Black screen, coughing. Then a man in a rather dingy looking mid-century bathroom coughing up blood. Yes, my dears, we’re going to cover the first season of The Crown this month as we prepare for the second’s premier. This show is of a different ilk than ITV’s Victoria which we covered earlier this year and certainly a different animal than The White Princess which I tried to cover (and then gave up, because, you know, I have my limits). I think you can safely call it prestige television and enough of its references and allusions are so subtle as to likely go over the head of viewers who don’t know much about this period of time – or this family for that matter.
But it attempts to do something that television and films haven’t yet done correctly, which is to show the humanity of Queen Elizabeth II. It’s a bold task, really, considering she is alive and well in London as we speak and this frank portrayal of her early years as monarch, her marriage and her relationship with her family is uncomfortable when you consider the possibility that she’s seen it. I’ve no idea whether or not the Queen watches this sort of thing – a part of me rather hopes that she doesn’t. And Claire Foy, the actress who currently plays her, has certainly stated as much in interviews.
