Netflix The Crown series 4 starts tonight...who will be watching it?

I am enjoying The Crown and rationing myself to one episode per day.

rosecarmel

Sparklefizz

In the US they will believe every word, I suspect.

That's an incredibly ignorant accusation-

absolutely agree Rose Carmel. Dismiss an entire nation. Very prejudiced.

Really enjoying binge watching the Crown,up to episode 7 already. Although there is fictional elements I have been amazed to find out that some of the most alarming parts are true. Didn't know about the Queens first cousins in an asylum which I have researched and is all true. It makes you look on the Royal family s actions as being cruel to keep the dynasty going.

I did know about the Queens cousins. So much of this series jars that I'm not sure I'll continue watching the other episodes. I'm just spotting anomalies all the time which is irritating. I'm sure the acting is OK it's just the poor script and lack of knowledge of details that I'm finding tough going.

RoseCarmel I apologise for my thoughtless comment.

The Queens cousins were not royal as they were Bowes-Lyon cousins. This happened in 1941 so hardly a decision the then Princess Elizabeth! The Sun broke the the story in 1987! Anyone know about Prince John youngest brother of George V1th? I'm sure Netflix will be able to misinform about that as well so as to create a good juicy story!!

There was an excellent Poliakoff drama about poor Prince John.

I haven't seen any episodes of The Crown, and I have no desire to; it seems prurient to me to make a drama about people's lives while they are still alive. Unfortunately some viewers believe them to be completely accurate: 'they wouldn't be allowed to produce them if they were untrue' one avid watcher who believes them implicitly told me.

The nieces of the Queen Mother were the daughters of one of her brothers and his wife, and were not members of the Royal family.

Yes Jane10 I remember watching that excellent programme. It was a very sad story and let's hope Netflix don't use it to denigrade the RF with ha!f truths even more than they already have.

I’ve just seen the episode featuring the queen mother’s nieces, and was a bit concerned, firstly because the fact of their learning difficulties was raised in connection with Princess Margaret’s depression, and that the counsellor reassured her by saying that the condition was not connected to her grandfather, but to his wife, rather than focussing on the difference between learning difficulties and a mental illness like depression. Worse to me, though, was that one of the actresses portraying another of the cousins obviously had Down Syndrome.

I'm thinking of the scene in the movie The Queen when Michael Sheen as Tony Blair asks, "Who are these people?!" -

The world may never know- ?

I thoroughly enjoyed the series, the mannequin like pageantry, the costumes, the oddness and obvious passion behind wanting to bring the lives of these people to the screen that I/we truly know so very little about-

I'd love to see this entire cast, dressed in character, on the cover of The Rolling Stone-

Who ARE these people? ?

My apologies. I stated earlier that Peter Morgan, the writer of The Crown, was known to be anti-monarchy. That information is out of date. He WAS anti-monarchy but, now says has changed his stance since writing The Crown.

Sparklefizz

RoseCarmel I apologise for my thoughtless comment.

?

I watched a couple as I couldn’t sleep and one thing that struck me was the Charles character, not great acting as he always always seemed to have the exact same expression!

I watched episode 4 this evening.
I agree that Gillian Anderson is a poor Thatcher. Also with the pantomime way the Thatcher's visit to Balmoral was portrayed. No fan of thatcher but she was far too shrewd to have visited Balmoral without outdoor wear and she'd have been well aware of the indoor games and blood sports.

Helena B Carter seems to me to be having far too much fun playing Princes Margaret - she's loving the role and playing it rather as she played Charlie's mum in the Chocolate Factory.

I understand the discomfort some have expressed about fictionalising the lives of people who are still living but, it does happen. I watched Brexit the drama about well, the Leave campaign. Benedict Cumbebach played Dominic Cummings to a t and the rest of the cast were good. Not sure how different it is to portray the RF

I'm enjoying Princess Ann and still feel as I did when younger, that shed make a more interesting, stronger monarch than your brother

As for Diana, Charles and Camilla- what an absolute nightmare the whole thing was for that naive 19 year old. He was 13 years older, a big age gap at that age, especially as she seems to have lacked much life experience. They were ill matched to an extreme. What a lonely peculiar life she had in the build up to the wedding. Tragic that their two sons suffered so much during their developmental years then lost their mother in such a dreadful shocking way at key stages of adolescence.

Diana wasn't marrying into a family she knew little about! Her family had been socialising with the RF for centuries, she'd known PC since childhood, he'd dated her sister!! Not like Katherine who really was a novice! Yes her death was terrible for her sons, but again, they're not the first adolescents to lose a parent, and belonging to a particularly wealthy influential family must have helped! So much easier than children of ordinary families!

I don't think that being in a wealthy family would help in the grief of losing your mother as a child. It was a traumatic event in their lives and should not be minimised.
Jaberwok please stop using exclamation marks to try to emphasise your opinion and your assumed knowledge of the Royal family. It appears patronising.

Every day I read of more factual errors in The Crown that the writer is admitting he "conflated" or completely invented.

The actress playing Princess Anne, whilst congratulating herself in an article in The Times for getting the voice right has, in fact, got the voice all wrong, and so has the actress playing Mrs Thatcher. It's a parody and after 3 episodes I can't be bothered with it any more.

I’m binge watching it at the moment. It’really the best thing on the telly at the moment. Shows them up to be a normal family with all the problems that go with it. Just more riches and trappings.

harris27. I’d be very worried if my family was as normal as the RF???.

What a dysfunctional lot they are. Tbh how can anyone be normal living the life that they lead?

There is nothing normal about their life.

I really enjoyed the whole series and watched the last episode yesterday. Not sure why but I didn’t enjoy this series quite as much.

No chance.

harris27 and Whitewave2 both have it right imo. All families are dysfunctional but some more dysfunctional than others. How can anyone live a 'normal' life (whatever that is, as Prince Charles may say) living the life of privilege, public service and absence of privacy. So many people give themselves permission to make the most unkind comments about them. I know we fund the family but given the increased reduction in the funds for the wider family its not a bad repayment. The Queen has given all her adult life to 'duty'.

Jaberwok - can you explain why you believe that losing their mother as adolescents was in any way 'easier than the children of ordinary families'.

I was so looking forward to series 4 and I expected to have to summon up the will power not to binge watch it all. I watched the first 3 episodes and don’t feel much enthusiasm to continue.

Maybe it’s just the way I’m feeling lately but I find most of the characterisations thoroughly irritating. Diana’s simpering, Margaret Thatcher’s voice etc. The scene where the Thatchers visited them in Balmoral and they were playing bizarre party games was reminiscent of Spitting Image.

I’ll try another episode tonight but I’ve just about given up on it.

I agree Iam64 Imagine losing your mother under tragic circumstances then having all her private life and your grief paraded in public. Grief is no different be you rich or poor.