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Home / Entertainment

Queen Elizabeth death: What Netflix's The Crown got right - and wrong - about the Queen

NZ Herald
9 Sep, 2022 09:21 PM6 mins to read

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King Charles III delivers his first televised address to the Commonwealth as monarch by paying tribute to his "darling mama", Queen Elizabeth II. Video / AP

Netflix's The Crown has never claimed to be a completely historically accurate representation of the royal family.

But to those watching from all over the world, the award-winning series has helped bring history to life.

After the news of Queen Elizabeth's death at 96 came on September 8, the series' creator Peter Morgan announced that filming for the sixth season of The Crown would be put on pause.

The Queen is portrayed as prioritising her responsibilities as a monarch above all else. Photo / Netflix
The Queen is portrayed as prioritising her responsibilities as a monarch above all else. Photo / Netflix
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The series has explored much of the Queen's life already, with the fifth season set to be released in November. So far we've seen Claire Foy and Olivia Colman portray her on screen, soon to be succeeded by Imelda Staunton in seasons five and six.

And while much of the scenes are depicted as they happened, others have clearly been dramatised - so what did The Crown get right and wrong about Britain's longest-reigning monarch?

How the Queen dealt with Princess Margaret's wish to marry

From the beginning of the series, the contrast between the Queen and her younger sister Princess Margaret was made very clear: Elizabeth prioritised her responsibilities, while Margaret struggled with the rules.

The show portrays the relationship between Margaret and Group Captain Peter Townsend, who was 16 years her senior. He proposed to her in 1953.

In The Crown, when Margaret (Vanessa Kirby) initially asks Elizabeth (Foy) for permission to marry Townsend, the monarch asks her to wait.

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The differences between Elizabeth and her sister Margaret are emphasised on the show. Photo / Netflix
The differences between Elizabeth and her sister Margaret are emphasised on the show. Photo / Netflix

Later in the drama, she denies the request - but in real life, the princess herself may have decided to break off the engagement.

Margaret wrote in a statement released on October 31, 1955: "I would like it to be known that I have decided not to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend. I have been aware that, subject to my renouncing my rights of succession, it might have been possible for me to contract a civil marriage.

"But mindful of the Church's teaching that Christian marriage is indissoluble, and conscious of my duty to the Commonwealth, I have resolved to put these considerations before any others."

The Queen arguing with Prince Philip

The royals are well-trained in keeping their private lives away from prying eyes.

But on one occasion in 1954 during a royal tour of Australia, a film crew accidentally witnessed the Queen arguing with her husband Prince Philip.

After the argument, the Queen reportedly said to the camera crew: "I'm sorry for that little interlude but, as you know, it happens in every marriage. Now, what would you like me to do?"

The interaction featured in the first season of The Crown, but the real footage has never been seen.

The Queen is played by Claire Foy in the first two seasons of The Crown. Photo / Netflix
The Queen is played by Claire Foy in the first two seasons of The Crown. Photo / Netflix

The Queen's first meeting with US First Lady Jackie Kennedy

Worlds collided in the 1960s when the British royals welcomed the Kennedys to Buckingham Palace.

In the second season of The Crown, the Queen and Jackie Kennedy have a friendly conversation, before the monarch discovers the First Lady has reportedly spoken negatively about her and the Palace.

It's claimed Jackie did in fact make disparaging remarks about the way the Palace was decorated, but the idea of the Queen hearing of this may not be entirely accurate.

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The Crown's historical consultant Robert Lacey told Vogue at the time that the tension between Elizabeth and Jackie was "speculative".

"I'm not saying it didn't exist – you can't say it's false, you can't say it's true. I think it's perfectly plausible that the Queen felt upstaged by Jackie."

The Queen's response to the Aberfan tragedy

One of the most controversial episodes of The Crown shows the Queen, played by Colman in season three, faking an emotional response to the Aberfan disaster.

On October 21, 1966, a mining waste tip collapse killed 144 people in the Welsh town of Aberfan, including 116 children.

Eight days after the tragedy, the Queen visited Aberfan. It's said that one of her biggest regrets was waiting that long to travel to Wales, as Philip went there the day after the collapse.

In real life, the Queen's response to the Aberfan tragedy was said to be one of her biggest regrets. Photo / Netflix
In real life, the Queen's response to the Aberfan tragedy was said to be one of her biggest regrets. Photo / Netflix

But in The Crown, she is shown saying in private, "They deserved a display of compassion, of empathy, from their queen. They got nothing. I dabbed a bone-dry eye and by some miracle no one noticed."

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Countless fans of the show shared their fury over the fictional take on her response.

The Queen's conversation with intruder Michael Fagan

One of The Crown's most memorable moments comes in the fourth season when viewers are introduced to a man named Michael Fagan.

After he finds himself suffering financial hardship, Fagan decides to break into Buckingham Palace - twice. While he gets away the first time, on the second occasion, he makes his way into the Queen's own bedroom.

When she wakes, he begs her to save Britain from then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

Fagan really did break into Buckingham Palace. But in an interview with the BBC in 1993, he revealed that the Queen simply told him to leave.

So, their powerful conversation portrayed on the show didn't happen in real life after all.

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The Queen's relationship with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

The fourth season of The Crown portrays the strained relationship between the Queen and the new Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The PM struggles to fit in during a visit to Balmoral, and is often at odds with the monarch during their private audiences.

It's true the pair didn't quite see eye to eye on several occasions. Dean Palmer wrote in his book The Queen and Mrs Thatcher: An Inconvenient Relationship: "The palace thought Thatcher vulgar, and the prime minister thought royalty was irrelevant."

And John Campbell wrote in his book The Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, from Grocer's Daughter to Prime Minister, that "The Queen was said to dread her weekly audience with her Prime Minister because Mrs. Thatcher was so stiff and formal."

However, the Queen had respect for Thatcher throughout her tenure as Prime Minister, awarding her the Order of Merit, as seen on the series.

But the recognition was given two weeks after Thatcher's resignation, instead of during her final audience with the Queen.

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