The late Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth is so lucky as she didn’t have to watch the highly-anticipated over-hyped final season of The Crown. As the new series starts with the death of Diana, the scriptwriter’s biggest problem is that the main players in this drama are dead and so much of what we see cannot be corroborated. It meant that this docu/drama/biopic allowed the series creator Peter Morgan and his two co-writers flights of fancy that did not sit well with us.
The Crown’s tale of Diana’s death painted a picture of a petulant Princess who since she left the Palace and her marriage had only three things to occupy her once crammed-packed life. Her children, her anti-landmine campaign, and her dating life. Of these, the first two painted a picture of how so many of us remember her, whilst the third, was covered in minute detail by the tabloid press determined to portray a pleasure-seeking flirtatious woman with questionable morals.
On the other hand, seeing the fine Brit actor Dominic West playing Prince Charles privately burst into tears at the death of his ex-wife was way too much for us to accept. There is obviously no way to confirm this happened (other than call the King maybe?) and we were so much aware of how in real life The Royal Family officially treated her so shabbily (and petty-like) denying her use of the title Her Royal Highness
Even with a third-rate soap opera-type script Elizabeth Debicki playing this latest Diana was superb, and should definitely be able to add to the list of 39 Primetime Emmys that The Crown has won so far. So too was Imelda Staunton playing the Queen whose reputation was tarnished by her inability to show true compassion about the loss of her daughter-in-law, who in reality was the most popular member of teh Family At least she had something to get her acting teeth into, unlike the (fab) Oscar-nominated Lesley Manville playing the latest incarnation of Princess Margaret who we only glimpsed briefly chain smoking and with nothing to say.
Strangely enough writer Peter Morgan is revisiting this recent history in his movie The Queen film from 2007 which was nominated for 6 Academy Awards, winning one for its star Helen Mirren. Which was so much more superior and had the one thing that is desperately lacking in The Crown ….i.e. authenticity
PS The last six episodes on this series stream on Netflix Dec. 14 …..we may even skip it
PS If you think that Peter Morgan has a ‘thing’ abiout royalyy (he also drtected “The Last King Of Scotland” and ‘The Audience’ ) you show know he married Princess Anna of Schwarzenberg daughter of Prince Karel Schwarzenberg Head of the Princely House of Schwarzenberg and former Czech Foreign Minister. They have five children.
Review : Roger Walker-Dack
Editor in Chief : Queerguru
Member of G.A.L.E.C.A. (Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association) and NLGJA The Association of LGBT
Journalists. and The Online Film Critics Society. Ex Contributing Editor The Gay Uk &Contributor Edge Media
Former CEO and Menswear Designer of Roger Dack Ltd in the UK
one of the hardest-working journalists in the business' Michael Goff of Towleroad