances – where she famously played the social-climbing mistress of her suburban house – and they also adored her as the canny sleuth Hetty Wainthrop, a lady of pensionable age who suddenly discovered that she was really rather good at solving crimes.

Now that both Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced Bouquet) and Hetty are no more, although all the series are being constantly repeated on some TV channel or other ("the repeat fees pay for a nice little case of wine every now and then" chuckles Patricia), Miss Routledge is returning to the stage to play a real-life woman who is about as different to her much-loved TV creations as it is possible to imagine.

Queen Mary is – along with King Edward VIII – one of the main characters of Royce Ryton's hit play Crown Matrimonial, which is a detailed exploration of the astonishing events that led up to the abdication crisis of 1936.

"It is", says Patricia Routledge, "that very rare thing, a 'well-made' play. It has a beginning, a middle and an end, it is very carefully plotted, and the way that it develops is quite astonishing.

"The first scene, for example. Queen Mary is having a conversation with Edward, the King who was never ever crowned, and they are talking about his recent European tour. Without you even realising it, you're given a whole picture of the politics of the day, and what is going on, in a remarkably short space of time. Hugely skilled – and very informative. Mr Ryton is a very interesting writer."

Edward's problem was that he had fallen head over heels in love with a married woman – Wallis Simpson. Born American, and by now married to a British businessman, she had previously been divorced.

The establishment could (just about) tolerate Edward's misdemeanours with a string of mistresses while he was Prince of Wales, but when he came to the throne, things had to change.

"So, when he obstinately refused to give up Mrs Simpson, matters slowly came to a head", says Patricia. "He was resolutely determined to marry this lady, his family were aghast, and Queen Mary, ramrod straight and ruled by her sense of duty to the crown and to the country and the Empire, couldn't understand him or his attitude at all.

"Mary was a fascinating woman in her own right. She came from a minor branch of royalty, the Tecks – from Denmark. Her father was a complete spendthrift, always in debt, and her mother was hugely overweight, and known as 'Fat Mary'.

"Her mother was adored by the public – but that's not much help when you are living in genteel poverty.

"They were a strange pair, the parents, always begging money from their relations, and constantly attempting to keep one step ahead of their creditors – of whom there were dozens!

"In fact, I discovered in my reading on Mary's background, that at one point the family were packed off to relations on the continent, so that they wouldn't end up being served with writs! They were living well above their means when their income was very limited.

"And that, you know, formed Mary's character in later life. She was determined to make a good marriage and to become completely respectable – and respected.

"Then, horror of horrors, after being shamelessly touted around the minor crowned heads of Europe, she was betrothed to the dreadful Prince Eddy, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, eldest son of Edward VII and grandson of Queen Victoria.

"He was, not to put too fine a point on it, weak-willed and completely dissolute. The marriage was arranged – and then he had the good sense to die. The best thing that ever happened to Mary, in my book.

"Not wishing to pass up on having a willing bride to hand, Victoria suggested that Mary marry the next son down the line and that happened to be the future George V – who was a fairly gruff old sort in his own right."

It has been a "completely fascinating" journey for Patricia and the rest of the cast – Rufus Wright plays Edward VIII.

"Christie Jennings, who is the wonderful assistant director to our meticulous and inspired director David Grindley, actually went to all the trouble of Googling every person who is mentioned in the play, and getting their background and their details.

"Now that has been wonderful source material for us all. And you know, I'm thrilled that our company, many of them far too young to know anything about the Queen's grandmother and her family, have enthusiastically absorbed and then perfectly interpreted everything."

She then laughs: "The thing is, I can remember the abdication crisis very, very, clearly – because it was something that all the adults talked about in hushed tones in front of us children.

"And, certainly where I then lived, which was in the north-west of England, Wallis Simpson was NOT a popular lady. I think that it is fair to say that if she had appeared on the streets of my home town, Birkenhead, she might well have been at worst lynched, and at best pelted with something nasty!"

And, says Patricia, "I actually did once see Queen Mary in person. She and George V came up to Merseyside in 1935 or 1936, just before his death, to open the Mersey Tunnel.

"That was just for VIPs, of course, but afterwards they came over to Birkenhead, to open a new civic library, and I was there, across the road, with my mother and my brother, and with my little flag in my hand, and waving it, as proud as punch!

"Even then I could observe that the Queen was very rigid, a firm backbone. Our own Queen today, I think, has some of her grandmother's qualities – and her devotion to duty is also legendary".

She admits: "What scared me about the play, initially, was that I had to pare away every emotional response to the situation. Her general bearing is one of complete and utter containment, and that shows in the way that you carry yourself. She has a stillness of the face, and nothing, absolutely nothing, bubbles to the surface.

"But, oh, can you imagine what is going on underneath? It's like the proverbial swan, isn't it? Serene on the surface, but the little legs going away 50 to the dozen under the water."

Continued on page 2

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