How Britain reacts to ‘the Crown’, season 4

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LONDON – Asking the British for their take on ‘The Crown’ is like asking what they think of the real royal family; like them or hate them, everyone has an opinion.

The release of the fourth season of Netflix’s opulent drama on the life and times of Queen Elizabeth II has sparked a particularly strong backlash in the UK press and social media as the season does not just cover a tumultuous time. for the royal family, but also a period of division in British politics. It also sees the introduction of two key figures in 20th century British life: Margaret Thatcher (played by Gillian Anderson) and Diana, Princess of Wales (Emma Corrin).

Below is a look at how the British have reacted to the new season, including complaints about Prince Charles’ fishing technique and concerns about the impact on the real royals.

Corrin’s portrayal of Diana impressed British critics, and those who knew the princess voiced their praise as well. Andrew Morton, who worked with Diana on an explosive 1992 biography, told Vanity Fair: “I think Emma Corrin’s performance is by far the most accomplished and realistic portrayal of Diana I’ve seen. .

Corrin’s performance also reflects what made Diana so popular with audiences, according to Rachel Cooke in The New Statesman. “The chilling secret to her performance is not in the look up from her eyes,” Cooke wrote, “but rather in the way she exudes Diana’s teenage energy – a sometimes crippling vitality that the Princess, in fact, has never completely managed to lose. “

A scene in which a shy Diana stands in front of media around the world after her engagement to Prince Charles quickly became a Twitter meme. An user Posted with the caption: “Me on a Zoom call pretending to listen and not just look at me.”

While “The Crown” explores real events and has been praised for its attention to detail, it is at its heart a dramatization featuring fictional conversations. As a result, many newspapers have verified the facts of the show (and you can read the New York Times recap on the show’s historical accuracy here).

In a lengthy review of the series for The Times of London, historian Hugo Vickers lamented the portrayal of the Queen as “gloomy and schoolmistress”. He also argued that, unlike what viewers saw in the third episode of this season, Diana was actually well versed in reverence protocols.

The Daily Mail has published its own fact check. “Princess Diana was dressed like a ‘mad tree’ for ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ when she first met Prince Charles: FALSE,” the newspaper said, and “the royal family is thirsty for blood and obsessed with hunting: PARTLY TRUE.

In a discussion on The Crown: The Official Podcast, the show’s creator Peter Morgan said that a plot surrounding a critical letter between Lord Mountbatten and Prince Charles advising the Prince to marry Diana and not Camilla Parker Bowles, may not have existed.

Morgan’s comments made headlines on Tuesday. “Writer in the Crown stands for creating scenes,” a Times of London headline said above reports from anonymous sources that Prince Charles was upset by her portrayal and refused to watch the show.

Much has been written about the importance of such creative license. “The fake story of ‘The Crown’ is as corrosive as the fake news,” read the headline of an article by Simon Jenkins in The Guardian. “‘The Crown’ has taken its liberties with the well-known – and sensible – reluctance of royalty to resort to the courts,” Jenkins wrote. “It’s an artistic license that is both loose and relaxed.”

‘This Morning’, a popular daytime talk show on UK television, recently aired a segment titled ‘Is The Crown Now Too Close To Home?’ ask if the fictional aspects of the plot might harm those who are still alive.

“We all love good drama,” said Philip Schofield, one of the show’s presenters. “The problem is, the Royal Family are always people at heart, just people, just family, who are hurt and stung by things that blatantly don’t seem to be true.

Jennie Bond, who was the BBC’s royal correspondent when the series was filmed, told the BBC Newscast podcast: “I think the difficulty is knowing which is the truth and which is not… in especially for the young generation who watch who had not lived those times, who did not know these people, they will believe what they see. They will see it as a documentary.

As the fifth episode explores the high levels of unemployment and economic strife in the early years of the Thatcher government, critics of the Iron Lady have again expressed fears that “the Crown” would humanize her and her conservative policies. .

Snippets from Thatcher advocating Article 28, a policy banning the promotion or acceptance of homosexuality in schools, were widely shared on Twitter. “While you all stay saying ‘sexy Maggie’, here’s a reminder of her toxicity,” a user wrote on Twitter.

Likewise, some Thatcher fans took issue with Anderson’s portrayal of her. “Thatcher’s caricature is a parody,” spectator told The Telegraph. “Even her voice sounds like she has a permanent sore throat, when in fact she is strong and imposing.

While it’s hard to know what the royals think about their portrayal on the show, a character from season four has made his feelings known.

Speaking to British tabloid The Sun, Michael Fagan, who broke into Buckingham Palace and entered the Queen’s bedroom in 1982, said he was unhappy with her portrayal: “I am actually more handsome and it looks totally charmless, ”he told me.

Eagle-eyed viewers spotted what looks like a mouse walking through a scene of a phone call between Prince Charles and other members of the royal family. Greg James, the BBC Radio 1 presenter, responded to the animal’s cameo on his breakfast show, saying: “This is not a Starbucks ‘Game of Thrones’ mug or a bottle of Evian “Downton Abbey” in plan, but it’s definitely up there.

Shortly after being spotted by viewers, the Twitter account of “The Crown” replied to a user’s post with “Outstanding Guest in a Drama Series?”

British viewers sent quite pointed letters to newspapers about “The Crown”.

In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, a viewer was appalled by Prince Charles’ portrayal of fishing technique: “To imagine that any self-respecting fisherman would allow his line to land in such a catastrophic manner is bad enough, but then to suggest that such a cast could possibly result in the landing of a fine salmon amounts to gross negligence – almost criminal. “

The Queen’s salvation has also been criticized. A letter from an Army veteran to The Times of London read: “As far as I remember, Her Majesty’s salute has always been exemplary, with the forearm and hand being straight. It may not be noticed by many viewers, but for us ex-servicemen who are passionate about standards, it is especially infuriating.

These specific criticisms of “the Crown” are hardly new. On the release of the first season in 2016, House of Lords member Matt Ridley also wrote a letter to the Times of London. ‘Walk in a swamp near Sandringham at Christmas, the king [George VI] points to a reed warbler at the Duke of Edinburgh. At this time of year all the reed warblers are found in sub-Saharan Africa (as the Duke would know very well), ”he wrote.

“The producers go to great lengths to get the costumes and props correctly: why not the birds?”



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