'The Crown' Season 3 Episode 7 'Moondust' skips Neil Armstrong's royal gaffe when he coughed directly into Queen’s face
The story contains spoilers from 'The Crown' Season 3 Episode 7 — 'Moondust'.
Should we really put men on a pedestal? Episode 7 unlocks the big question following the Apollo 11 Moon Landing on July 21, 1969, and the crew's tour of celebration.
First man to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong is on television and Prince Philip is awestruck. Queen Elizabeth II comes in to tell him about her message that will be sent in a "tiny disc with tiny microscopic inscriptions in golden lettering that reads: 'From Planet Earth, July 1969.'" The Queen then asks him to be ready for church at nine o'clock in the morning where he is agitated with the old and frail dean.
He asks the Queen to get the Dean replaced and she finds a new one, the same age as Philip. Robin Woods, the new Dean, then comes to talk about his "dream" to start an "academy" or "conservatoire" for "personal and spiritual growth." When he tells Philip about his further plans, Philip argues, "You don't raise your game by talking or thinking. You raise your game by action."
The Duke of Edinburgh is caught in a moment of wonder on the moon landing day. Thrilled by the sight, his gaze never leaves the screen and he is taken aback by the "stark beauty" of the moment that there are tears of joy in his eyes. His midlife crisis continues as his heart is pounded by a pinch of regret. He carries out his royal duties but it seems minuscule in front of his dream of being a pilot.
While on a plane, he isn't able to take his eyes off the moon and asks the pilot if he can take control. He irrationally sped up despite the pilot’s warnings and flew right in front of the moon. Obsessed with the moon landing, he isn't able to concentrate on anything else. Robin Woods invited him to see his "center of recovery and renewal" which Philip refers to as the "concentration camp for spiritual defectives."
The two sit down in a deep discussion about science and religion, the need for more mysteries to be solved so that there is less need for a god to provide answers. But Prince Philip feels "action" is the only thing that will help men make a mark like astronauts who achieve something so remarkable.
Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin come to meet Philip for a private discussion when he realizes they are simply three little men who are "pale-faced with colds" and calls them as having "total absence of originality and spontaneity." The Queen explains how it is not their fault as they never wanted to be "public figures," and he expresses his dismay in these words: "They delivered as astronauts, but they disappointed as human beings."
In reality, Armstrong is said to have coughed directly into the Queen's face. The showrunners seem to have pacified the royal gaffe. In the series, the meeting brings Philip back to the ground. That's when he opens his heart to Robin Woods. "Help me," he finally says after ridiculing him. He then adds: "I was more scared to see you than going up in any bloody rocket." Philip finally realizes what life's intricacies mean after his conversation with Woods.
After that incident, Prince Philip and Dean Robin Woods became lifelong friends and for over 50 years, St George’s House has been a center for the exploration of faith and philosophy. The episode puts the spotlight on how science without religion is lame and religion without science is blind.