Today I write about a show I have been putting off for the longest time. The Crown on #Netflix. I have heard at least ten reasons to avoid watching the show. “It's just so long and tedious!”. “Why would you want to know about British history?”. “Hey the cast keeps changing after every couple of seasons!”. I finally managed to watch all five season of the show and came back feeling overwhelmed. The show blows your mind in terms of production values, writing and above all character detailing and definition. But that’s not really the top of my mind. I came back wondering why no one has ever chronicled the story of the Gandhis nearer home in India!
Look at it this way… a freedom fighter Nehru, more British than even the British. The Edwina story. India’s first Prime Minister. What a contrast to Gandhi and perhaps his strongest ally. Daughter Indira the iron woman. The story of the Emergency. Operation Blue Star. Her assassination. Sanjay Gandhi. Compulsory sterilization. The Maruti saga. Death in a plane crash. Rajiv Gandhi. Sonia Gandhi. Maneka. New Aspirational India. C-Dot and the telecom saga. Bofors. Sri Lanka. The charmer in a kurta pajama and snazzy sneakers. Sripeerumbudur and the suicide bomber. Sonia. The foreign bride. Manmohan and his silence. Priyanka. Robert Vadra. Rahul Gandhi. What a compulsive narrative that would be !
But back to The Crown. The show is replete with information. For the first time ever, the audience gets to know of the various moments of intense crisis within the monarchy as well as the political system in Britain. Starting with the abdication of the throne by King Edward VIII, the controversial Marburg files, the relationship between Princess Margaret and Group Captain Peter Townsend or the ebb and flow of the relationship between the Crown and the various countries in the Commonwealth…. The show gives you a first hand account of so much of history.
In reality though, The Crown to my mind serves three purposes. At one level it is a treasure trove of new information. At another level, it is an exhaustive history lesson of key milestones in the United Kingdom’s past and finally , it is also a behind-the-scenes study of the relationship between the royals. Having said that, let me go through my key high points that puts the show right up there.
I would watch The Crown for #ClaireFoy. She plays the young Queen Elizabeth II and depicts her transition from an innocent young woman to a young monarch able to stand up for herself. This is the period spanning the time from just before the death of Elizabeth’s father King George VI and through the early years of her reign, her relationship with Prime Minister Winston Churchill and her challenges as a queen, a mother, a wife and perhaps most poignantly a sister.
#JaredHarris is competent as King George VI but #VanessaKirby sweeps you off your feet with her portrayal of Princess Margaret - vulnerable, resenting being in the shadow and of course a certain unabashed in-your-face sexuality. Season 1 opens with the King being diagnosed with lung cancer. Elizabeth and Philip are forced to return from a Commonwealth tour to mourn his passing. Meanwhile, the Duke of Windsor Edward ( #AlexJennings) returns and provokes strong reactions from within the family. #JohnLithgow plays an imposing Winston Churchill as he becomes the Queen’s first ally helping her to navigate the tricky political system. Elizabeth invests in her own education and starts getting a grip on things. More trouble brews at home as Margaret falls in love with Group Captain Peter Townsend (#BenMiles) and the various laws prevent them from getting married. Some of the most fascinating scenes in season 1 are of Elizabeth as she is torn between her duty as the monarch and her love towards her younger sister. And then there is Louis Mountbatten played by #GregWise proffering advice initially to her and then later as a mentor to her son Charles. Even as Elizabeth battles these issues within the household, the Great Smog engulfs London and eventually leads to Churchill having to step down as PM.
Season2 deals with issues around Elizabeth’s marriage. The issues around infidelity are treated in what I thought was a very mature and forthright manner. Elizabeth is clear that there is no exit path available and so the task at hand is for both of them to do what is required to make it work. When you look at a marriage in that manner, it changes a lot of things. Meanwhile, Margaret now falls in love with Anthony ‘Tony’ Armstrong-Jones (#MathewGoode) but you know right at the start that this is going to be a rocky road and it is! Elizabeth has to deal with criticism of her and the monarchy in the press . Edward pitches for an active role in the scheme of things but this is not to be as the Marburg papers controversy unfolds and lays bare the relationship between Edward and the Nazis. The Kennedys pay a visit and later Elizabeth in what is an indication of her coming into her own, uses her charm to win over Ghana. Time to move to the next generation as well as Philip (#MattSmith) sends Charles to boarding school at Gordonstoun but the child struggles and goes through a difficult childhood. Many a political scandal break out and the relevance of the monarchy is called into question.
I found the theme of monarchy as an institution ordained by god to be a fascinating one. It dismisses the institution of democracy as man-made and thus provides the Queen the larger purpose. It is in this light that when the two Goliaths of men meet - Churchill and Eden, the camera pulls away to show the imposing facade of Buckingham Palace; it is almost as if to show that the Goliaths are still small fry compared to the Crown that they serve!
Season 3 begins in 1964 and runs into the seventies. A spy scandal breaks out and a lot more stories of where the royals’ private lives are blended into matters of state. #OliviaColman plays Queen Elizabeth, now into middle age, more austere and less emotional. Princess Margaret travels to America on behalf of the Queen and the dinner with Lyndon B. Johnson makes it to the headlines. The Aberfan disaster in Wales rocks the polity and is badly managed. It reminded me of instances in India’s political journey , be it the LTTE crisis or the Bangladesh war or the Kargil conflict . I think history tells us that a proactive approach to anything new that is brewing is always the best. Take, for example, how nations reacted differently to the covid crisis. In our personal and professional lives we often tend to let things evolve and by the time we are ready for action, it's blown out of control!
#TobiasMenzies plays Prince Philip and looks at radical transformation in the way the royals are perceived. He tries to improve public perception of the monarchy through television. A coup develops and Charles is now Prince of Wales. The Moondust episode is perhaps my most favorite one in the series. Philip wants to meet the astronauts who landed on the moon but the actual meeting is such a let down. He later laments “They delivered as astronauts but failed as human beings”. The episode does a fabulous job of contrasting his outwardly flamboyant character with the stoic nature of the Queen. And towards the end brings him in touch with his inner self as he admits to mental health issues.
The BBC interview in 1970 with former King Edward VIII brings up the tension in the family again but this time the royals are quick to dismiss this. Meanwhile, romance is brewing inside the palace as Charles and Camila Shand (#EmeraldFennel) strike up a relationship. Princess Margaret attempts suicide and battles mental health issues. The Princess is now played by a more sedate #HelenaBonhamCarter. #JoshO’Connor as the slightly boyish Prince Charles and #ErinDoherty as Princess Anne shine in their roles.
Season 4 takes us into the 1980s. We see a teenage Diana (#EmmaCorrin) for the first time. The scene stealer though is a brilliant #GillianAnderson as the Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher. Philip watches the election results unfolding on television and laments “That’s the last thing this country needs. Two women running the shop” … to which Elizabeth is quick to counter “Perhaps that’s precisely what this country needs”
The story encounters assasination for the first time when Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Prince Philip’s Uncle dies; his fishing boat was blown up by the Irish Republican Army. Diana passes the Balmoral test - the key to acceptance within the royal family and gets engaged with Charles.
Disturbing scenes of Diana’s bulimia emerge. That period also saw Thatcher breaking down when her son Mark went missing while driving in the Paris-Dakar rally in the Sahara desert. Some of us will also remember the Falklands conflict that emerged at that time; the chain of islands in the South Atlantic ocean.
Charles and Diana proceed on a tour of Australia and the tension in their marriage escalates. A man breaks into the Queen’s bedroom but she handles the matter with elan. Margaret is now chain smoking and her mental health takes a beating. Elizabeth is peeved at Thatcher not agreeing to join the other Commonwealth nations in their condemnation of Apartheid in South Africa. In 1985, Diana dances to Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl at the Royal Opera House on the occasion of Prince charles’ birthday and sends the press and the politicians into a tizzy. Geoffrey Howe, the long serving cabinet minister resigns and this eventually leads to the resignation of Margaret Thatcher. The famous images of Diana hugging AIDS patients at New York’s Harlem hospital leaves lasting images of the sensitive human being behind that fragile exterior.
Season 5 covers the period 1991 to 1997 with a new set of characters. The Crown is a show where the how and the why is as important as the what and hence the casting decisions are key to the appeal of the show. #RobertSterne, the casting director touches upon this in an interview where he says that he needs to cater to both visual similarity of the actor to the character as well as ensure that ‘the baton is handed over in the most suitable manner’. Sterne won Emmys for casting for both this show as well as Game of Thrones!
#DominicWest comes in as Prince Charles, but this is one casting that came in for a fair bit of criticism from fans. The vulnerability that #JoshO’Connor depicted so beautifully and other nuances of the character are lost and the manner and accent that West puts on leaves something amiss. The beauty of Charles’s character is that his life cannot begin until his mother’s life ends and it is the story of a prince-in-waiting. Season 5 deals with this aspect as Charles urges his mother to step down and even lobbies with Prime Minister John Major (#JonnyLeeMiller) to facilitate the Queen’s abdication.
#ElizabethDebicki stars as Diana , mimicking that shy, doe-eyed upward glance look that became so popular. She colludes with Andrew Morton to work on her autobiography where she talks about ‘the system’ on which the royal family operates and what it takes for an outsider to break into it. She also reveals her battles with depression, bulimia and marital discord. Come to think of it, a lot of Season 5 focuses on mental health issues in the royal family, marital discord, infidelity as well as perhaps for the first time, public confessions. Given that this season released barely eight weeks after the demise of the Queen and the ascent of King Charles III to the throne, the show saw a lot of criticism around the manner in which it blended fact with fiction. Key personalities like Dame Judi Dench and former Prime Minister John Major weighed in with their critical comments.
#ImeldaStaunton takes over as Queen Elizabeth, now 65 and an aging patriarch. At this juncture, I must say that I had imagined that no one could do justice to the manner in which #ClaireFoy had portrayed the role. And it is here that i was pleasantly surprised with the casting genius of Sterne as he puts his money on a winner each time. Staunton is superb as the older Queen, more self assured but further economizing on emotional display. And yet she displays her angst in public when a particularly terrible year in 1992 sees part of Windsor Castle burnt down in a fire. The family also sees three royal marriages breaking down. Princess Anne separates from Captain Mark Phillips, Prince Andrew separates from Sarah, Duchess of York and Charles and Diana go through a tough trial.
This is a particularly trying time for the Queen as the public questions the economics of the monarchy. The season commences with the commissioning of the Royal Yacht Britannia where a young Queen (#ClaireFoy) proclaims “I hope that this brand-new vessel, like your brand-new Queen, will prove dependable and constant”. The yacht is used as a metaphor for the aging Queen and the season ends with the decommissioning of the vessel. The Queen also looks for support from Philip (#JonathanPrice) but this is not forthcoming.
Meanwhile, Margaret ( now played by #LesleyManville) is smoking herself into oblivion. As you sit through the show, you marvel at how Morgan has portrayed Margaret as the more human, flawed and vivacious character and uses that to contrast with the stately and dignified Elizabeth.
Sterne also talks about how he is delighted with the unit created by #SalimDaw playing Mohammed Al-Fayed, the Egyptian businessman who owned Harrods from 1985 to 2010 and his son Dodi (#KhalidAbdalla). Al-Fayed hires the footman Sydney Johnson (#JudeAkuwudike), formerly employed at the Palace. Fayed’s fascination with the royal family is all too evident and makes for a charming character.
Charles and Diana formally separated in December 1992 and Charles goes public with his admission of infidelity within marriage. His relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles is now public. The infamous ‘tampongate’ controversy led to a lot of angst within the family. Talking about her marriage Diana says “There were three of us in this mariage, so it was a bit crowded”. The track that sets up here interview with BBC on Panorama is fraught with fraud with #PrasannaPuwanarajah playing journalist Martin Bashir who was later disgraced.
In 1994, Elizabeth and Philip travel to Moscow to meet Boris Yeltsin, the first time the British monarch traveled to Russia. Back home, the Labour Party wins a landslide victory and Tony Blair ascends to the post of Prime Minister.
Season 5 also looks a little shaky in writing as the character of Prince Philip seems unsure of where he stands with regard to Elizabeth. On the one hand, he is seen blindly supporting the Queen and on the other, he comes across as severely critical of her and wanting his space for separate interests. His friendship with Penny Knatchbull (#NatashaMcElhome) wife of his deceased god son goes nowhere.
The stage is all set for the finale of the series. Mohammed Al-Fayed is now the owner of the Hotel Ritz in Paris, while his son Dodi produces movies and his film Chariots of Fire wins the Oscars.
The Crown is an audacious labor of love. It will invoke controversy but that's not surprising. The casting is superb; the writing immaculate and the manner in which fact is blended with fiction is brilliant. The Crown made me go back and research British History and the events of that period and the characters and I think that is the ultimate testimony to a show that truly engaged and inspired me!
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