After a two-year hiatus, “The Crown” will return on Wednesday with a focus on the disintegrating marriage of Charles and Diana as well as new problems for Queen Elizabeth II.
For the Netflix series that started with Elizabeth’s marriage in the late 1940s and, in its fifth season, takes on the tumultuous 1990s for the British royal family, there is also swirling off-stage drama. An extended period was dubbed “annus horribilis” by the queen, which is Latin for “terrible year.”
In the 10 new episodes, many of which are set in recent memory and whose stories have been criticised without having seen them, the safe distance of history is gone. The passing of Queen Elizabeth, 96, in September brings with it an unsettling element: While we openly speculate about the famous before and after their passing, isn’t a nation’s cherished and longest-reigning monarchy entitled to more?
Judi Dench, an Oscar winner for her performance as Elizabeth I in “Shakespeare in Love,” is one of the well-known reviewers. The actor criticised the drama in a letter to The Times of London, calling it “cruelly unjust to the individuals and detrimental to the institution they represent.”
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She demanded that a disclaimer identifying it as fiction be included on each episode. Netflix has heard this demand before and has continued to reject it by presenting the show as historical drama. Netflix stated that the show’s creator, Peter Morgan, was not available for comment.
Dench does not find the streaming service’s resistance amusing.
“For the sake of a family and a nation so recently bereaved, as a measure of respect to a sovereign who served her people so tirelessly for 70 years, the moment has come for Netflix to rethink,” she said.
Her appeal came when former prime minister John Major criticised the show, who was depicted in the newest season being persuaded to aid the queen’s cause by Prince Charles (now King Charles III).
Jonathan Pryce, who plays Elizabeth’s steadfast husband Prince Philip, and other cast members strongly disagree with the show’s critics.
According to Pryce, “The Crown” poses no threat to the monarch. He said critics are lambasting the new season despite ignorance of it, reminding him of what the British once termed “the Mary Whitehouse effect.”
He claimed that Whitehouse had “a tremendous following yet she criticised shows she’d never seen.” “I believe that many of the protesters this time haven’t watched this season. They don’t understand how these problems are handled. They are handled with a great degree of integrity and sensitivity, I must add.
Imelda Staunton, who recently took over the role of Elizabeth, defended the show, its acclaimed creator, and its audience.
Staunton told AP, “I think it’s underestimating the audience.” People have been aware that Peter Morgan and his writing staff are responsible for four seasons.
