John Grigg, Lord Altringham

John Grigg, Lord Altrincham, is a peer and journalist who takes it upon himself to say what no one in polite society dares: that the monarchy, and the young Queen herself, need to change with the times. He writes with conviction rather than malice, more reformer than provocateur, though the country reads him as both.

The character works because he isn't a villain, just an inconveniently honest critic, and John Heffernan plays him with the calm, unbothered certainty of a man who has thought his position through and won't apologise for it. The drama gets real friction from a dissent that's principled rather than cruel.