A Life in Wanderlust

So unless you’ve been living under a rock, or are part of the world who doesn’t subscribe to Netflix (tell me how you fill your time, please!), you will know that the penultimate series of The Crown has just landed.

The Crown is a historical fiction series (more on that later) that follows the first 6 decades of Elizabeth II’s reign. Every two series, the cast changes to adapt to the aging of those they are portraying. In series 1 and 2, Claire Foy started the show with a flawless portrayal of the young Elizabeth II, navigating her unexpected succession at such a young age, facing a man’s world as a woman in power and trying to balance this new role with her marriage. Her exquisite performance was iconic and arguably drew the huge following that the series has today. Her accent alone makes it worth watching. However, since the departure of Claire Foy and her Crown cohort (special mentions also for Matt Smith’s portrayal of Prince Philip and Vanesa Kirby as Princess Margaret), the quality of acting has declined in favour of casting bigger names.

The next actor to play the Queen was Olivia Coleman who, while I love her as an actress and person, did not do justice to the role. Had she of been the first to play her, maybe she would have but following in the shoes of Claire Foy was a task too large for Coleman to fulfil. Similarly, the latest series is the first time that we se Imelda Staunton as the Queen and while she is another great actress who I admire, there is also something lacking in her portrayal of Britain’s longest reigning monarch.

Both Diana’s have been wonderfully cast and must be excused from this, and the young cast in series 3 & 4, namely Princess Anne and Prince Charles were shockingly impressive. However, with the casting of Dominic West as Prince Charles in this new series appears to follow the pattern of casting the bigger names, rather than the best actor for the role. He embodies nothing of Prince Charles and there seems to be no attempt to embody him in voice or mannerisms.

Maybe its that as we’re getting closer to the present day, there are more memorable moments and as such I can remember the way certain phrases were said (‘there were three of us so, it was a bit crowded’) and this means that I judge the newer cast more for failing to mimic rather than act.

Having said all of this, I would still recommend watching this series. The sets are beautifully done, especially considering not many of the real life locations could be used. The budget allows for a rich backdrop and scene stealing rooms standing in for palaces. The wardrobe also is perfect, it follows the styles of the times and shows us some iconic outfits without always copying the exact item worn, unless it is so famous and iconic that there would confusion if it wasn’t the same.

However, one item that was hotly anticipated was a bit of a let down. The run up to this series has had a lot of speculation and anticipation, it was the season where Diana comes into the woman that history will remember her as. No longer the shy Di of the early 80s, this season we see Diana pushing the fashion rules that the royal family follow, pushing the social boundaries that the royals adhered to (I’m thinking not wearing gloves to royal engagements), and the start of her making a stand against the way she was treated. One iconic outfit from this era was the ‘revenge’ dress. This was a dress that Diana stepped out in the night that Prince Charles went on TV and admitted to having an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. Diana’s dress, seen as a more sexy piece and attention grabbing ensured that the next day, all papers were talking about her and not this bombshell revelation. Whether this was the true story or not, we will sadly never know, it is one of those lost to history. However, there was little to no lead up to this dress. There were no shots of Diana looking embarrassed/angry or even determined. For a series focused on dramatising the lives of this seemingly untouchable family, they missed the mark, and the opportunity to tell a story of a woman wronged, hell hath no fury and all that. Many have seen this moment and taken strength from it. If Princess Diana can get over the whole world knowing she was cheated on, many other women have felt that they too can overcome being cheated on.

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the release of this season. As we edged closer to events from living memory (specifically Charles and Diana) there has been a significant increase in backlash. Many have called for Netflix to add a disclaimer to each episode to ensure younger viewers who were not alive when these events were happening, know to take this as historical fiction not fact. Even Judi Dench has weighed in commenting that this is damaging for her friend, Camilla the Queen consort. Controversially, having binge watched this series, I do not believe that it paints them in an unfair light. It makes them more human, more relatable and pitiable. It doesn’t paint Charles as a monster, it paints him as a victim of circumstance. He very clearly loved Camilla and was refused permission to marry her, leading to the disastrous marriage to Diana and having a knock on effect on many other lives in the process. I think this series allows the public to se a different side of the royal family, an emotional side and the possibility of seeing them as normal people. They may have been born into a hugely privileged life, yet they, like everyone else has problems. This series is carefully written to not paint one person out to be the villain, which has been the case with the newspaper narrative for so long, it shows them all as flawed humans, it makes them relatable.

In conclusion, these big budget series allow for a deeper understanding of what could have happened. The writing is detailed and creates a more sympathetic view of the royal family. Whether they would se it like that, I’m not so sure but to anyone else I would say it is worth watching!

What are your thoughts? Do you agree with me? Let me know in the comments below.