The British Royal family, either you love them or hate them. But one thing The Crown does is highlight the intriguing life they do lead and how different it is to everyone else on the planet.
Season 4 kicks off with the romance between Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor) and Lady Diana Spencer (Emma Corin), the worldwide fascination and the wedding. The season also details the neglect and abandonment Lady Diana felt from Charles and the family but also how the romance between Charles and Camilla (Emerald Fennell) continued throughout the entire romance and marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Margaret Thatcher and her government also feature heavily in this season and Gillian Anderson has done a tremendous job playing the Prime Minister. The season highlights how difficult the relationship between the Queen (Olivia Colman) and Thatcher was during the 1980s but also how Margaret Thatcher was not liked by a large number of the government and population of the UK and how she tried to put businesses before the people, with a disastrous backlash.
But in a curious turn of events the season also demonstrates the sheer depression and worthlessness that was experienced by Princess Margaret (Helena Bonham Carter) and how she is limping through a controlled life where everything she enjoys or provides some sort of satisfaction is taken away from the establishment, Royal family, but she points out time and again the hypocrisy of all.
Created by Peter Morgan, The Crown has been a monumental hit for audiences around the world and drawn scorn from the Royal family. What keeps the audience engaged is the continual references to moments in history and incorporating these stories and tidbits into the series, including the man who broke into the Queen’s bedroom, while she was sleeping. All is incredibly well written and developed stories.
The sets and costumes in this series are astounding. The 1980s glamor is recreated in such a way that they replicate the actual outfits worn by members of the Royal family during this time period and members of the Government. A lot of time and detail has gone into making this as accurate to the period as possible.
Also the cast need a special mention as they are absolutely incredible in the portrayal of these famous characters in history.
Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth brings a sense of humanity and understanding that is sometimes simply forgotten about the Queen and her remarkable time as the monarch.
Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret reveals the broken individual in the 1980s as how she was struggling to be herself in a controlled world.
But the outstanding performances that need to be mentioned are Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher, Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles and Emma Corin as Princess Diana. Each actor brings a sense of individuality to the role and definitely leave a mark and take ownership of the characters of history.
The Crown is a series that you can binge watch one weekend, as you simply can’t stop with one episode. There are ten episodes in this season and it is hard not to watch all back to back, but the reminder is that you have to wait another year for season 5!
