The Crown began as a depiction of the life and times of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch in British history. The series opens with the marriage of a young Elizabeth to Phillip Mountbatten just as her father, King George VI, begins to suffer from rapidly declining health. As her father passes away, Elizabeth’s mourning is promptly interrupted by the many duties and responsibilities of assuming the British crown to which she is heir.
As seasons progress, the actors playing the world-famous figures are replaced in order to age the characters. The Crown has long enjoyed consistent ratings and viewership despite the changing nature of its cast and storylines, with the series often commended on its uncanny casting choices. As the plot lines advance closer and closer to recent history, the actor’s task of properly embodying a still-living or deceased member of the royal family becomes more delicate, with the memory and legacies of these real life figures still fresh in the public’s minds and hearts. This begs the question, can The Crown pull this off?
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Five Riveting Seasons
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Since the release of its first season in 2016, The Crown has held onto its position as one of the most-talked about series on Netflix. Each new season draws some degree of social media buzz, especially with season four’s introduction of Lady Diana Spencer. She, of course, would go on to become the Princess of Wales alongside her husband Prince Charles, in a marriage doomed to failure before Diana even met her royal suitor. The series has elegantly followed the lives of the royals across decades as the royal institution has refrained from commentary. The Crown has not shied away from depicting the most personal and shocking parts of the royal family’s lives, drawing more criticism as the series ventures into the modern era.
Shedding New Light on Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II carried out a reign that by all measures makes her a worthy successor to her regnal name, with the first Queen Elizabeth becoming perhaps the most famous and celebrated British monarch. With her record-breaking reign of seventy years, the formidable female monarch dominated the greater part of a century with a leadership that was as often scrutinized as it was widely loved. As public approval of the monarchy gradually falls, The Crown’s first season may have inadvertently done some defensive work for the royal institution. Depictions of Elizabeth’s many duties upon ascending the throne brought to the public attention a great deal of responsibility and important work that falls upon the reigning King or Queen.
The Netflix series educated viewers on the true role of the royal family as more than just figureheads, and the characterization of a young Elizabeth made the aging monarch a more sympathetic figure. Not all representations of the Queen had been so kind, with the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death in 1997 heralding a wave of public disfavor, and thus the amplification of previously unpopular anti-monarchical voices.
The Crown is certainly not a pro-royal propaganda. While the series introduces us to a sympathetic and likable young Elizabeth, it does not shy away in later seasons from showcasing the full range of human character. People are capable of having many facets, of making decisions both popular and unpopular, and of doing both right and wrong— and the Queen of England is no exception.
Entering the Modern Era
The creators of The Crown had previously stated that the show would remain confined to the more distant past, avoiding the drama of more recent royal scandals and milestones. Given the endless public fascination with Princess Diana, the life of which was thoroughly chronicled by every major media outlet before and after her time as a royal, one may have assumed that The Crown would have forgone retelling this part of Windsor history. After all, there is no aspect of this story that isn’t already common knowledge. Furthermore, on-screen depictions of Princess Diana are not hard to come by, with the beloved princess’ likeness being resurrected time and time again by one actress or another.
A lot of these projects have garnered critical acclaim, especially for the performances, but the capitalization of Diana’s memory leaves some fans wishing that the media would just let her rest. In his recently released autobiography, Diana’s son Prince Harry recalls struggling with the knowledge that the last thing his mother saw in life was the flashbulbs of cameras in her face as she died. This scene is made further tragic by considering the way in which that frantic and so often harmful media obsession never died, even when she did.
The release of Harry’s autobiography presents a new challenge for the writer of The Crown. While other senior members of the royal family are bound to secrecy and silence in their roles, the estranged Harry and Meghan are on a seemingly endless quest to tell all. The show’s writers can no longer let their imagination guide the pen with little contention. Admitting in an interview that he watched The Crown and noticed inaccuracies, Prince Harry has expressed his desire for history to get things right. If the show draws vocal criticism from Harry or Meghan in the future, the credibility and legacy of the entire show will be thrown into question. Furthermore, with the constant media influx of royal news after Harry and Meghan’s decision to step down as senior members of the royal family, the public may have fully satiated their appetite for royal drama. Season six, which has already begun to stir controversy, is set to release toward the end of 2023.
