![]() ![]() ![]() (Johnson’s employment seems especially noteworthy considering the royal household had discriminatory hiring policies until at least the 1960s.) Forced to do his father’s dirty work, Dodi reluctantly asks the server to leave while Mohamed dances with some friends.īut it doesn’t take long for Mohamed to change his tune he learns the server is none other than Sydney Johnson, a Bahamian who worked as the personal valet to Edward VIII - the Duke of Windsor and once the king of England - for over 30 years. It’s a quick reminder of how anti-Black racism is pervasive even in other communities of color. The second is a Black server working the event - a presence that will taint the hotel’s reputation, according to Mohamed. The first is Heini Wathén, a blonde Finnish model whom he’ll eventually marry (he and his first wife, Samira Khashoggi, divorced shortly after Dodi was born). With the Ritz acquired, Mohamed finds two people who catch his eye on opening night. The Al-Fayed crew get up to leave, but are stopped. Mohamed says, with his son Dodi translating, that he wants to restore the hotel’s reputation and yet he’s being disrespected and discriminated against. The Al-Fayed family is putting in an offer for the Ritz hotel - it’s the highest bid yet, but there’s still resistance from the sellers. I feel like we’re wading into dicey territory. He thinks his father lacks ambition, vision, and power, yet he sees the same qualities in the British and wants to match them. His father, citing the Anglo-Egyptian War, feels disdain for the British, but Mohamed feels disdain for his dad. The show takes us to Alexandria, Egypt, in 1946, where Mohamed grew up. This installment is probably the most experimental departure the series has taken so far, with the royal family operating as a supporting cast while we follow the lives of three men of color, most notably Mohamed Al-Fayed, an Egyptian Anglophile and self-made billionaire. In past seasons, The Crown has benefited immensely from its ability to operate episodically some of the show’s most gorgeous and affecting story lines have been stand-alone chapters. ![]()
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