The Crown Season 4
I was originally just going to reference the latest season of The Crown in a paragraph of The Idiot Box, which is my intermittent summary of what I’ve been watching of late. But there seems to be a bit of a brouhaha in the UK tabloid press regarding season 4 which was released on Netflix on 15th November. Hence I want to write more than just a few lines about this show. Mrs P and I watched it in two sessions and feel it was the most enjoyable season yet. This is mainly due to the fact that the events covered this time round are ones we clearly remember. I became a teenager during the Thatcher administrations and also keenly remember the Princess of Wales being ubiquitous in the UK press throughout the eighties. It would appear that this season of The Crown strays beyond what is usually considered artistic license and digresses clearly from historical fact. Some believe the show has a clear agenda. All of which makes it even more fascinating viewing in my view.
It’s an obvious point but it is worse reiterating that The Crown is a drama intended for entertainment and not a documentary designed to relate and analyse history. In fact I would go further and say that this show is a multimillion dollar soap opera as it has all the hallmark features of that genre. However, its extremely high production values and the good standard of writing do much to elevate the show above such a label. Performances are universally excellent. You seldom get a show that provides a platform for so many strong female roles these days. But are historians right to expect a more rigid adherence to the facts. Many argue that this is necessary due to The Crown depicting current history. However, considering the amount of misinformation in the press, politics and public discourse that goes uncorrected, it seems a little pedantic to single out this niche market drama as the worst offender. Furthermore, I suspect that many people who watch The Crown have made their minds up and formed opinions regarding the UK monarchy long beforehand.
I am tempted to conclude that many of those critical of the excess of artistic license seen in this show are ardent Royalists and feel that drama reflects badly upon the Queen and her family. Certainly after four seasons, it is fair to say that the depiction of the royal family has not shown them to be paragons of virtue. The constraints of the monarchy certainly have a human cost and we see that in what I can only describe as a dysfunctional family. But I would argue that this humanises “the Windsors” and makes them relatable and accessible to the audience. Ultimately the show brings scrutiny to the real crown in a positive way. It may only be anecdotal evidence but after 4 years of watching The Crown and discussing the show with a broad spectrum of friends (some royalists, some republicans and those who are broadly indifferent), all have expressed a view that the royal family pay a heavy price for their privileged lives.
Unless I’m watching a documentary from a reputable source or reading a non-fiction book from a known author, then I expect any dramatisation of real events to be spurious to a degree. The primary remit of such material is to entertain and anything else is a secondary consideration. Facts don’t always fit the established three arc, dramatic story structure. Hence I do not expect The Crown to be the same as a documentary presented by Simon Schama. And let us not forget that season 4 deals with one of the most divisive figures in contemporary UK history; Margaret Thatcher. I do wonder if some of those complaining the most at present simply do not like the way the former Prime Minister is depicted. Yet regardless of what stance you may take regarding the factual accuracy of The Crown and its political and moral rectitude, the ongoing debate is not in any way harming the show’s popularity. I suspect that the next season may prove even more controversial and popular.
