Get some tea and biscuits. it’s about to be a royal affair. I’m a big fan of movies or series based on real events. So, it came as a surprise that it took me so long to watch The Crown. all I can say is, it was worth the hype two years later. I’ve just finished season one and already looking forward to the next season.
There’s a lot of mystery surrounding the British monarch. Like, did you know Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth defied many odds to be wed? Me either. I’m telling you, this series is the one.
The first episode starts with the wedding of Princess Elizabeth to then Prince Of Greece and Denmark, Prince Philip. It is obvious that Philip was not a favourite among the political class and the royal family members, even Elizabeth’s father. However, her love for Prince Philip stood the tests of time. Her father also learned that he was suffering from lung cancer and had a few more months to live. This reality forced him to accept Philip as Princess Elizabeth’s soon to be husband.
The second episode features the iconic visit to Kenya. This is when Princess Elizabeth visited the British colony of Kenya and during that visit learned that her father had passed away. This meant that she was the rightful heir to the throne. She was no longer Princess Elizabeth, but Queen Elizabeth.
She returns back to England and basically, gets a crash course on how to rule an empire. On the other side, Prince Philip is antagonized by the reality that his children don’t carry his last name. This third episode draws back the curtain into the royal family’s estranged private lives and one of Queen Elizabeth’s first order of business as Queen, moving a motion in parliament to change her last name. their marriage is filled with a tonne of compromises that came with gender swaps at that period in time.
The rest of the episodes slowly play out the first few years of Queen Elizabeth’s reign in an era when Britain faced significant political chapters. Additionally, the Queen struggled with balancing her role as a wife and mother and her official duties as the Queen.
The dialogues are a bit long which, I admit, I strayed out of multiple times and had to keep repeating. However, the delivery is to perfection with heartfelt performances by the actors. The season ends with Queen Elizabeth battling yet another personal conflict of whether to allow her sister, Princess Margaret to marry a divorced man. She fears the backlash from the church and parliament. Her government is also unstable after the death of Winston Churchill.
The most commendable part of the series is the actors. Phillip played by Matt Smith is almost a spitting image of a young and wild Prince Phillip. Claire Foy plays Queen Elizabeth whose character comes off so effortlessly and graceful even in situations where you think she’s about to lose it. A tip of the hat to the casting director, innit? (my horrible attempt at a British accent).
If you like this, let me know and I’ll do a review of season 2. Also, if you haven’t watched The Crown, what are you doing? Go watch. Here’s a little teaser.
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Feature image from https://www.pinterest.fr/pin/587719820094696483/
