The Crown: What poem does Margaret Thatcher recite to the Queen in ‘The Balmoral Test’?

Thatcher recites a Chartist poem in Netflix hit

The Crown returned on Sunday (15 November), with series four focusing on the relationship between Queen Elizabeth II (Olivia Colman) and Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson).

A divide between the two leaders begins to play out in episode two, “The Balmoral Test”, after Thatcher fires half of her cabinet because of their “lack of grit as a consequence of their privilege and entitlement”.

In response, the Queen tells Thatcher that she’s playing a “dangerous game” making so many enemies, to which the prime minister replies that she is “comfortable” with having enemies.

Thatcher then recites “No Enemies” by Scottish poet Charles Mackay, who lived from 1814 to 1889.

Mackay was a part of the Chartist movement, which campaigned for the working class people of England to gain political rights, suffrage and influence. It was at its most popular from 1838 to 1948.

In real life, Thatcher was extremely fond of the poem, with a 2019 BBC documentary revealing that she kept it on her desk.

Read the full poem below…

YOU have no enemies, you say?

Alas! my friend, the boast is poor;

He who has mingled in the fray

Of duty, that the brave endure,

Must have made foes! If you have none,

Thatcher recites Mackay’s poem to the Queen on ‘The Crown’ (Netflix)

Small is the work that you have done.

You’ve hit no traitor on the hip,

You’ve dashed no cup from perjured lip,

You’ve never turned the wrong to right,

You’ve been a coward in the fight.

The Crown is available to stream on Netflix.