The Crown - series 3

[southeastdweller]

I'm so looking forward to seeing this when it returns next Sunday!

I think she'd definitely have been happier not becoming monarch til her uncle died in the early 70s.

Surely David might have had children though

If he had stayed on the throne and married; a suitable Diana found for him perhaps

Wallis was infertile IIRC

Had she remained his heir because he didn't marry or didn't have children, the crucial difference would have lain in Philips contentment. He could gave had a very long and distinguished military career and feel like he'd earned his stripes rather than been a figurehead. Anne, more so than Charles I guess would've had an ordinary childhood (for her class) and there would have been no pressure on either til their 20s.

And Yes, Liz would have spent 20 years pissing about at the stables and therefore ready for duty when it came

I just finished it. I loved it. I like both Clare foy and OC, I thing OC is more suited to portray the older queen. CF has a sweet innocent demeanour about her, OC is more mature. And I think she is a brilliant actress. The new Phillip is fantastic. And he an Princess Anne have had some brilliant acting between them.
Anyway, I think the casting is very very good. And the filming is outstanding. I often found myself thinking: this shot would make an amazing photo!

I didn’t know about the Welsh tragedy. I’m foreign, and born quite a bit after it happened, it was a shock!
Even if the whole lot was fictional, I still think it’s an outstanding series.

What really stands out is the emptiness of their lives - Margaret, Philip, Charles all thrashing about trying to find a purpose. What an awful waste.

I was thinking about that last night imaginarycat I think perhaps watching Margaret was Anne's example, find your own purpose and follow it and you won't turn out a bitter old lush

She had horses, then motherhood/military spouse, then tireless charity work

She made her own purpose

They are very different people though. I’m not sure Anne could ever have been Margaret. I work with someone very much like Anne presents herself to the world and, while lovely, she spends zero time on self examination emotionally. She’ll do it intellectually, gathering knowledge, but just ploughs on with things and doesn’t angst.

I was not at all convinced by the QM. The writing around her seems very weak. We know the QM was quite a character in her own right, and yet none of this has been shown.

The Queen Mother's personality was certainly shown in series 1 & 2, yes she was a character and a lot of fun. She's less central in the third series.

There’s a little bit of me that wonders if this series has been written to make us feel - almost as the fly on the wall documentary episode wanted to portray- “oh aren’t they just like us.. Prince Phillip having his mid life crisis, the Queen worrying about being a boring middle aged mum, Margaret’s marriage struggling etc ... oh and of course our poor future King, what a terribly lonely childhood and young adult life he had, poor him...” It all feels a little bit like propaganda. Which I didn’t feel with the first two seasons. The cynic in me wonders if the writer is trying to create a fan base for Charles ahead of him eventually taking the throne.

What really stands out is the emptiness of their lives

Yes, but that is partly because they can only see 'purpose' as status and official roles.

Just as when Prince Harry says he would happily give it all up - he doesn't mean give up the inherited wealth, polo ponies etc. and get a 9-5 and a mortgage. He means keep the privilege, and let go of the public side.

I suppose if you have been brought up in those circles it is difficult to see other purposes, though. And Anne was lucky in that she had a talent that fitted so well with the opportunities she had. No-one makes it to the Olympics without genuine talent and hard work. But also, she wouldn't have got there without access to top quality horses and teaching, and I doubt she would have been given the opportunity to take part seriously in a sport that wasn't so upper crust. I don't think the Olympics had women's boxing in the 1970s - if it had, would she have been allowed to become a boxer?! And she, at least, then had the satisfaction of having reached the top in something by her own ability and exertion.

A lot of season one’s character development for Philip is driven by the fact that George VI’s illness and premature death robbed Philip of a naval career he enjoyed and was good at and, when he married, he could realistically have expected to continue with for another fifteen years at least.

On “Royal Family”, according to Wikipedia it was indeed withdrawn from view until the 1990s when clips were made available again, which is why Ruffle saw it. It was repeated a couple of times and shown in Australia though.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Family_(film)

The cynic in me wonders if the writer is trying to create a fan base for Charles ahead of him eventually taking the throne.
This might change somewhat in the next series with his marriage to Diana although he could still be seen as the victim of manipulation albeit not as much as her.

Yes I’m wondering how the whole Diana / Charles thing will play out. I can’t see them being too sympathetic to Diana given the controversy it would cause but who knows!

I was wondering last night how Andrew would be played if the series ever got as far as the current time. How far would they dare go.

It seems to me that Diana was a sacrificial lamb. He'd marry her for an heir and a spare then carry on quietly with Camilla on the side (like Philip's ballet dancer) but she wouldn't play that game. We'll see.

I think the Camila storyline in this season is setting it up so that we are led to believe his “real true love” was always Camila and how awful it was for him to be manipulated into marrying Diana for the sake of the public eye.... I think it’s going to be one long sob story about how unhappy Charles is and then gets his happy ending when he’s eventually back with Camila. Hmmmm!

Camilla. Sorry. My spelling was wrong I think.

If he'd been allowed to marry Camilla then Diana would probably be alive and well happily married to some minor toff. We'd never have heard of her. Kate and Meghan were thought to be unsuitable by many but, thankfully, those marriages were allowed.

I’m hoping for something more nuanced - a weak but sympathetic man feeling forced by his position into an unforgivable or at best self-deluding action.

I started again from Series 1. I'd forgotten how devastating episode 2 was when the King died. He was the King of course, but to Elizabeth and Margaret, he was their dad.

I think I will rewatch too. I feel as though there has been a distinct change of tone but I may be imagining it. I need to see how they run together.

I agree with Fairylea about how the Charles/Camilla storyline seems to be heading.

I love Claire Foy so much in this role.

I do think that OC did a good job, but it's like watching a portrayal of two completely different women. Which I suppose in a sense she was - she was young and gorgeous with a young and gorgeous husband and family and probably thought she had a good few years before she would be Queen.

I really wanted Helen McCrory for HM. She would have been a much better transition from Claire Foy and has definitely got the chops. Might have been too busy with Peaky Blinders though.