I’ve nearly finished watching the first season of The Crown and I don’t know what to say about it.
For those of you who’ve been living under a rock the past few years, The Crown is a Netflix drama ostensibly about Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family, but which also acts as a kind of potted account of British history post-WWII.
It’s an interesting show, as it’s about as far from a sycophantic and flattering portrait of the royal family as you can get, but the overwhelming impression that you receive about their lifestyle and position is that it’s rather bleak. And lonely.
Most of the episodes that I’ve watched follow a certain structure: Elizabeth wants to do something, usually for the benefit of someone else like her husband or sister; she is told that it would be inadvisable to do this; and finally, she sacrifices her own personal wishes and submits to protocol.
There’s a great line in an early episode when Elizabeth’s grandmother tells her: “To do nothing is the hardest job of all. To be impartial is not natural”. This sums up the core dilemma explored in the series: the constant tamping down of one’s personal and human nature that is required of the monarch. Their coronation is a transformation from mortal to divine, from a person into an institution- an unnatural process that is bound to take a strain.
There’s a sharp contrast drawn between life pre-Crown and post-Crown: life before involves boat races and parties in Malta, while life after is a procession of never ending duties and compromises.
This focus on what must be the epitome of #firstworldproblems is balanced out to some extent by the constant reminders of Britain’s colonial history. As the camera lingers on the faces of the people of Kenya or Zimbabwe while the white colonisers speak of their civilising mission, it is highly uncomfortable and rightly so, especially because absolutely nobody takes issue with it.
This is a part of British history which is often glossed over and glorified, and although The Crown does not go so far as to explicitly criticise the less than savoury aspects of colonial rule, it does not presume to represent the experiences of the colonial subjects and refrains from putting words into their mouths.
Claire Foy delivers a wonderfully subtle performance as the Queen, conveying volumes through minute changes in her facial expression and vocal cadence. It’s a fine line to walk: the Queen being known for her façade of neutrality, it can be difficult for an actor to capture this without giving a flat performance, a trap which Foy avoids. Matt Smith is engaging as Philip, though isn’t given an overwhelming amount to do in the first season, and the chemistry between the two is wholly believable.
The Crown is also unafraid to critique another British institution: Winston Churchill. Far from the usual portrayal of Churchill at the height of his powers during the war years, in this incarnation he is old, ill, and unfit for office; John Lithgow giving a fantastic performance.
As I previously mentioned, the show is undoubtedly focused on the royal family and their twisted-up relationships with each other and the world, but their story is inevitably intertwined with the story of Britain and its rapidly changing cultural and political landscape.
The cracks are showing in the British Empire, public perception of the monarchy is shifting with the growth of new technologies and attitudes, and ongoing issues like the Cold War, the mines and public health are bubbling away in the background.
In recent years, public interest in the royal family has never been higher. I like to think this is due in part to the younger princes in using their platform to speak about issues such as mental health and cyber bullying, but let’s face it- the people of Britain have a strange and enduring fascination with the Queen, as shown by the hullaballoo of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012, as well as the unfailing attraction of fairy tale weddings and cute royal babies.
In light of all of this, it can’t help but feel slightly bizarre to watch The Crown, where we are told time and time again that the monarchy must remain above and remote from the people, in line with the traditional (and slightly patronising) sentiment of giving them an ideal to strive for.
It is bizarre for two reasons: first, because it now seems obvious that adapting to the times is inevitable, but mostly because even now their appeal is that they remain a little pocket of unreality- of ancient pomp and ceremony- in the modern world.
Notes:
- Pip Torrens also gives a fine performance as the terrifyingly efficient Tommy Lascelles.
- I have now finished the first series and I almost cried at the penultimate episode with its themes of aging and irrelevance. I don’t care for the real historical people but it’s just so SAD.
- I wonder how they’ll handle it when they get to more recent history, like Princess Diana.
- Do you think they could actually cast Meghan Markle to play herself??
- I realise how late I am in coming to The Crown but I don’t care.
Image: Pietro & Silvia/Flickr
Forty-Two Thoughts 