Should The Crown be true? The new series, starting tomorrow, has been strongly criticised for changing the facts. But is it possible to find a sweet spot between history and entertainment?
'Complete rubbish' (But we all want to watch)
Should The Crown be true? The new series, starting tomorrow, has been strongly criticised for changing the facts. But is it possible to find a sweet spot between history and entertainment?
The trailer for season five of The Crown opens with the Queen standing outside fire-damaged Windsor Castle. "The Royal Family is in genuine crisis," says the voice of John MajorMajor was the British prime minister from 1990 to 1997. . We see a miserable Princess DianaThe first wife of Britain's King Charles III and the mother of Princes William and Harry, who died in a car crash in 1997. , and Prince Charles kissing Camilla Parker-BowlesThe second wife of King Charles III, now known as Camilla, Queen Consort. . The words on screen read "THE BEGINNING... OF THE END."
The end of what? Not the Royal Family - we know that it has survived. Perhaps it refers to our patience with a series that many accuse of ignoring the truth.
The new season is set in the 1990s and covers what the Queen called her "annus horribilisA Latin phrase meaning "horrible year," made famous by Queen Elizabeth II in the 1990s. ".1 It includes the fire at Windsor and the end of three of her children's marriages.
In one scene Charles tells John Major that the Queen is too old for the job and should abdicateGive up the throne. . In another, Major tells his wife that "the senior royals seem deluded and out of touch".
Major has angrily denied that any of these things were said. He calls the scenes "damaging and malicious fiction". It is, he says, "a barrel load of nonsense peddled for no other reason than to provide maximum - and entirely false - dramatic impact".
Since its first season, people have criticised The Crown for being inaccurate. There are simple mistakes about how the royal family works, but also things that never happened.
Fans of the show say it is carefully researched and reflects "the events and feeling of the times". They also say it is kind to Charles.
People have become angrier as the series comes closer to today. They are indignant about how it shows events they can remember happening.
Netflix now calls the show a "fictional dramatisation" which is "inspired by real-life events". But there are still worries that people who do not know the real facts will believe things that have just been made up.
Should The Crown be true?
Yes: It is extremely hurtful for the people it is based on to have their thoughts and deeds misrepresented. It is also very damaging to the monarchy at a particularly difficult time for it.
No: No drama can be entirely accurate - there will always be conversations between people that nobody else can know about - and The Crown does not claim to be. We should just treat it as the fun it is.
Or... How you see it depends on how much you know of the historical background. For people in Britain who remember the events, that is not a problem - but for younger people and overseas viewers it is.
Keywords
John Major - Major was the British prime minister from 1990 to 1997.
Princess Diana - The first wife of Britain's King Charles III and the mother of Princes William and Harry, who died in a car crash in 1997.
Camilla Parker-Bowles - The second wife of King Charles III, now known as Camilla, Queen Consort.
Annus horribilis - A Latin phrase meaning "horrible year," made famous by Queen Elizabeth II in the 1990s.
Abdicate - Give up the throne.
‘Complete rubbish’ (But we all want to watch)
Glossary
John Major - Major was the British prime minister from 1990 to 1997.
Princess Diana - The first wife of Britain's King Charles III and the mother of Princes William and Harry, who died in a car crash in 1997.
Camilla Parker-Bowles - The second wife of King Charles III, now known as Camilla, Queen Consort.
Annus horribilis - A Latin phrase meaning "horrible year," made famous by Queen Elizabeth II in the 1990s.
Abdicate - Give up the throne.