[This story contains spoilers from the final season of The Crown.]
With the release of the final six episodes of “The Crown” on Netflix, new questions have arisen about the fictional portrayal of the British royal family.
In the second part of the sixth and final season of the critically acclaimed historical drama, the stage is set for the future heirs to the throne as Prince Charles (Dominic West) and Camilla Parker Bowles (Olivia Williams) are granted permission to marry, and Prince William (Ed McVey ) and Kate Middleton (Meg Bellamy) are rekindling their relationship after a short break.
“These couples coming together felt like a beautiful conclusion to our story,” executive producer Suzanne Mackie told in a previous interview. “That in some way peace will be restored to the country.”
In order to stay true to his original vision of ending the series in 2005, writer and creator Peter Morgan also had to find a way to conclude the Queen's story nearly two decades before the actual end of her reign with her death in 2022 Final episode, “Sleep, Dearie Sleep,” finds Queen Elizabeth (Imelda Staunton) in an existential crisis, contemplating the weight of her crown and whether it's time to hand that responsibility over to her eager son, Prince Charles. to pass on. Ultimately, she decides to fulfill her duty as queen and stay on the throne like in real life.
“Episode 10 – aside from being the finale – I think is beautiful,” Mackie said in a separate interview with THR. “It feels like the culmination of the long 68-episode journey we've been on. Stephen Daldry directed it so beautifully and Imelda is simply breathtaking as the queen. You feel the Queen's absence and in this episode you feel what she means to us. Suddenly it feels like she’s gone, and so it feels like the end of The Crown coincides with the end of her reign.”
But has Queen Elizabeth actually considered abdicating the throne? And how accurate are the depictions of the relationships between Prince Charles and Prince William? Read on for answers to these questions and more.
Did Mohamed Al-Fayed and the general public really blame the royal family for Princess Diana's death?
Mohamed Al-Fayed (Salim Daw) Netflix
Episode nine, “Hope Street,” begins with Mohamed Al-Fayed (Salim Daw) speaking to the media about alleged evidence that the royal family had his son Dodi (Khalid Abdalla) and Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) killed, when they learned that she was pregnant with the Egyptian business heir's child. Later in the episode, this claim is proven false at a press conference led by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens, in which he announces the results of the investigation.
In fact, Operation Paget was the name given to the official investigation into the deaths of Dodi and Diana and the conspiracy theories surrounding the fatal 1997 car crash, the basis of which was Al-Fayed's public statements. The investigation, launched in 2004, later included broader allegations in the media.
“The Stevens investigation is a really important story,” Mackie said. “At the time of Diana's death there was such a blaming of the press and the paparazzi that it seemed, if I may say so, a little disproportionate. There is no doubt that she was being followed, but the truth was that security protocol for her was lacking, to say the least. They changed their minds too many times and that was the biggest mistake they made along with the biggest contributor to it, which was the driver going over the limit.”
In the fifth episode, “Willsmania,” Prince William struggles with the news that emerged after his mother's death and blames his father, whose testimony was part of the investigation in 2004, for her death. At the end of the episode, father and son repair their relationship at the urging of Prince Phillip (Jonathan Pryce), who offers William an alternative perspective on his own son's grief.
“In a way, that scene was a sort of vindication against the accusations that Charles had probably made, not just from his sons but from the public in general, that he was in some way responsible,” West told .
“I think that he (Charles), particularly around Diana's death, was the villain of the piece, and I think now that we've had 25 years of retrospective, maybe we could judge that – I certainly have judged that.” – as being a bit harsh on him.”
Were Harry and William always at odds?
Prince Harry (Luther Ford) and Prince William (Ed McVey) Netflix
The theme of “the heir and the replacement” runs like a common thread through “The Crown,” starting with the story of Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne in the first season in 1936 to marry divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson , through to the stories of Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret (Lesley Manville), Prince Charles and Princess Anne (Claudia Harrison), and Prince William and Prince Harry (Luther Ford) in season six.
In the final season, the focus is on Prince William as he has the prospect of being king one day. And although the series begins to show differing opinions between the brothers, particularly their attitude towards their father's marriage to Camilla, when William tells Harry, “I'm just trying to be an adult,” as he gives his consent to the Queen after consulting The writers and producers were careful not to paint an unfair picture of their relationship as young men.
“We didn't want to impose what we know now because we're telling the story then, not now,” Mackie told THR. “That would feel manipulative, I think. [Peter] I wanted to write about the brothers and William’s encounter with Kate in a very objective way, and a lot of research was done.”
Did Kate Middleton's mother really have a hand in her daughter dating William?
Carole Middleton (Eve Best) Netflix
Episode seven, “Alma Mater,” features teenager Kate Middleton, who has a chance encounter with Prince William while Christmas shopping with her mother in 1996. Carole (Eve Best) gives Kate money so she can meet the future king and Princess Diana, who are fundraising – a scene that foreshadows future orchestrations on the part of Kate's mother, who has apparently suggested her daughter as Prince William to take a year off and change schools to meet him at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, which she does.
“We knew there had been a change of university and that things had changed because of William, but I hope it doesn't seem like too cynical a representation of her imagination,” Mackie told THR. “I think that, like a mother, she is ambitious for her daughter, and we conveyed that right in the opening scene of the seventh episode, where she says, 'I tried in my life.' I tried and I succeeded. And I want the best for you. You deserve it. You are special.”
Kate met William in St. Andrews in 2001 and the two began dating in 2003. They briefly separated in 2004 before getting back together and again in 2007 before rekindling their romance one last time in 2008. The couple married on April 29th. 2011, at Westminster Abbey. About playing Kate in season six, actress Meg Bellamy told THR, “When I found out that Kate wasn't from royal roots and things like that, I realized we had pretty similar upbringings. Seeing her get caught up in this public furor is really fascinating and a privilege to play someone who has to be examined in this way.”
How close were Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth in real life?
Princess Margaret (Lesley Manville) Netflix
Episode eight, “Ritz,” serves as the final chapter in the story of the sisterhood shared by Queen Elizabeth and her younger sister Margaret (Manville). Although the speech the Queen gives to her sister at her 70th birthday party in this episode is fictional, the bond between Lilibet and Margaret was very real.
“It's easy to see when you read the books,” Manville told THR. “They were clearly close; They had a childhood together before realizing that their paths would go in the direction they had chosen.
On the way their sisterhood played out in the series, she added, “That relationship and the complexities that come with it were always palpable in every scene, even small scenes, whether they were egging each other on a little bit or just gave each other a loving, supportive look.”
The episode also chronicles Princess Margaret's deteriorating health, resulting from a series of strokes. The glamorous socialite, who was a heavy smoker for most of her adult life, suffered her first stroke in 1998 and suffered her fourth and final stroke on February 8, 2002. She died a day later at the age of 71.
“There are many pictures of Margaret from this period. But in a way, the most interesting thing to me is what it did to her self-confidence and how it disrupted her sense of self,” Manville said of portraying Margaret in her final years. “She stands out above all for her glamor and the way she can present herself. It was very important to her. So it was difficult not being able to be that person.”
Has Queen Elizabeth considered abdication?
Queen Elizabeth (Imelda Staunton) gives her speech at the wedding of Prince Charles (Dominic West) and Camilla Parker Bowles (Olivia Williams), where the series depicts how she considered (but ultimately decided against) abdicating the throne decides). Netflix
The finale of “The Crown” centers on Queen Elizabeth's internal debate about stepping down from the throne, as her advisers urged her to make arrangements for her own funeral, which in real life was decades in the making. However, the question of whether she should abdicate was a completely fictional act.
“This is a moment of Peter Morgan's dramatic imagination,” Mackie told THR. “Of course she would never have this conversation with anyone else, and she didn't. We deliberately didn't allow that because she didn't want it. That would be disingenuous and doing her a disservice. She would never abdicate. Of course she wouldn't do that. Her duty and promise was to serve until her death, and she did. She did it wonderfully. But at that time there had already been a few abdications in Europe, so it was in the air. It had been discussed. There was speculation, so Peter decided to let this conversation happen inside her. Imagine if she had had that conversation, what direction would it go.”
Morgan himself stated that he aimed to create an ending that would leave the audience feeling like they have reached the end, even though the queen still lives for almost two decades after the finale, which is set in 2005 would: “I wrote The last episode was an internal conversation the Queen was having about whether she should carry on or hand over to Charles. I thought you could dramatize the inner dialogue with her talking to her younger self. It was a fun challenge because I was determined not to come to the present.”
Did Prince Charles and Camilla live happily ever after?
Camilla Parker Bowles (Olivia Williams) and Prince Charles (Dominic West) Netflix
During Charles and Camilla's wedding reception at Windsor Castle, the Queen gives a speech in which she thanks Camilla for her years of patience and forbearance and recognizes her as a “strength and support to the Prince of Wales.” Although the exact words she spoke at the royal wedding in 2005 are not known to the public, Queen Elizabeth's speech has been described as “unusually sentimental.” A friend of Charles and Camilla told The Telegraph it was a “beautiful, loving tribute”.
The Queen's embrace of Camilla appeared to signal a general shift in public opinion about Prince Charles' long-time companion. After the death of Queen Elizabeth on September 8, 2022, Charles became King Charles III and Camila became Queen. His coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on May 6 this year.
“I remember watching the wedding and I think we all saw it from a slightly different side. I don’t know exactly what it was, but there was something about her,” Mackie said. “The way she acted, the way she looked, the way they seemed so obviously in love. I think that was a moment of acceptance, it was an unspoken acceptance towards her. It felt like the landscape changed from there and you see where we are now, where she's the queen and she's married and he's the king.”
The final season of The Crown and the entire series are now streaming on Netflix.