MAN : (WITH AFRICAN ACCENT)
'My dear nephew...
'...as your uncle and guardian,
'my task is to inform you
'that is now time for you
to return home to Bechuanaland.
'To use the knowledge that you have
gained from your time in England
'to ensure the advancement of our people,
'our nation.
'You left a boy,
now you must return a man.
'Arrangements have begun.
'I am filled with joy
for our reunion and our future.
'Pula.'
(BELL DINGS)
(CROWD CHEERS AND APPLAUDS)
Seretse, are you okay? Teach him a lesson.
(BELL DINGS)
- You monkey!
- (GRUNTS)
(RAUCOUS SHOUTING)
You didn't see that coming.
- That was not a fair fight.
- You were too predictable.
Come on. We'll be late for class.
# I'm going nowhere, getting no place
# Making no time with nobody
# No, baby
# Nobody, but you...
Can you draw up my dress?
I saw Teddy at the bus stop.
He's been so down,
since you ended it with him.
Oh, well, he knows it's for the best.
We wanted different things.
Is that what you're wearing tonight?
Muriel, I can't go
to the Missionary Society dance.
- They're your friends, not mine.
- Oh, come on.
TV : 'Indians will go to their beds
as subjects of the Queen,
'and awake to a new day.'
The next day they'll awake to wish
we were running the place again.
(MURIEL LAUGHS)
Bye.
- See you later.
- Are you going, Ruth?
- Yes, Dad.
- What for?
She's keeping me company.
- Well, mind yourselves.
- Hmm, don't come back a missionary.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS)
Ah, Muriel! Thank you.
We are a little short this evening.
Oh, I've brought my sister, Ruth.
How nice of you to come.
Oh!
- Would you like to dance with me?
- Of course, Ade.
MAN 2 : It would never happen. It's futile.
- (LAUGHS)
- So, there'll be bloodshed.
A fight doesn't always
have to be about violence.
Understand the imperialist mind,
and you can outmanoeuvre it.
Isn't that why we are all here?
There is an Africa that doesn't have
to be about white or black exclusion.
An Africa that is about
unity, inclusion and equality.
MAN 2 : That's the original idealist!
(LAUGHTER)
Would you like to dance?
Thank you very much.
(BAND PLAYS)
What's this song supposed to be?
I don't know,
but they are utterly butchering it.
I've been trying to work out the melody
since they began.
(CHUCKLES) Sorry. I...
I do love jazz, but I've never trusted
an Englishman to play it.
(BOTH LAUGH)
Would you like to dance?
MURIEL : Rather lively, wasn't it?
It was good fun. Where's he from?
Oh, everybody adores Seretse.
He's over from Bechuanaland.
- What's he studying?
- Law. Like the rest.
(TYPEWRITERS CLACKING)
Just looking at this claim. A small error,
if you could just do it again...
(CLASSICAL MUSIC ON WIRELESS)
FATHER : Hmm.
Oh, there's a parcel for you over there.
Who is Mr Khama?
Oh, my goodness.
# I'm gone buzzin'...
MURIEL : Ruth!
He's invited me to a dance.
He says he can get another ticket
if you'd like to take me.
I wouldn't like to take you.
(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS)
(WHOOPING)
(RAUCOUS WHOOPING AND CHEERING)
I haven't danced like that
since I left home.
Well, then I'm so pleased
we're doing this.
I'm so pleased to have agreed to come to
a dance with a man I know nothing about!
(SERETSE CHUCKLES)
Who are you, Mr Khama?
Well, I, uh...
I grew up with my little sister, Naledi.
Our mother and father died
when... I was three.
Oh, that's...
Oh, no, no, no.
We, we were raised by my uncle.
He's like a father to us.
We've been very fortunate.
How about you? If I...
If I were to ask you to tell me something
about you I couldn't possibly guess?
We were evacuated to the countryside,
Muriel and I,
but I couldn't bear the boredom.
So I asked them
to take me at Friston, the airfield.
I drove the crash ambulance for them.
Ferrying the injured fighter pilots.
(RUTH CHUCKLES)
I looked it up, you know, your country.
The size of France
and 121,000 inhabitants.
And one of the poorest countries
in the world.
Is that right?
SERETSE : We asked for the protection
of Queen Victoria.
And she agreed. Eventually.
It was that, or face invasion
from a racialist South Africa.
- RUTH : Sounds like no choice at all.
- What is the saying?
"No man is free,
who is not master of himself."
I wish we could see the stars.
They take your breath away
back in Bechuanaland.
It never fails to astonish me.
- (EXHALES DEEPLY)
- You are cold.
(RUTH CHUCKLES)
RUTH : We should stop here.
My father, he wouldn't approve.
I'm just two streets away.
Can we do this again?
I mean, meet?
Is that too forward of me?
No.
- No, it...
- What?
Queen Victoria...
The man who negotiated for
her protection of Bechuanaland...
he was my grandfather.
A king.
I am his heir.
For more than 20 years, my uncle
has been on the throne as regent
preparing me to rule.
My education is now complete,
and it is time for me to return.
Oh. I see.
Thank you. Thank you for explaining.
Not simply disappearing.
I quite understand.
I have had a wonderful evening.
Ruth.
No, I-I-I don't think you do understand.
I don't know what happened tonight.
But I do know that I would hate to walk
away from you here in this moment,
knowing that I wouldn't see you again.
Well, then you must.
See me again, I mean.
(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS)
(WHOOPING AND CHEERING)
Uh, Mr Khama?
Thank you.
(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS)
Father will hate him on sight.
He's clever than him and he's black.
- Oh!
- Yes, yes, yes!
(RUTH CHUCKLES)
Have you ever been in love?
No.
And then Ruth Williams came along.
PASSER-BY : Look, it's a coon.
Out of the zoo for a night.
- Scum!
- Ignore him.
PASSER-BY : Look who's talking! Cheap slut!
- That's enough.
- Yeah?
- Seretse...
- Don't!
- Ruth...
- Oi! Get your black hands off what's ours!
I'm not yours!
(GRUNTING)
Stop it! Get off him.
Seretse...
Black bastard!
- Move back!
- (THEY LAUGH MOCKINGLY)
Savage!
Oh, Ruth.
MURIEL : They're yobs.
You can't let them get to you.
RUTH : No, I'm not even giving them
a second thought.
Then what is it?
It scares me a bit.
The way he makes me feel.
Ruth, he has to go back
to his own country.
I know.
Just let me enjoy it while it lasts.
- Am I late?
- No. No, not at all.
Is something the matter?
I have been... thinking
about my responsibilities
back home in Bechuanaland.
There is so much that I need to do there.
But I know that I will never
achieve anything worthwhile...
...if I leave my heart here.
Uh, I'm not asking for an answer
this, this very second.
All I, all I ask of you is that you...
...go away and, and think about it,
because, uh, there...
there is a lot to think about.
And...
I don't need to think about it.
I know I love you.
And I know what you're asking.
What it means.
And yes.
Yes.
Yes, Seretse, I will marry you.
White? British? Oh, God.
And she's a salesman's daughter!
I don't care if her mother sells fish
in the market! I love her!
Aren't you supposed
to ask for your uncle's consent
before you ask for her hand?
And your people?
(CLICKS TONGUE)
SERETSE : 'Dear Uncle...
'...I realise this won't please you.
'You and the tribe won't like it.
'I have asked an Englishwoman to marry me.
'A white woman.'
(CREAKING)
It will not happen.
It will.
What in God's name is wrong with you?
At least Muriel
only wants to convert them!
I've said yes.
- She might change her mind, George.
- She won't!
Mum, I've met the man
I want to spend my life with.
And how many other wives
do you think he's already got, eh?
- You disgust me.
- George, don't.
You think about this, Ruth.
You marry a black,
you make it impossible for us.
For your mother, for Muriel.
You may choose
a life of insults and shame...
...but what about us?
We've only ever loved you.
Father...
I can't see you again.
Not if you choose him.
(SERETSE PANTS)
This... is not how I wanted it to be.
You separated from your family.
I have fears, Ruth.
Not just about this, but... my uncle.
You can't take us all this way
to tell me you have fears!
Not for me, for you!
For everything
I am asking you to sacrifice.
Can you... even imagine a life in Africa?
Yes.
We'll take it moment by moment, won't we?
Together.
(TYPEWRITERS CLACKING)
Morning, ladies.
An early tea break for you all.
I need to speak to Miss Williams.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Ruth, uh, there's a gentleman to see you.
Good morning.
MANAGER : I'll leave you to it.
- Sir Alistair Canning.
- (DOOR CLOSES)
I am the British Government
representative in southern Africa.
And yet I find myself in London today.
Because it is my duty to inform you
that Mr Seretse Khama
has been gravely mistaken
in believing he may take you as his wife.
A marriage between you cannot take place.
A chief cannot simply come to London,
and pluck a girl out of a typing pool.
I'm not a typist.
Any union between you and Mr Khama
will have implications
for the not-insignificant neighbouring
countries of Bechuanaland.
Not least South Africa,
the prime minister of which is currently
enshrining into law the policy of...
The policy of apartheid.
Do you know this word?
(LIGHTER CLICKS)
No.
No. Well, it is this...
The black must live separately
from the white.
He must attend
his own school, hospital, church,
and he must never conjoin
with a white woman.
Your entry in Africa with him
would be seen as a flagrant disregard
for the current political climate.
It would be an act more powerful
than your limited experience
will allow you to comprehend.
We have already heard the presidents
of South Africa, southwest Africa
and the Rhodesias.
Yet all demanding that
this marriage not take place.
As a matter of diplomatic necessity.
I take it you need no more from me
to confirm that
you will not marry this man.
I will confirm nothing of the kind.
Have you no shame?
The British administration may dictate
many things in my country,
but they will not dictate who I marry.
They are trying to define us,
based on their rules,
their idea of the world,
and how they see it.
Seretse, do you hear yourself?
These men are at the very top
of government. They're powerful.
- Muriel, stop interfering.
- Stop it! Both of you!
Ruth...
Father won't talk to you.
You're called a whore in the street,
and now this.
You know how much I love Seretse.
But you don't have to do this.
Muriel, I've never wanted anything
like I want this.
(KNOCK AT DOOR)
Enter.
Sir.
CANNING : Mr Khama.
Good morning.
Sir Alistair Canning.
How do you do?
I believe you've met my fiance,
Ruth Williams.
- Indeed.
- Sir.
We are told you can provide us
with some information, Sir Alistair.
Well, if I can,
then I most certainly will.
SERETSE : Who exactly has asked you
to interfere with my wish to marry?
I will tell you... exactly.
I received advice
from the Archbishop of Canterbury,
who was instructed by the Secretary
of State for Commonwealth Affairs,
who was himself instructed
by the solicitor, Douglas Buchanan,
who was, in turn,
instructed by his client,
your uncle, Tshekedi Khama.
So, you see...
...everyone here, and in southern Africa,
is acting entirely according
to the wishes... of your uncle.
I knew he wouldn't take it well,
that he'd be angry with me,
but why is he allowing himself
to be used by them?
It's only you and I
who want us to be together.
No one else.
You are the only one
I want to spend my life with.
There's nothing in law
that says we cannot marry.
SERETSE : Have you got the rings?
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
REGISTRAR : It is with pleasure
I pronounce you man and wife.
May I offer you my congratulations?
(CHEERING AND LAUGHTER)
RUTH : Thank you so much.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Mrs Khama...
(REPORTERS CLAMOURING)
Mrs Khama, do you intend
to learn the native language?
- I will try, yes.
- And I will give her plenty of help.
Mr Khama, I hear your tribe are rebelling
against you bringing a white queen home,
according to South Africa this morning.
South Africa has her own agenda.
Perhaps you should report on that.
Thank you. That'll be all.
(CLAMOURING)
Rebelling?
It's exaggeration. It has to be.
REPORTER : 'Bechuanaland chief from the
southern African British protectorate...'
REPORTER 2 : 'Office girl, Ruth Khama,
will travel to Africa...'
REPORTER 3 : 'Bechuanaland
will meet their new queen...'
(REPORTERS CLAMOURING)
Mrs Khama... welcome.
(CLAMOURING)
Will your family be coming to visit?
- (SPEAKS SETSWANA)
- Sir.
(SIGHS) Sir Alistair Canning
wants to meet before I see my uncle.
PORTER : Good afternoon, sir.
(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
I have special dispensation as the king.
But we use a different entrance.
CANNING : Mr and Mrs Khama.
Welcome, Mrs Khama.
Thank you.
We didn't want to leave it too long
before Ruth could see her new home.
What would you like to drink, Mrs Khama?
Gin and lime would be lovely.
CANNING :
We have lemonade for you, Mr Khama.
You are aware of the prohibition
of alcohol for blacks in Bechuanaland?
Well, if my husband is having lemonade,
then I will have lemonade.
Ah, here he is! It's our new district
commissioner, Mr Rufus Lancaster.
How do you do, Mr Khama?
A pleasure.
- Mrs Khama.
- How do you do?
Let me pour you that lemonade.
CANNING : I've asked Mr Lancaster along
to give you an assessment of affairs
in Serowe,
in light of your meeting at the kgotla,
Mr Khama.
You would like to tell me
how my people are feeling?
80% of the people
support your uncle's refusal
to accept your wife
as queen of your tribe.
May I ask how you arrived
at that figure, Mr Lancaster?
We are recommending that you resign
any claim to the chieftainship,
and that you announce that fact
to your tribe with a meeting.
The kgotla, Sir Alistair,
is the place where
our tribal decisions are made,
where every man has his say.
There, and only there, can the support or
dissatisfaction of my people be measured.
Where they will decide whether
they wish for me to remain king.
I believe you call it democracy.
LANCASTER : Mr Khama,
you understand the risks you're taking.
You're forcing the tribe to take sides.
This could cause a dangerous divide.
Make your country... ungovernable.
And it would open up South Africa's
claim to annex Bechuanaland.
Britain has long prevented it.
But for how much longer?
Lancaster just about got
through the evening
without calling me an ungrateful nigger.
Can they really hand over
an entire country just like that?
They wouldn't risk it.
Malan's regime has very little support
from the British public.
But you're worried.
You know, I've seen the news reels.
I know what's happening in South Africa.
It's poison,
and it's already affecting you here.
That sign outside.
You have those in England too.
I know.
No blacks, no Irish, no dogs.
But I didn't expect it
in your own country.
(SIGHS DEEPLY) Come.
It's your first night in Bechuanaland.
I don't want you to be sad.
Let us not allow
the ugliness of this world
to take our joy away from us.
(RUTH SIGHS)
Another!
(BOTH LAUGH)
Oh...
- Shh, shh.
- What?
Can you hear that?
It's the music from the bar.
Dance with me.
Whoo! Oh!
(BOTH LAUGH)
What...? Ah!
(LIGHTER CLICKS)
SERETSE : My home.
Our home.
(VILLAGERS SHOUTING)
White woman.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Is that your mother?
(SERETSE SNIFFS)
Uh, no.
No, that is my Uncle Tshekedi's mother.
That is me on the day he became a regent.
(GOATS BLEATING)
(ENGINE STOPS)
(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
(TSHEKEDI SPEAKS SETSWANA)
Uncle... this is Ruth.
I'm very pleased to meet you, sir.
I will speak to my nephew alone.
Refreshments will be provided
for her in the house.
Over two decades of preparing you
to be our king,
and this is how you face me.
A white woman by your side.
- Uncle...
- Are you trying to tear us apart?
I am Naledi, Seretse's sister.
Naledi.
- Seretse's told me so much.
- Please don't.
Why would you do this to us?
To yourself?
Be somewhere and be something
that makes no sense to you?
Look at them.
They are fighting because of you.
I mean you no harm.
Do you understand what mother,
mother, of our nation means?
(SPEAKS SETSWANA)
I married Seretse's uncle
knowing my responsibility.
That one day Seretse's wife
would be chosen from our nation,
and I would hand over to her.
We have waited years for the day
we would see her rule by his side.
Your first duty is to your people.
Your nation.
Seretse, you're a son to me.
Please... be my son.
I will entertain you in my home,
if that is my husband's wish.
But don't insult us.
It's...
...audacious of you to come here,
and present yourself married,
as if it were your right to be our queen.
Who do you think will accept you? The men?
- I...
- Us? The women?
To have a white woman who we must love
and trust and respect as our sovereign?
(LAUGHS MOCKINGLY)
Whoo.
You belong to the whites,
but they won't want you, either.
You insult us all.
Let him go.
We need him more than you.
You will obey me,
and you will divorce her!
No, sir.
I will not.
Then listen to me, boy.
You will stand up
in the kgotla tomorrow...
...and you will renounce your birthright.
And any right to the throne.
We've misjudged this, haven't we?
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
TSHEKEDI : Would the British
have accepted it
if Princess Elizabeth had come here,
and taken one of us
as her husband?
(CROWD MURMURS IN DISSENT)
A negro king of England. Can you imagine?
She would have been refused!
Every right on her claim to the throne
removed from her!
Just as we must refuse my nephew here!
If he does not divorce this white woman!
Seretse... honour your people.
Do not belittle your kingdom!
(EXHALES)
SERETSE : Over there in
the royal burial ground lies my father...
...his father and his father before him.
If I had married a woman
of my uncle's choosing,
he would, this day,
proudly be confirming me king,
and the line of royal succession,
centuries old,
would remain unbroken.
I am proud of my lineage,
and I respect my uncle.
But he does not have the right
to decide on my succession to the throne.
I believe the people, and only the people,
should have that right.
My commitment to you has never diminished.
But I am told that you no longer
wish for me to honour my duty
to serve you as your king
because of the colour of the wife
I have chosen.
South Africa's racialist disease
has infected
all our neighbouring countries and us.
Look around you.
Our schools, hospitals, churches
all segregated in practice, if not in law.
Are we now to uphold the abomination
that is apartheid in our own kgotla?
The very same abomination that
has been oppressing us for decades?
Is this to be the future for our Africa?
We should not be fighting for segregation.
We should be fighting for equality.
That is where we should be
focusing our minds,
not on the wife I have chosen,
who means you no harm,
whose only apparent crime
has been to fall in love with me!
And mine to fall in love with her.
(SIGHS)
I cannot serve you without her by my side.
But I cannot force you to accept this.
Africa can never be free,
until all those who live in her,
white and black,
recognise that race must have
no bearing on equality and justice.
I am ready to serve you
because I love my people.
I love this land!
But I love my wife.
And I shall respect your will.
Those who want Seretse as king,
raise your hand.
Pula! Pula!
ALL : Pula, pula, pula!
Pula, pula, pula!
Pula, pula, pula, pula.
(SHOUTING IN THE DISTANCE)
Ma, what are they shouting?
Pula.
It means "rain".
They're celebrating.
Pula, pula, pula!
Accept the vote and conclude the meeting.
Uncle!
Uncle!
Uncle.
The British are not your allies.
I know exactly what I'm doing,
and why I'm doing it.
Do you, Seretse?
Do you think she is your ally?
Your grandfather had no option,
but to allow outsiders to rule us,
but you... you bring this one
to rule our tribe by choice.
What you are doing
is demeaning to your own people.
This has nothing to do with love!
So next time you look in the mirror,
ask yourself this:
Were you not a king,
would she ever even looked at you?
Now she knows there's
no Buckingham Palace in Serowe,
how long before the village dust
gets in her eyes?
Now you will see how an empire
defends itself, Mr Khama.
(SIGHS)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(SERETSE SPEAKS SETSWANA)
(SHOUTING)
RUTH : Where will he go?
He will start a new settlement somewhere.
It's our way to avoid conflict.
We stay apart, but we stay at peace.
OLIVIA CANNING :
'Let me show you the blood lilies.'
- SERETSE : Something to discuss?
- Indeed.
Come. We shall leave the men to it.
My wife is capable of hearing what the
commissioner has to say, Mrs Lancaster.
As you wish.
Though what I have to say
she may not want to hear.
Oh, but I do.
There is going to be a delay
in our acknowledgment
of your position as tribal chief.
Your uncle is questioning your legitimacy.
There is nothing to be questioned
in the decision of the kgotla.
The approval of the kgotla
was for your position as chief,
not the suitability of your wife.
SERETSE : I made it quite clear that
a vote for me was also a vote for my wife.
They knew what they were voting for.
Did they?
Mr Khama, Sir Alistair Canning
wants to be fair about this.
It should reassure you to know
that he has appointed
the Chief Justice of the High Commission
Territory, Sir Walter Harragin,
to conduct an enquiry.
Into what? My wife?
An enquiry that will prove that
our marriage has riled South Africa?
South Africa is not the issue.
Sir Alistair looked me square in the eye
in London and said that it was.
Well, then you clearly misunderstood.
Seretse, do I look like a fool to you?
Not in the slightest.
Commissioner,
to keep up this false pretence
that this is not about Great Britain's
fears of South Africa's discontent
and what that might mean for you
and your government...
...is very distasteful.
Mr Khama, neither you or I are privy
to discussions of the British Cabinet.
But one thing you can be sure of
are the conversations
that I am having with your uncle.
And it is he who demanded this enquiry.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACH)
Hey. Ooh.
Did I ever tell you I didn't
just marry you for your good looks?
Liar.
(BOTH CHUCKLE)
(RUTH EXHALES)
(IN SETSWANA)
(WOMEN MURMUR IN DISSENT)
(WAILS)
WOMAN : Malaria.
(SERETSE SIGHS)
(CHAIR CREAKS)
(CHUCKLES)
(IN SETSWANA)
(RAUCOUS CHATTER)
Six cattle died here ten days ago.
Then three white men came,
and started drilling with a machine.
We thought they had come here to
help us find water, but they ignored us.
(ENGINE STOPS)
(MUTTERING)
I need help with some shopping.
Can you come?
It's okay.
(IN SETSWANA)
(THEY SPEAK SETSWANA)
NALEDI : Let's get you the things you need.
Um...
Cornflour.
Cornflour, mma.
SERETSE : I missed you.
Kwashiorkor, malnutrition, malaria.
The hospitals can't cope with the demands.
So what can we do?
We depend on the reports the district
commissioner sends to London.
And they do nothing.
There's no money left after the war.
NALEDI : They never gave us money
before the war.
We pay the taxes they demand,
and we get nothing.
Mr Nash.
What is keeping you here so long?
- It's a beautiful country.
- (CHUCKLES)
I should be flattered,
but I don't believe you.
- The story?
- Oh, is that what I am? A story?
It's okay. I'm not offended.
I thought I'd catch the film.
Only whites allowed I hear.
And kings.
- Even black ones.
- Why do you come?
To something like this?
There's not a black face in sight
outside of the waiters and maids.
Defiance.
The knowledge that one day
things will change because they have to.
And it has to start somewhere.
Mrs Khama... how nice to see you again.
You too.
Thank you, my love.
I read something of yours
in "World Reporter".
An old copy.
About the Chinese civil war.
Was impressive.
Hmm, it's true,
I'm just a burnt-out war correspondent
trying to find another story.
Well, there's one, right there.
Drilling in the Naledi Valley.
Mineral testing.
What? Copper? Diamonds?
I don't know,
but I imagine it wouldn't be difficult
for someone like you to find out.
The valley stretches across
into South Africa.
It's been lucrative that side.
Now they've started exploring our side.
Without our permission.
But with the British Government's?
Presumably.
You know what a discovery
would mean to this country, to my people.
It would change everything.
But only if our interests are secured.
I can do that if I'm ahead of the game.
And if I have enough information.
Enjoy the film.
(FILM BLASTS)
I have some rather good news for you.
A word after the film.
Mr Khama, don't you want
to hear the good news?
We have tickets for you.
Tickets?
For what?
The government want to rectify the matter
of your chieftainship face to face.
In London.
Dealing with such matters long distance,
it slows the process down,
which isn't good for you, and your people.
So we thought a month would suffice.
Oh.
It would give you, Mrs Khama,
an opportunity
to see your friends, see your family.
You shouldn't come.
They want me here and you in London.
That is why you must be here,
and me in London.
I have to go back to resolve this.
We don't have a choice in that.
But if you come with me,
they won't allow you back.
Why else would they purchase you
a trip to visit your family?
You can't just go.
Why would I be here by myself?
Seretse, I gave up everything
to be with you, but I can't do this alone.
I promise as long as I live
you will never be alone.
But if you leave with me...
...then I can never return because
they will force you to stay in England,
and I will not return without you.
What the devil is this?
My people have decided
that my wife should stay.
Tell your people to remove themselves
from this gate immediately.
SERETSE : Unfortunately,
in the absence of your decision
on my appointment as the king,
I don't have any power over them.
Mrs Khama, I strongly urge you
to reconsider and come with us.
My husband has told you. He's...
It's not within his power
to order these people to do anything,
and as a woman...
...well, I have no say
in the matter whatsoever.
So, alas, I'm powerless to help you.
(SCOFFS)
- (WHISPERS) That was very good.
- Thank you.
I'm ready, Commissioner.
(CROWD MUTTERS)
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
CANNING : Enter.
Ah, Mr Khama. Good afternoon.
I'm grateful to you for returning
to London. Do please take a seat.
I'm intrigued to know
why you've brought me all this way.
The government summoned me here last week
upon receipt of the Harragin report.
They have reviewed it and considered
the conflict between you and your uncle.
And after taking all things into account,
we have concluded
that you should be exiled
from Bechuanaland
for a period of five years.
Call it a period of reflection.
After five years, we will, of course,
review the situation.
But in the meantime,
we are able to offer you a position
in the administration of Jamaica.
And we will, of course, make sure
we accommodate your dear wife.
Jamaica is not my country.
There are some similarities.
I belong with my people.
We will be imposing direct rule,
with the district commissioner, Rufus
Lancaster, acting as native authority.
There will, of course,
be a tribal council,
so your people will have some sort of say
in our running of your affairs.
I do understand
this is an awful lot to digest.
I want to see the Harragin report.
Not possible.
It was an advisory paper, so
the government's not obliged to publish,
but I can tell you this:
The conclusion was
you are not
a fit and proper person to rule.
Upon what basis?
That's confidential to the government.
I have a right to know.
Sir Walter has weighed the evidence.
And you chose to agree.
Mr Khama, I am the British Government's
representative in your country...
And yet you know nothing of it.
You don't even live there.
You are based somewhere else entirely.
Content with your government
to run our affairs from South Africa,
you move as closely with
Prime Minister Malan and his government,
as you do the British prime minster.
And, yes, Sir Alistair,
I am questioning your motives.
I do not make the decisions.
You advise.
And my advice... is always confidential.
It's six o'clock, Sir Alistair.
Might I suggest a glass of sherry?
Splendid idea.
The government
will release this white paper.
It explains the situation
and your succession.
It sets out in fairly plain English
that were it not for our intervention,
Bechuanaland would have been torn apart
by the rivalry between you and your uncle.
That is an utter fabrication!
We are merely documenting
what your uncle has told us.
Oh, gosh. Thanks very much.
Sherry, Mr Khama?
(ENGINE STOPS)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(GROANS)
Hello, Ruth.
You're in hospital in Serowe.
You have diphtheria,
but it is being treated.
And, Ms Khama, the doctor here
has discovered you are with child.
- But...
- My husband and I are concerned
that you should now get
the very best treatment available.
So he is organising for you to go to
Cape Town and visit a gynaecologist.
Dr Wessels.
Oh, Ruth, you are awake.
MRS CANNING : This chap I'm talking
about is the top man in Africa.
It wouldn't be right
not to put my faith in the doctors here.
Without wanting to alarm you,
death rates in childbirth,
for both mother and baby, in Serowe
are dangerously high.
To stay here would be a serious risk.
We do urge you to go to Cape Town.
Well, perhaps Dr Wessels could come here.
Dr Wessels does not travel
to his patients.
Look, I know what you're doing.
- And I don't like it.
- Mrs Khama...
I will ask you now both,
will you please leave?
Whatever your opinion of my husband,
I am here only as a woman,
who is also a mother.
I'm thinking only of the survival
of yourself and that of your baby.
You must give yourself
the very best chance.
MRS CANNING :
We know Africa, and you do not.
I appreciate your thoughtfulness,
but I want to decide.
- Mrs Khama, Ruth...
- That's enough!
Please... do as my sister asks.
How dare you, girl.
Who on earth do you think
you're addressing?
And who do you think you're addressing?
I am Naledi Khama,
from the royal family of the Bangwato.
Granddaughter of Khama the Great,
and sister to the present king,
who will never be dethroned.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(PHONE RINGS)
Hello?
(LINE CRACKLES)
- My love?
- 'It's Ruth. Can you hear me?'
My love, I can hear you.
Best news in the world, I am pregnant.
- 'We are having a baby.'
- A baby.
'I've been to the hospital and
Dr Moikangao says everything's good.
'How about that?'
It's wo... it's wonderful news.
'I cannot wait for you to come home.'
When are you coming back?
Ruth, something's...
something has happened.
Uh... I-I had my meeting with Canning.
I have been banished.
'The Harragin report stated
that I am not fit to rule.
I-I cannot come back for five years.
This can't be happening.
They are determined that we will
not be together in Bechuanaland.
And if I return, they'll have
no reason to allow you back.
'We were never supposed to be apart!
You promised me!
'You promised me
that everything would be all right!'
(SIGHS) I know.
I know. I'm sorry, my love. I'm sorry.
(SOBS)
Then find your way back to me, Seretse.
'Find your way back.'
- (SNIFFLES)
- 'I promise you I will.'
- Seretse...
- (LINE CUTS OFF)
Ruth... Ruth? Ruth! Ruth...
Seretse?
Ruth! Ruth!
(WIRELESS) 'In a countermove
to pressure the British Government,
'Seretse Khama, exiled Bechuanaland
chief, today appealed to the British public.
'In a fighting address,
'the chief told the people of Britain
to hold its government to account.'
I do not believe the British public
will tolerate such injustice to me,
and, more importantly,
to my suffering people
who have always remained loyal
to the British crown.
I ask my people now
to remain dignified and law-abiding,
whilst I seek justice for our nation,
and to be returned... to my country...
...and my wife.
(KNOCK AT DOOR)
Mr Khama... Anthony Benn.
SERETSE : You got my letter.
Seretse, uh, Mr Benn is a friend of Joe's.
We want to help.
Fenner Brockway. May we?
Uh, yes. Please.
It's subterfuge. Propaganda.
It's completely unprincipled.
We are talking about an entire nation
who want their leader.
While your government are concealing
their reasons for keeping me here,
they are allowing our lands
to be explored for minerals.
- For diamonds.
- And you believe the two are connected.
I don't know, but what happens
if they make a find?
Mr Khama, you are a protectorate,
which differentiates you somewhat
from other colonies.
Meaning the mineral rights should be
vested with the people of my country.
Ordinarily, yes, but you have been
placed under direct rule.
Your situation may have become vulnerable.
My grandfather negotiated those rights.
I know they remain with us.
You are vulnerable.
(SIGHS)
What if the government acknowledged
our rights publicly in some way?
Or if I could get them on record
recognising the agreement
they have with us?
Well, that would be a great help,
and a miracle.
I will look into the legalities
of your country's change in status.
And the Harragin report?
We'll get a copy.
You have my word.
BROCKWAY:
Seretse, please hold your people off.
If the election brings new blood,
it could change everything.
How long can we rely on the good nature
of our people to stand by peacefully?
Tomorrow, Sir Alistair Canning
will announce to my people
the appointment of one of his
administration as the new native authority
to govern my people.
Every district was alerted, sir.
We were expecting 10,000 at this meeting.
(APPLAUSE)
The tribe is refusing
to organise a council.
Until their king... is returned.
SERETSE : When a man tells a lie,
he loses his dignity.
And so it is with a country.
I'm calling
on the British Government today
to release the Harragin report.
What are they hiding?
(BLOWS)
(INDISTINCT WIRELESS)
(WIRELESS) '...they did so
with only the slightest of...
'In a bid to show his support
for the exiled chief of Bechuanaland...'
'The leader of the opposition,
Mr Churchill, addressed Parliament.
'Mr Churchill told the House
of his deeply held belief
'in the virtue of the Christian marriage,
which he described
'as a "scared bond
between a husband and his wife".
'Why are the Labour government keeping
this African chief and his woman apart?
'Putting his opposition
to Khama's banishment on the record,
'Mr Churchill went on to announce
to the House his full intention
'of returning to the chief
and his wife their kingdom,
'when his Conservative Party
wins the forthcoming general election.'
The honourable gentleman
for Eton and Slough.
We know these actions against Mr Khama
are effectively introducing the principle
of a colour bar to British politics,
separating black from white.
(SHOUTING IN DISSENT)
It is an utter betrayal,
both of myself, as your prime minister,
and of your government.
The betrayal is of the British people,
and anyone who believed the Labour Party
is on the side of what is right and just.
BENN : The world is watching.
The UN have a petition signed by
every prominent black leader in the US.
America is sending funds to Mr Khama,
so that he can defend himself against us.
It's... I mean, look at these.
Never has a Labour government been
criticised this way by the negro press.
We are on the eve of the election.
I am pleading with you.
Send him home before Churchill does.
It will be an almighty humiliation
if a Tory government
fulfils our responsibility!
I would like nothing more than to say to
hell with Malan and his damned apartheid,
but we need South Africa to protect us
from Stalin and his advance there.
We all do! Including the...
...hypocritical Americans with
their Jim Crow laws lauding this over us!
- They're pointing out the facts.
- These are the facts! There's a Cold War.
If I allow that chief,
or any black chief and his white queen,
to sleep in the same bed on African soil,
Malan will withdraw from the Commonwealth.
He will utilise any favour
we show that couple
to whip up nationalist support
for a separate republic.
- He'll withdraw his uranium...
- This is how we justify our actions?
- An atomic bomb programme?
- And his gold!
If you don't care about the uranium,
think about our economy.
How long can we sustain our currency
without Malan supplying our gold reserves?
Hmm? You count the months!
We have done a deal with the devil.
RADIO : 'Twenty-four hours have passed
since the polling stations closed,
'and the last vote was cast.
'The candidates stood by,
and police oversaw,
'as ballot boxes were removed,
so that counting could begin.
'Anxious crowds have gathered
in Piccadilly Circus,
'as, one by one, results have been
marked out and announced.
'And so it is that the voice of our people
has called upon Winston Churchill...'
(SHOUTING IN SETSWANA)
RUTH : Shh!
RADIO : '...much uncertainty,
'the United Kingdom has placed
the responsibility of our future
'in Mr Churchill's hands.
'In this closely fought election
saw the Conservatives
'triumphed by a tiny majority.
'Nevertheless, the majority it was.'
(DOOR OPENS)
Mr Khama. Good morning.
Morning.
Sir Winston Churchill will be
making his announcement
about your return to Bechuanaland
in the House of Commons this afternoon.
He wished for me
to convey it to you first.
I appreciate that.
He's decided that five years' banishment
will cause unrest and uncertainty
in the protectorate,
and he wishes to bring an end
to such insecurity.
Consequently, he will be announcing
that your banishment...
...is for life.
I beg your pardon?
Yes, on the occasion of our previous
meeting I was able to offer you a career
in the administration of Jamaica.
Pity you did not accept. Under current
circumstances, I cannot repeat the offer.
Nor, indeed, a posting to any other land.
(SIGHS)
The prime minister
announced his intentions.
He clearly stated that
he would allow me back home.
Opposition is one thing, Mr Khama.
The realities of government
are quite another. Good day.
(DOOR OPENS)
I want him to come back to me.
Churchill promised. He promised.
I believed him.
Seretse says he'll write to Tshekedi,
and try and reconcile, but...
You have to be strong.
You have a voice. Use it.
Mr Churchill,
10,000 of my husband's people
fought the war for you,
and for the freedom of Britain.
They answered your call
in your darkest hour.
'Mr Churchill,
you have betrayed my husband,
'and each and every one
of those 10,000 men.
'You have caused great hurt.
'You have caused great anger
amongst a peaceful people.
'And Mr Churchill...
'...I'm with them.
'And I will remain with them
'because this is my home.'
(MUSIC INTERLUDE)
ANNOUNCER:
'A great event at Silverstone...'
SERETSE : 'Uncle,
'our country is now completely
under the control of the British.
'You taught me that the colonialist
strategy is to divide and rule,
'and that the only response
is to stand united.
'My exile leaves our country
divided and vulnerable.
'Even as I write the British have
authorised test drilling on our lands.
'You know what it will mean to our country
if diamonds or other minerals are found.
'We must protect that wealth
for our people.
'I need to come home to fulfil the role
for which you raised me.
'To lead. To serve.
'But I cannot do it without you.
'If I can find a way to come back,
'will you agree to hear my plan?'
LANCASTER : Mr Khama
will never return to Bechuanaland.
(CROWD SHOUTS IN DISSENT)
The decision of my government
is absolute and final.
(SHOUTING IN DISSENT)
Control them, or I'll close the kgotla.
Sir, you have pushed
the patience of the people too far.
You can't close our kgotla
any more than I can close
your Houses of Parliament.
(SHOUTING)
(GASPS)
(SHOUTING CONTINUES)
Hey!
Hey!
(GROANS)
(BREATHES HEAVILY)
(ENGINE REVS)
(GASPS)
(ENGINE STOPS)
(GASPS AND PANTS)
(ENGINE STARTS)
(RUTH YELLS AND GROANS)
(GROANS)
(IMITATES BREATHING)
(MUSIC DROWNS SCREAMING)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACH)
(BABIES BABBLE)
(BABY COOS)
(BABY CRIES)
Shh, shh.
(BABY STOPS CRYING)
(PHONE RINGS)
Hello?
Here is your daughter.
Can you hear her?
No.
- 'Hang on. Can you hear her?'
- (BABY CRIES)
I-I can. I can hear her.
But... she sounds... Is she all right?
'She's beautiful.'
But she's crying.
Oh, I jabbed her, so she'd make a noise.
Isn't she beautiful?
She's, she's beautiful.
RUTH : I wish you could see her.
You must come to me.
'Are we giving up?'
No. No, we are not.
'But we've been separated for too long.'
I can't do this alone any more.
And I need you.
- 'I need my family.'
- (BABY CRIES)
'As soon as the baby's strong enough,
we'll come to you.'
RUTH : My tickets have arrived.
Would it be all right if I joined you?
See, I don't know when I'll be back.
(CHUCKLES)
(SPEAKS SETSWANA)
RUTH : It's okay. Mmm.
There.
(SINGING IN THE DISTANCE)
(SINGING IN SETSWANA)
Why are they here?
They are thanking you
for walking the road with them.
This song is about you.
They are saying Seretse's wife
is as bright as the morning star.
(SINGING)
(REPORTERS CLAMOURING)
REPORTER : This way, Mr Khama.
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING)
Oh... this is Daddy.
(REPORTERS CLAMOURING)
There's someone else here to see you.
Thank you for coming.
(REPORTERS CLAMOURING)
- Hello, Daddy.
- Ruth.
This is Jacqueline.
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING)
(# BILLIE HOLIDAY: "SOMETIMES I'M HAPPY")
# Sometimes I'm happy
# Sometimes I'm blue
# My disposition... #
- Mr Nash...
- Thank you for coming.
The story on the mining companies.
I thought you'd like to know.
We need a bit more information,
but I'll say we'll be running with this
in about a week.
(DOOR OPENS)
What?
Nash... he's doing a story.
(SIGHS DEEPLY)
It's not confirmed, it's too soon, but...
...there has been a find.
Diamonds?
Yes.
Just three diamonds, but...
But yes.
It's a beginning.
It could mean everything.
The British don't know about the find yet.
If I can get ahead...
...I know, I know I can get this right.
The prime minister told this country
that he would allow
the King of Bangwato to return home.
After the election,
he banished him for life.
For good.
Having deprived
the Bangwato people of their king,
can his Commonwealth
under-secretary, at the very least,
assure us that the Bangwato people
will still have a say
in the running of their own affairs?
With particular reference to the use
of their land for mineral exploitation?
(UNDER-SECRETARY)
Let me make it clear that the dispute
is not between us and the Bangwato,
it is between the chief and his uncle.
We have a responsibility
to keep this warring family apart.
(MURMURING IN ASSENT)
With respect
to the Right Honourable Gentleman,
his answer had nothing to do
with the question I just asked.
Mr Chairman, the Honourable Gentleman
seems to be hounding me for an answer
- that I'm quite prepared to give.
- CHAIRMAN : Yes? Go on.
Let me make an assurance
that no leases will be given
to any mining companies,
without the consent
of the Bangwato themselves.
(MURMURING IN ASSENT)
(BIRDS SQUAWKING)
BENN : The report.
How did you get it?
Let's say not everyone is proud of what
their government does on their behalf.
Harragin concludes
that you are a fit and proper person
to succeed to the kingdom.
And that you, Ruth,
are acceptable to the Bangwato people.
But that neither of you
are acceptable to South Africa.
It's your proof.
SERETSE : Because my exile
is now permanent,
I need to put our family affairs in order.
As a consequence, I would like
to arrange a meeting with my uncle
in Bechuanaland,
and so I'm requesting permission
to travel.
Well, Mr Khama,
I have looked at your request.
And as a gesture of goodwill,
and to ensure that all can see
the sincerity of our efforts
to keep peace within your tribe...
I will allow it.
But only for a period of one week.
By which point we expect you
to have dealt with whatever...
...family concerns
you may need to address.
Thank you.
How kind of you, Mr Roberts.
I hope you know how appreciative we are.
(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
(SERETSE SPEAKS SETSWANA)
We have a very difficult negotiation.
Yes, Uncle.
(SPEAKS SETSWANA)
(SPEAKS SETSWANA)
This is Jacqueline.
She is a sweet one.
I was going to put her down, but I...
I think she'd rather be
in another mother's arms.
Yes, she's a sweet one.
I have read your letter.
And what are your thoughts, Uncle?
If we can agree now
to let go of our claims to the kingship,
we will be equal private citizens.
Then my marriage can be of no concern
to South Africa, Great Britain or anyone.
Any disagreement between you and me
becomes a domestic squabble,
not an affair of state.
Then I will be allowed to return home.
And we can start to rebuild.
(TSHEKEDI SIGHS)
You're speaking of dismantling hundreds
and hundreds of years of tradition.
Uncle... you should read this.
You, me, our people...
...we have been pawns
in somebody else's game.
They are coming.
You may have convinced me, Seretse...
...but now you're going
to have to convince the people.
CANNING : I believe
that two days ago, Mr Khama,
you had a meeting with your uncle,
authorised by Mr Roberts
in the Commonwealth Office.
Mr Roberts will not be available
in the future to make such decisions.
I also know you want to discuss
the outcome of that meeting with me
for relay to the British Government.
Before you begin, let me be clear.
There can and will be no circumstance
in which we will allow you
to return to Bechuanaland permanently.
No... circumstance?
Not even a hand-delivered copy
of the Harragin report to the press?
"Government lies to British public
for fear of South Africa in Khama affair."
There would be conditions.
I would have to discuss them
with the government.
You should know this, Mr Khama...
I would personally demand that you
give up all claim to the chieftainship,
and that your uncle do the same.
Sir Alistair,
I don't have to do anything anymore.
But... I will agree to that.
And... upon condition that
we continue direct rule from London.
I will agree to this, also.
Up to the point
where we will hold democratic elections,
and declare our independence.
Yes, well, an election process
is hardly on the agenda.
I suspect your government
may take a slightly more
respectful position moving forward.
You will be aware of the recent
discovery of diamonds on our lands?
Yes, well...
Any resources Bechuanaland may have are...
...hardly relevant
to this issue, Mr Khama.
I hope you caught the news that
your Commonwealth under-secretary
confirmed to Parliament that my people
control all mineral resources
in Bechuanaland.
You need my husband, Sir Alistair.
May I offer you a sherry?
(CHEERING)
(LAUGHS)
(HORN HONKS)
(SERETSE CHUCKLES)
(CHEERING)
(SPEAKS SETSWANA)
My uncle and I
are now at peace.
The exile is over!
(CHEERING)
I have a new vision for our nation.
We are a people of tradition,
and rightly so.
(MURMURING IN ASSENT)
But we need a change in Africa.
We need a change in Bechuanaland,
whether we like it or not.
Whether the colonial powers that be
like it or not.
It is time for us to take a step
beyond royal succession,
and into a democratic Bechuanaland.
(CHEERING)
To create a new nation,
not to be ruled by royalty here,
or royalty in great Britain,
but a country to be led
by those who you choose.
No man is free...
...who is not master of himself.
(CHEERING)
Brother and sisters,
it is time for democracy,
for independence,
for us to be the masters of our own fate.
A new Bechuanaland.
A new Africa.
It is time!
(CHEERING)
Pula, pula, pula, pula...
Ruth!
(CHEERING)