The Crown is a biographical drama which follows our current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. Season 1 follows Queen Elizabeth as she first comes to the throne after her father’s death in 1947 up until Princess Margaret’s (her sister’s) dissolved engagement to Peter Townsend in 1955.
This season cleverly manages to fit an awful lot in it without leaving you feeling overwhelmed. Not only do you follow Queen Elizabeth during her coronation but you also follow the latter end of Winston Churchill’s reign as Prime Minister. You also see Princess Margaret’s relationship with Peter Townsend, which at the time struggled due to moral implications set by social measures of the time.
The constant personal battles Queen Elizabeth is faced with show a different side to the Queen; she has moral obligations which people expect her to uphold, but personal issues which make the moral obligations exceptionally difficult. A prime example of this is her marriage to her husband Prince Philip, despite her love for him there were, at the time, many objections to the marriage.
As well as being engaged by the very intimate life of the royal family and prime minister, you also get to view England at a very delicate and revolutionary time. We enter during the end of World War 2 but also at a time when the National Health Service was established. The NHS was bought to the UK after The Beveridge report was released in 1942, which was conducted due to the increasing deterioration of health amongst the lower classes living in poor housing conditions, and after the war politicians realised if another war was to occur the men of their country were in no fit state to fight. This offers an even more authentic feel to the season.
Overall The Crown gives a much more human appearance to the whole of the Royal family. Even if you’re not particularly interested in the monarch, this season’s dramas make the whole thing worth a watch.
