The Crown - series 3

[southeastdweller]

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

Helen McCrory is 51 - too old to play the queen at not yet 40, though of course she gets older as the episodes progress.

I would have preferred Keeley Hawes, who I think could do a better job of aristocratic aloofness. She also has the advantages of looking quite similar to Claire Foy, and having already played the role of Josh O'Conner's mum!

Is Keeley old enough to play Josh's mum? Surely not!

Yes I agree it is like two different people. For several of the cast. It's one thing to change the actor/actress playing the part but it's like they have decided to do their own portrayal of the character which would work well as a totally seperate programme but it's odd how Phillip has gone from a cheeky chappy to always serious, the Queen from very serious and cold (as Claire Foy played her towards the end) to kinder and more of a wimp, Margaret from sexy as well as miserable to just miserable. The other characters I love - Anne and Charles are brilliant and I like Mountbatten although I hope to see his softer side with Charles again (only just finished episode 5 so this might be yet to come).

I'm still really enjoying it and i think OCs accent is improving but I agree it feels a bit odd that so much about the big characters has changed.

I'm wondering whether we'll get a Saint Di portrayal or the more honest, she was a bit mentally unstable portrayal

I don't think she was a saint or mentally unstable. She just threw her toys out of the pram when she realised the pretence she was expected to keep up and I can't blame her. She did some good things - being pictured holding hands with people with HIV/AIDS did a lot towards making those people accepted socially (or at least not being completely rejected) and she campaigned against land mines (possibly less successfully). On the other hand her lavish lifestyle post-divorce and courting the press one minute rejecting them the next didn't do her any favours. I don't subscribe to the conspiracy theories about her being bumped off although a friend of mine is convinced the DoE was behind it.

I've now finished the whole series and agree it got much better as it went on. I loved the PM episode. HBC really got her spark going again.

CaptainMyCaptain I always thought that, if you were trying to bump someone off, you would choose a more reliable method than getting a load of people on scooters to chase their car, which they weren't even driving at the time, in the vague hope that the driver would go a bit too fast and crash, and that it would prove to be fatal.

I don't think she was mentally unstable, but she did have mental health problems and she struggled with being under that level of public scrutiny. I think at the time, there hadn't been that kind of media interest in any Royal spouses, the press were more likely to be "respectful" and keep their distance, but things had started to change during the 70s and Diana couldn't really have predicted how much intrusion there would be into her private life. If she handled that badly, I think you could argue that there wasn't any real precedent for her situation at the time. I also think that, since she died, people have tended to forget that she was criticised on an almost daily basis in the papers for one thing or another. Not that she should have been immune from criticism, of course, but the barrage must have been pretty overwhelming. I felt sorry for her at the time, and I can understand why Harry is getting stroppy about the way his wife is treated.

Still a republican, by the way!

Keeley Hawes Yes I think she would have been great. She's 43 and OC is 45 so hardly any difference in age. I did like OC though and can't deny that she is a superb actress.

I should perhaps have phrased it as "mental health issues" - I always find it surprising how few people know about that side of things.

She threw herself down some stairs when pregnant after a row with Charles for example. This is public record.

I can't actually remember the last time I was so obsessed with a TV show. 😂

I’ve been listening to some of Diana’s tapes on you tube where she talks about her bulimia and throwing herself down the stairs, and her suicide attempts. Very sad. I may be wrong but I can’t see how they can incorporate that into the Crown. I think the royalists would have a lot to say about it. They’ve covered some uncomfortable moments in the seasons but nothing on that scale.

I'm in episode 4 and I really don't like the new actors. So far it's all very bland.

Loved Series1&2 so going to persevere.

Claire Foy has more about her. OC is wooden.

I think Aberfan is the best so far, but what I remember at the time was that she did cry and the press lowered their cameras, so the storyline didn't make a lot of sense.

I’ve been listening to some of Diana’s tapes on you tube where she talks about her bulimia and throwing herself down the stairs, and her suicide attempts. Very sad. I may be wrong but I can’t see how they can incorporate that into the Crown

I don't think they'll put all that stuff in. They might highlight one person in an episode, but they don't dive deeply into that person's entire life. A lot of each episode is showing how each person affects the Queen. It's called " The Crown" , not " The Royal Family" for that reason.

I don't doubt Diana developed MH problems as a result of her situation.

I'm a big fan of OC, I just don't think this was her part.

Keeley Hawes might have been a better call. Kristen Scott Thomas would have nailed it in her younger day, although she might have too refined a face. The Windsor features are very distinctive.

KST would be a perfect choice for Series 5/6

Keeley Hawes is not really an actress with the range required IMO. Even in - Bodyguard, was it called? She basically had one facial expression.

I'm not sure Olivia Colman has that much range either. Whenever she's on screen, I always feel like I'm watching Olivia Colman, not the character she's playing. Whereas with Claire Foy, I really felt she was HMTQ.

I'm not sure about that. Her character in Fleabag she completely disappeared into, I thought. She was clearly relishing being a complete bitch for a change.

Oh I thought the same thing! Loved the first 2 series and it really felt like watching HMQ, Princess Margaret and Prince Philip. Now it just feels like watching Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter. Which it is obviously, but you know what I mean

I wonder how true to life it is?
The Queen is not portrayed well, Charles a spineless wimp yet David and Wallis Simpson are shown in good light... and popular with both the Queen & Charles.
Can't imagine the Queen would like this series much