"The Crown" (2016-Present) - Netflix Drama Series on Queen Elizabeth II

[PetticoatLane]

What does snobbism have to do with it?

The condescending and patronising way in which the makers of this programme, along with the actors who play the characters, have been attacked on sites by royal fanatics perfectly meets the definition of snobbishness.

The idea that nobody can possibly know the RF as well as they do, that their interpretation and their interpretation only are valid and these johnny-come-latelys could never really understand the BRF is clear snobbery.

I have seen criticism of this programme for the apparently shocking inaccuracy in the length of Princess Elizabeth's pearl necklace. What nonsense!

 

[Curryong]

I'm not a snob. I really did try to watch that first episode. However, the people being portrayed really didn't come alive for me because physically the actors just didn't resemble the characters much at all, a problem with historical figures of the 20th century that are vividly remembered, I suppose.

(Why cast a physically robust man as King George VI when he quite obviously from photos and film looked extremely ill for at least the last two years of his life?)

Nor did these actors sound like the people that I've heard so many times in my life, (I can remember upperclass English accents of the 1950's very well and I can tell a forced faux accent when I hear one.) Also, various inaccuracies jarred from the beginning for me, but I could have ignored that if miscasting and the voices hadn't ruined it.

I did thoroughly enjoy Helen Mirren in 'The Queen' and Colin Firth in 'The King's Story' so I'm not completely without imagination.

I know it's not a documentary and will try and watch another episode. However, if I don't like this series after I've given it a good go, then I don't like it. I don't need to be accused of being 'snobbish' or 'tiresome'. Likes and dislikes are very subjective anyway.

 

[Winnie]

I have not started to watch yet but from what I have read in the proper news media, this is not a documentary but rather a drama, and very well done by most standards. One of my granddaughters who is a teacher actually was pleased when a few of her high school students have watched and are now interested the history of England. Up until this point they could care less about any history. She then turned it on and although found a few minor faults, she was thrilled that it caught the interest of 16 year olds and got them asking questions. A good thing. I'm sure not what the producers exactly had in mind but anything to encourage the young to read more on a subject is worth it.

 

[Dman]

It's a delight to see actress, Victoria Hamilton, playing Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mum.

It really annoys me that there's a refusal to show The Queen crying in film or series. Don't they know she's human and cries like everybody else?

 

[Skippyboo]

I am starting episode 3 right now. I like Claire Foy. The actress who plays Margaret towers over Elizabeth. Margaret was even shorter than her sister.


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[crm2317]

I've watched the first 2 and have to say I thought the second episode was very touching. I've no idea how the death of the King would have been handled within Sandringham but it made me emotional watching this portrayal!

 

[csw]

I watched all 10 episodes in 1 sitting and loved it! I can't wait to watch it again. I hope they make more seasons and follow all through her reign.

 

[BritishRoyalist]

I stayed up all night watching this. I really enjoyed it and look forward to Season 2.

I tihnk Claire Foy does a Great Job as The Queen.

I have to admit I really wanted someone to smack the Duke of Windsor. Maybe it was how The Actor portrayed him but was Edward really that nasty in Real Life?

 

[Lord_Royal]

I watched it the whole way through. I think it is a masterpiece as a drama.

 

[kathl29]

I am up to episode 8 and am loving this drama. My husband who never watches this sort of program is also engrossed in it - for some reason he is particularly fascinated by the Margaret and Peter Townsend story!! The building interiors are very well done and add to the pleasure in watching this. Looking forward to series 2

 

[HRHHermione]

I am up to episode 8 and am loving this drama. My husband who never watches this sort of program is also engrossed in it - for some reason he is particularly fascinated by the Margaret and Peter Townsend story!! The building interiors are very well done and add to the pleasure in watching this. Looking forward to series 2

I finished it today and also loved it- and my husband also really loved that story line! Normally this wouldn't be his kind of show at all


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[sm1939]

I think the programme is great !

 

[WreathOfLaurels]

I have to admit I really wanted someone to smack the Duke of Windsor. Maybe it was how The Actor portrayed him but was Edward really that nasty in Real Life?

Sadly yes, and more so after he married Wallis.

 

[TRCRoyal]

I really like the show, I'm still in episode 8 though.

I don't know much about the accuracy of all events, but the only part I didn't like is the scene where she is going to the opera before her coronation wearing the Cambridge Lover's Knot tiara which she would not have inherited by then. but aside from that everything was nearly perfect.

 

[wartenberg7]

I really like the show, I'm still in episode 8 though.

I don't know much about the accuracy of all events, but the only part I didn't like is the scene where she is going to the opera before her coronation wearing the Cambridge Lover's Knot tiara which she would not have inherited by then. but aside from that everything was nearly perfect.

She didn´t?! But she did wear this tiara in the 1950s, didn´t she?

 

[wartenberg7]

I'm watching too. The occasional inconsistency does not bother me in the slightest. This is not a documentary, never claimed to be and never tried to be. The snobbish, 'I know better than they do' royal fanatics I see online who are dismissing the programme are so tiresome.

What it has done is introduce people who have little or no interest or knowledge of the RF to some of its history. It's broadly accurate so that can only be a good thing for the RF.

The problem is that most people watching just take it for real, no matter documentary or fiction. It´s real for them what they see (or read). From my point of view, as a screenplay writer, you can do and fabricate what you want to. But when it comes to history or historic persons even still alive you do have a huge responsibility to get things straight!
Of course many viewers seeing all the accurance in fashion, hair, buildings etc. get the impression that everything in the series is as accurate as these things. This is something you don´t think about because it happens unconscious and one can´t blame the audience for that.

 

[Jasper Tudor]

Sadly yes, and more so after he married Wallis.

I think David was bitter rather than naturally nasty. He felt hard done by and this comes across very well in Jennings's portrayal. He also showed that some of the nastiness or bitterness was covering up the sense of hurt and loss that he felt.

Earlier on, Wallis explains that David plays the bagpipes "whenever he feels homesick."

Just after the coronation (where his commentary for his socialite chums was deliciously catty) we see David playing the bagpipes in tears. Quite touching, really.

I am only 6 episodes in, but I already dislike Anthony Eden far more than I do the Duke of Windsor.

 

[wartenberg7]

I think David was bitter rather than naturally nasty. He felt hard done by and this comes across very well in Jennings's portrayal. He also showed that some of the nastiness or bitterness was covering up the sense of hurt and loss that he felt.

Earlier on, Wallis explains that David plays the bagpipes "whenever he feels homesick."

Just after the coronation (where his commentary for his socialite chums was deliciously catty) we see David playing the bagpipes in tears. Quite touching, really.

Well, I used to like him and had a lot of sympathy for him. But many years before he became King he wrote in a letter to one of his mistresses about his youngest brother John, referring to him as "rather an animal" as human and it would be "better for everyone" he had died, says a lot about the character I think. This letter exists and is in the archives. His grieving mother was very upset and he had to explain to her.
Also his ambitions to turn Britain into a fascist country as King does not speak for him at all....
Of course, like everybody, he had his emotional times. But that doesn´t make him a good human being or a fitting King at all.

 

[Jasper Tudor]

Sadly, all too true, wartenberg7. I shan't even attempt to defend such callousness and, indeed, the place for any such defence should probably be in the King Edward VIII thread.

As far as his character in The Crown goes, I think there is a thread of sympathy for his plight. His love for Wallis is genuine, and his sense of loss, aching. The Monarchy was not ready for him. The perfect case of a superb Prince of Wales becoming a disastrous monarch.

Alex Jennings does a good job in the role. He has the slightly Americanised way of speaking that the Duke of Windsor had ('prog' in progress, rhyming with frog, for instance) down perfectly, and facially he is a good fit, if not physically.

The height issue in The Crown doesn't really bother me - David, Churchill and Margaret are all much too tall, but I think the essence of their character has been captured.

It's good stuff, this series.

 

[An Ard Ri]

The death of King George VI was very moving and it was Princess Margaret whom I had the most sympathy for,Eileen Atkins is superb as Queen Mary.

 

[Skippyboo]

Is the guy with Philip supposed to be Cmdr Mike Parker, who was Philip's Australian born private secretary or his cousin George Milford Haven who was the best man at the wedding?

I got 2 episodes left to watch.

I cringed when Peter Townsend addressed the Queen as Lillibet on the plane coming back from NI.


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[jneugeba]

SPOILER ALERT:

When they talked about tons of Porchies running around with their high foreheads, I thought the queen looked at her forehead. Did they imply the queen and porchie were half-siblings? I know the rumor has always been Porchie is Prince Anders's father, so that other twist was new to me. Maybe I'm just seeing things that aren't there.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

The Crown actress reveals Princess Margaret remained bitter over not marrying divorced lover | Daily Mail Online

 

[TRCRoyal]

She didn´t?! But she did wear this tiara in the 1950s, didn´t she?

She did inherit it when Queen Mary in 1953. In the show they show her wearing it in 1953 but before Queen Mary had died.

 

[WreathOfLaurels]

SPOILER ALERT:

When they talked about tons of Porchies running around with their high foreheads, I thought the queen looked at her forehead. Did they imply the queen and porchie were half-siblings? I know the rumor has always been Porchie is Prince Anders's father, so that other twist was new to me. Maybe I'm just seeing things that aren't there.

Nigel Dempster reported on that one in the 1960s but you may notice that Philip and the Glucksburg clan all have high foreheads as well, and if you look at certain photos Andrew looks a little like his great uncle the Duke of Kent in some of them as well. Along with the rumours about Edward being fathered by Patrick Plunkett, I wouldn't take that in the show to seriously, it seems more like an in joke rather than anything else.

 

[WreathOfLaurels]

The same for me. I stopped watching as I was turned of by the first episode when they had Princess Andrew in a nun's habbit and the Mountbatten's speaking German to one another. Princess Margaret was a miscast indeed, as was king George and the Queen Mother.

Alice would not have been recognisable to the average viewer without the nuns habit so as a shorthand I'm willing to let that one slide. The Mountbattens were shown speaking german to the Hannover cousins and that seems perfectly accurate to me along with them speaking german to Queen Mary. When it comes to casting for shows like this finding someone who can both look and act the part more often than not isn't possible, and as a general rule most casting directors prefer to go with ability over appearance. Its a common practice in stage productions and more often than not is the only practical way of doing so for film and television. I personally am hooked and have been greatly enjoying it. I do agree that the actress playing the QM is too thin and looks too much like Princess Royal Mary, the actress playing Margaret is too tall but she plays the role well so I'm willing to overlook that. The actor they picked to be Mountbatten on the other hand has an uncanny resemblance as does the guys playing Eden as well.

 

[RCBadger]

Also, when the former King gave his abdication speech in Episode 3, he was introduced by the radio announcer as "The Duke of Windsor." He was actually introduced as Prince Edward as he hadn't been created Duke of Windsor yet.

 

[Mirabel]

I never expect period dramas to be historically accurate.
A lot of minutiae tends to be rather boring; naturally things get spiced up for a television audience.

I'm glad there are unlikable characters, like the Duke of Windsor. (He always struck me as a bit of a crybaby; Philip, on the other hand, comes across as something of a domestic tyrant).

 

[Duchess of Durham]

I never expect period dramas to be historically accurate.
A lot of minutiae tends to be rather boring; naturally things get spiced up for a television audience.

I'm glad there are unlikable characters, like the Duke of Windsor. (He always struck me as a bit of a crybaby; Philip, on the other hand, comes across as something of a domestic tyrant).

I can understand Philip's perspective. In an age when a man is head of household and the bread winner, he is stuck walking a step behind his wife. I realize he knew one day he would, but not so soon into their marriage. He had to pave his own road as in that day and age men did not take a back seat to their wives like some are willing to do today.

 

[Duchess of Durham]

I am up to episode 8 and am loving this drama. My husband who never watches this sort of program is also engrossed in it - for some reason he is particularly fascinated by the Margaret and Peter Townsend story!! The building interiors are very well done and add to the pleasure in watching this. Looking forward to series 2

How close is the Margaret/Peter Townsend story to reality? I have watched through episode 8 so don't know how it ends, but it seems like they could have gotten married or is HM forced to withdraw any support she had for them?