The Crown plans to depict the 'tampongate' call

I would be heartbroken too. But I would also be heartbroken if my family were criminals or celebrities. I don't see the RF and an exception.

I feel very sorry for ordinary people whose private lives are splashed over the media, and feel the same about people like politicians, who are famous because of their work, rather than working in the fame industry, if you see what I mean. Most people have less-than-clean washing that they don't want aired, and I believe that they have a right to keep it in the laundry basket.

But the whole point of the RF is that they are where they are because they are at the top of society. They have untold privilege because of that, and they determine what is seen as 'acceptable' for the rest of us (if you buy into that sort of thing). 'Queen's English' is the yardstick, manners and etiquette, protocols and so on are led by them. People say things such as 'if it's good enough for the queen', 'the queen could drop in and use my loo' and so on. The Queen was lauded for doing her job well, something which most of us just get on with (and some say we should be grateful to have a job at all), so when the RF don't behave well it is hard to know why it should it be kept quiet.

Tbh, my comment was more about posters sneering at others for their viewing habits than about that particular incident. It is such a cheap shot to say that X is only watched by those who do Y. It reminds me of people reading penny dreadfuls on the train inside covers of more 'worthy' tomes. TV is for entertainment as well as edification, and plenty of people whose brains are taxed all day will flop in front of soaps or Strictly (or whatever) at night.

Re Tampongate - they could have referred to it by having it on a newspaper headline or something, which if memory serves was how they dealt with Toegate, or whatever Fergie's indiscretion was called. That would have been more appropriate. Not because it involves the RF, but because it was clearly not a conversation that was ever meant to go public. Pillow talk should be left in the bedrooms of those concerned, regardless of rank or privilege.

Brilliant post Doodledog. You’ve said it so much better than I could have done.

I don't watch the Crown and never have.
I don't think the RF are any more exempt from mortifying things they have done than you or me. He could have guessed at the time it would be picked up by a hacker because they were on his case about his treatment of Diana.
The truth will be out!
I do think it shows a certain arrogance if he thinks he can say or do what he likes, we certainly can't.

Yammy

I don't watch the Crown and never have.
I don't think the RF are any more exempt from mortifying things they have done than you or me. He could have guessed at the time it would be picked up by a hacker because they were on his case about his treatment of Diana.
The truth will be out!
I do think it shows a certain arrogance if he thinks he can say or do what he likes, we certainly can't.

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. I don't think any of us are likely to have our private conversations made public for the whole world to read. And yes, I think he is entitled to do and say what he likes in private (as long as it's legal) because we certainly can do that.

It's not the worst thing to be made public, though of course it shouldn't have been.

Just saucy talk between lovers.

More embarrassing than heartbreaking, I'd say.

We can’t all say what we like and keep it private though. How often do texts/emails etc ‘go viral’ when some so-called friend leaks them to the media? It’s often a bride with unrealistic expectations or similar. Yes, they are usually being way ott, but not deserving of the ridicule they get. Jon Ronson wrote a good book called ‘so you’ve been publicly shamed’. It’s a few years old now, but covers this ground really well.

Anniebach and I were saying just last week, imagine having to go and do the first walkabout after it was aired?

Imagine having to sit and have breakfast with the queen, who is also your mum the next day?

Some good posts here lately regarding privacy, propriety etc.
I rue the day I watched the Oprah interview , packed with lies and digs, because I felt sad that it probably upset so many members of the family. Truth be told, I didn't know all that stuff was going to be aired.
It has all made me think I don't want to watch the latest dramatisation of The Crown because at least this time I know people will be upset and that isn't fair. My moral standards are higher in terms of entertainment if that makes sense.

Oh dear my moral standards must be incredibly low. I think the RF are fair game. They take public money, do very little, pretend they have no influence, whilst making sure laws favour them, and also pretend to have some standards when it's obvious they are really just like the rest of us, with a few really rotten apples as well.

I also must have low moral standards and the sense of humour of an 8 year old so....

These TV companies love to dig the dirt, don't they? Sadly, dirt sells. To use more cliches, could they scrape the bottom of the barrel any lower? It's as if they have a deep personal dislike of the RF in general or Charles in particular and are trying to cause as much embarrassment as possible. All very unfortunate.

I don't have Netflix but wouldn't watch it if I had.

Glorianny

Oh dear my moral standards must be incredibly low. I think the RF are fair game. They take public money, do very little, pretend they have no influence, whilst making sure laws favour them, and also pretend to have some standards when it's obvious they are really just like the rest of us, with a few really rotten apples as well.

Nobody should be fair game IMO.

That would mean massive overhaul of media, across the board.

I've never seen it, but surely it is just lightweight entertainment, rather than malicious and any threat to the monarchy?

Don't remember this 'event' and doubt it needs to be re-visited.

MissAdventure

I've never seen it, but surely it is just lightweight entertainment, rather than malicious and any threat to the monarchy?

Speaking from the intellectual high ground of one who has seen it, as opposed to the moral high ground of one who hasn’t but feels able to castigate its viewers, I agree.

A lot of it is very supportive of the monarchy and all it stands for. It is not generally salacious- it has a few episodes which deal with ‘unfortunate’ incidents, as does the RF. To ignore them would be a whitewash, and what’s the point of that?

Is it just me?

This sort of thing makes me like the royals more for actually being daft humans like the rest of us...

Far better than the awful reasons they end up in the media

No, it’s not just you. I am not a royalist - I’m pretty neutral really- but I have warmed to them on a human level since watching The Crown, whatever I think of the institution. I defy anyone not to feel sorry for Charles after watching the episode about his schooldays, for instance.

They have portrayed the Queen as cold and unfeeling and from the many detailed documentaries about her she is anything but.

I think the fact that Judi Dench has slammed it, and Jemima Goldsmith has pulled out tells you what they think of it.

Isn't Judy quite friendly with one or other of the royals?
It's untenable to be friends and be in the programme, I would have thought.

Yes, which is why she has slammed it for portraying such inaccuracies.

Chestnut

They have portrayed the Queen as cold and unfeeling and from the many detailed documentaries about her she is anything but.

Oh, I don't think so, but it depends how you view it, I suppose.

I think they showed her as someone who has human feelings, but also such a deep sense of duty that she put them aside when not to do so would affect The Crown. Her relationship with Philip shows that brilliantly, I think. He was alpha male, and hated having a wife who outranked him, but she knew that The Crown needed to have her in charge, or the whole rationale of the succession would falter. She made huge compromises as she loved him, and because she knew that a divorce would affect The Crown as much as it would her family. She may have appeared unfeeling, but a monarch who sobbed and moaned all the time wouldn't have been as respected as she was. Maybe future generations will play if differently. but she was the first to reign in the full spotlight of the media, which grew from annual radio broadcasts to Zoom messages to the public in her lifetime, with paparazzi and their zoom lenses spying on the family all the time.

See, I'm defending her now . I wouldn't have said or felt any of that before watching the series.

VioletSky

I also must have low moral standards and the sense of humour of an 8 year old so....

I sort of knew that what I wrote earlier, (as I stuffed a quick sandwich during the school lunchbreak), might get taken the wrong way, so I've quickly come back to explain.
My "high moral standards" do not tolerate deliberately upsetting people whoever, whatever, and by that I especially include gruesome images showing the death of William and Harry's mother. It turns me off watching to know that the nearest and dearest have to re witness all the grief.

I can be as smutty and bawdy as the next person in private, but having those conversations repeated in public would be beyond the pale by my standards.

Never watched it so have no idea about the gruesome images showing the death of William and Harry's mother, but having read your post Joseanne am staggered that H is prepared to have his lifestyle paid for by Netflix.