Warning: this article contains spoilers

How many of those who view her from afar have stopped to wonder about the Queen’s education? That seemingly innocuous question kicks off episode 7 of The Crown (Netflix) and slowly evolves into an hour of beautifully wrought drama.

As so often the pre-title sequence transports us back to Princess Elizabeth's childhood at Windsor, receiving lessons in etiquette from a French tutor. And being instructed one-on-one in constitutional law by the vice-provost of Eton.

What does the vice-provost teach the other children, she enquires. Nothing important, he insinuates, handing her examples of maths, science and literature exam papers.

How odd, in this day and age, to learn that the Queen (Claire Foy) had no formal education other than what was considered pertinent to her future as a princess. Certainly, if this episode is to be believed, her lack of it made her feel at a disadvantage once she became monarch, when it came to holding her own in a world run by worldly, knowledgeable men. Or as she puts it here, “having to turn the conversation to horses and dogs all the time.”