r/TheCrownNetflix

I am a first time watcher and I am surprised at how much I like the series. The one thing that won me over was how every episode felt like a lesson in history without feeling like a lesson.

I like Gillian Anderson as Thatcher. I think she did a good job (Anderson, not Thatcher). However, what put me off was that in the show Thatcher started her tenure as prime minister as an old woman.

In reality she was in her 50s when she moved into Downing Street and although that was a bit older than it is today it wasn't as she was in her 70s.

But that's how she looks like, talks like and walks like. And when she leaves Downing street 12 years later she is exactly the same age. Not a day older.

Did anyone else notice that too?

“Aberfan” might be one of the most perfectly structured episodes of The Crown.

The children singing “All Things Bright and Beautiful” at the opening brings tears to my eyes before the episode even properly starts. It’s such a beautiful, innocent hymn, and placing it right before the tragedy of Aberfan makes the whole episode feel like a punch in the gut.

I also think Harold Wilson is one of the best PM portrayals in the series. His emotional intelligence and his dynamic with the Queen, especially around her inability to cry, is so revealing and tender.

It’s a terrifying realization that sometimes people expect emotion from you that you genuinely don’t know how to access. And when Philip comes back from the memorial service and talks about the voices in the church, he says that their singing was the grief. Crying through the hymns. Highlights the stark differences between a community who has comparatively so little, materially, to the BRF but are rich beyond measure in the depths of their love and collective grief.

One of the best episodes of the entire series, IMO. Those poor babies. That poor community.

It is crazy how different season 4 is from season 5!

In season 4, the born-royals are completely unlikable (Elizabeth, Charles etc) while the "outsiders" are shown in a much sympathetic light (Thatcher, Diana)

I'm halfway through season 5, and damn if it ain't the opposite. The Queen is shown as conflicted, wanting the best for everyone- those in the monarchy, and those outside it. Even Charles is shown to be more sympathetic.

On the other hand, Diana is treated like a completely different person! She is reduced from being charismatic, likable, smart to just being sad all the time...

I'm not saying I prefer one to another (I never knew about the details of the monarchy and of the whole Charles-Diana-Camilla until this show, so season 5 is still fresh enough for me, still I hated the character assassination of Diana!)

But it is very interesting to either way, I wonder why! Were the writers hoping to balance out the show's view of the royal family in general?

As a teenager from a South Asian country, when I started this show, never in a million years I thought I'd find a relatable aspect about the most RICHEST royal families the world.

But I did, from season 1 actually hence the post. That aspect being the marriages in the show, the ones that happened AND not happened.

Right off the first season we see Margaret NOT being allowed to marry Peter Townsend because he is divorced.

Then of course, the more better example being Charles not allowed to marry Camilla.

Isn't it funny that in the Western world all this forbidding of marriages is seen as totally outdated and crazy yet for the almost 2 billion people of the Indian subcontinent, it is completely normal?

I wish I was joking.

Almost in all the people in South Asia still need to have permission and full approval of their parents to marry the partner they love for years. If not, 80% of the time, they break up.

But let's talk about marriages that shouldn't have happened. You know, like, Diana and Charles' one.

What happens to the couples which breaks up due to parental pressure? What happens to Charles is what happens to them. Married off to a person who is accepted, loved and adored by the entire system, expect ofc....you know.

Sorry if I am interpreting it all wrong, but this aspect of the show just...hits to close to home.

The series will span from Queen Victoria’s death in 1901 to Queen Elizabeth II’s wedding in 1947.

I’m assuming it will be a stand alone series? Or possibly at most two series (remember how S1 & S2 were always filmed back to back, same with S3 and S4 and 5&6).

I’m looking forward to seeing Elizabeth and Margaret and children, but that will come later I assume.

Season 5 had an episode dedicated to the Russian Royal family the Romanovs. Could this be explored even more here? They were executed in 1918.

I imagine if the prequel series starts with Queen Victorias death it would just be a cameo but I’d love to see her bookend the role she first performed in 1997 alongside Billy Connolly

Hopefully they would avoid the misstep of calling season one ‘Mrs Browns Boys’.

Hey guys! I’m so excited for the news regarding a prequel show to the Crown an wanted to create a basic pitch for 5 seasons of this show (hoping that it’s as long as this). Tell me what you guys think, and what you want to see in the show!!

SIMON RUSSELL BEALE (S1)
King Edward VII

JANET MCTEER (S1-S3)
Queen Consort Alexandra

RUPERT FRIEND (S1-S2)
BEN DANIELS (S3-S4)
King George V

FELICITY JONES (S1-S2)
GINA MCKEE (S3-S4)
CELIA IMRIE (S5)
Victoria Mary Agnes of Teck

LOX PRATT (S1-S2)
CALEB JONTE EDWARDS (S3)
NICHOLAS HOULT (S4-S5)
King Edward VIII

KATE O’FYLNN (S4-S5)
Wallis Simpson

DAVID MCKENNA (S1-S2)
NOAH JUPE (S3-S4)
JOSEPH QUINN (S5)
King George VI

MCKENNA GRACE (S3-S4)
OLIVIA COOKE (S5)
Queen Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

BRENDAN GLEESON (S4-S5)
Winston Churchill

MICHAEL SHEEN (S2-S3)
David Lloyd George

MARK GATISS (S4-S5)
Neville Chamberlain

DAN STEVENS (S1-S2)
Kaiser Wilhelm II

JAMES NORTON (S1-S2)
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia

LILY JAMES (S1-S2)
Empress Alexandra of Russia

JULIA BUTTERS (S5)
Queen Elizabeth II

ORSON MATTHEWS (S5)
Prince Phillip Mountbatten

SEASON 1:

1901 - 1910

Episode 1 - “Queen Victoria”
Death of Queen Victoria
Edward VII becomes King
The rest of the family is shown

Episode 2 - “The Playboy King”
Edward’s lifestyle is introduced and clashes with expectations
Alexandra of Denmark is marginalized and observant

Episode 3 - “The Dynasty”
The European royal network is introduced with Wilhelm II and Nicholas II
The rivalry between families is also introduced and explored

Episode 4 - “Mary of Teck”
Flashback to Mary of Teck meeting the Royal Family
We see her 1893 marriage with George V

Episode 5 - “The Heir Apparent”
George V struggles with being the soon to be heir
Repression of his emotions because of political pressures

Episode 6 - “Empire”
The height or British imperialism
There are cracks in Ireland and labor unrest for the Crown

Episode 7 - “Brothers”
The tension between Edward and Wilhelm grows
An arms race begins

Episode 8 - “Deafening Silence”
Queen Alexandra’s deafness isolates her from the rest of the family
The emotional cost of monarchy is shown through the POV of those that marry it

Episode 9 - “The Future Ruler”
George V is forced into some leadership decisions as his father’s health deteriorates

Episode 10 - “The King is Dead”
Death of Edward VII
George V automatically ascends into kinghood
Change in tone, direness

SEASON 2:

1910 - 1918

Episode 1 - “A New King is Here”
The crowning of George V
He struggles with being king after his father’s terrible reign

Episode 2 - “Europe Divided”
There are rising tensions across Europe’s main kingdoms
Wilhelm VS Nicholas VS George V

Episode 3 - “Franz Ferdinand”
The assassination of the Archduke triggers World War I
The bonds between different royal families collapse

Episode 4 - “The War Front”
War brutality is shown against the royal distance of the families
The perception of royalty shifts

Episode 5 - “The Windsors”
Anti-German sentiment grows in England
Royal family renames itself Windsor

Episode 6 - “Romanovs”
Tsar Nicholas II starts losing control
Parallel with the growing power of George V in England

Episode 7 - “The Decision”
The Royal family debates rescuing the Romanovs
George ultimately refuses to do something about it

Episode 8 - “Russian Revolution”
The Russian Revolution unfolds
Alexandra Feodorvna’s desperation grows, trying to save her children

Episode 9 - “Plan and Execution”
The Romanov family is killed by the Bolsheviks
Emotional fallout for George V and the rest of the Royal family

Episode 10 - “Victory”
World War I ends
The monarchy survives but they are all morally shaken

SEASON 3:

1918 - 1930

Episode 1 - “Aftermath”
Post-war Royal family struggles with moral guilt
The monarchy tries to rebrand itself after the tragedies

Episode 2 - “Television”
The rise of media and the BBC
Mary of Teck tries to control the narrative of the royalty

Episode 3 - “The Prince”
Focus on Edward VIII as a charismatic and modern-thinking heir

Episode 4 - “Brothers Divided”
The dynamic between Edward VIII and George VI is introduced deeply, showing their differences

Episode 5 - “The Public Eye”
The public gains a more important role in shaping the monarchy
George VI gains popularity

Episode 6 - “Downing Street”
The introduction and rise of David Lloyd George as PM
New tension between the Crown and the government is shown

Episode 7 - “Cracks”
The recklessness and modernity of Edward VIII grows
There are some affairs and defiance of the traditional rules of the Crown
Mary of Teck tries to conserve the traditionalist spirit but fails

Episode 8 - “The Spare”
George VI becomes insecure when he’s called “the spare” by a BBC reporter
Pressure builds on him as the spare child

Episode 9 - “Signs of Warning”
George V fears of Edward’s future as the King of England

Episode 10 - “End of a Reign”
George V declines in popularity amongst the common folk
Edward VIII gains fans amongst the younger generations

SEASON 4:

1930 - 1936

Episode 1 - “The Modern World”
There is economic depression in Britain
Edward is increasingly detached from the royalty and more into partying

Episode 2 - “Cookie”
Wallis Simpson is introduced
Edward VIII meets Wallis in a party and becomes fond of her

Episode 3 - “Scandal”
The relationship between Edward and Wallis intensifies
The Royal family realizes about the relationship
The concern in the palace grows

Episode 4 - “No More George V”
King George V dies
Edward VIII becomes king and gets coronated

Episode 5 - “The Affair”
After being coronated, Edward refuses to give up Wallis
Mary of Teck and George VI act as beacons of tradition in the Crown

Episode 6 - “Crisis”
The Church of England and the government refuse and oppose the marriage

Episode 7 - “Campaign”
There is a pressure campaign against King Edward VIII for his abdication
Edward goes into spiral mode, remembering his childhood through flashbacks

Episode 8 - “He Who Came Late”
The government in Downing Street tries to convince George VI that he should be King
Mary of Teck and the PM oppose Edward’s reign

Episode 9 - “Abdication”
King Edward VIII abdicates the throne and moves away from the Crown

Episode 10 - “The Reluctant Heir”
The coronation of George VI
After the scandal, the monarchy barely survives

SEASON 5:

1936 - 1947

Episode 1 - “An Unlikely King”
George VI struggles to be King after the scandals
He struggles to lead Britain ad portas of World War II

Episode 2 - “Appeasement”
The rise of Neville Chamberlain in Downing Street
The threat of Hitler and the SS rise across Europe

Episode 3 - “Churchill”
Winston Churchill emerges during a time of political instability
Clashes with George VI

Episode 4 - “World War II”
The second World War starts
The royals frantically try to prevent similar tragedies to the first World War

Episode 5 - “The Blitz”
The royals remain in London during Germany’s bombings
The public support surges for the monarchy

Episode 6 - “She That Shall Rule”
Young Elizabeth II is introduced to the courts
A new perspective and look into the future for the older generations of Royals

Episode 7 - “Voice”
George VI tries to overcome his stammering problem
Gives his famous speech to the nation, to unify it

Episode 8 - “The End”
World War II ends and celebrations across England spark
A little bit of happiness amongst the Royals

Episode 9 - “A New Generation”
Elizabeth II meets Prince Philip
George VI’s health starts to show signs of weakness
Mary of Teck feels like she is a part of a dead generation

Episode 10 - “The Wedding”
The season ends with Elizabeth and Philip’s royal wedding
The final shot mirrors the start of The Crown to handoff this show to that one

Did Price Philip visited Stephen Ward house in real life?