The Crown Series 4

[Housewife2010]

Anyone else getting excited? The Diana trailer looks great. It's on Netflix on 15th November.

Sorry just to add I thought GA was very good as Thatcher .

@Cloudesley- I think somebody earlier said it was a month after his birthday, so the writers were taking liberties.

I suspect the next series will show much more of the flawed Diana narrative.

Why did Diana ever think dancing on stage with Wayne Sleep was a good idea? Way to make someone else's birthday all about yourself!
It didn't happen on his birthday IRL. At the time, I thought she did it because dancing on stage was something she had always wanted to do and now she had the chance and the influence. Obviously, at that time, no one knew about the state of their marriage.

Julia Carling. Difficult to have sympathy for Diana after her contribution to that, surely? I wont forget the news footage of Will Carling leaving his wife and new baby. Disgusting man.

Re the accuracy of the series, it's worth reading Hugo Vickers' take on it all in the Times yesterday (if someone hasn't already posted.)

There are so many real events to choose from I find it very odd they'd make up something like the wedding anniversary weekend and Diana giving him that tape. "I love to preform" was I guess the point they were making. But...shed already done it once. Very strange.

I also think the scene with PP at the end has possibly been set up to give oxygen to the conspiracy theories around her death...(H Vickers' their too.)

All the snivelling and sobbing MT does in the last (?) episode is fiction.
I watched the Geoffrey Howe resignation speech on You tube ( what he says is very interesting and relevant to today btw) and Thatcher was not snivelling away in the front seat at all.

I quite enjoyed it, but in a soapy sort of way.
I couldn't get used to the new actors in S3, some changes were completely unnecessary (DoW). I think they grew into the roles more in S4, but probably just because they're older.

The 80s is just too recent. Most of these people are still alive. They missed out so many key political moments, and made other stuff up. It was made with too much of a nod to modern day standards. I think the earlier series were made more as a historical piece, so they seemed so much more authentic. They should have finished after series 2. (Yet another TV programme that doesn't know when to stop).

I haven't seen the last episode yet but I'm sure I remember MT shedding a few tears when she resigned.

"Hopefully this generation are a bit more forward thinking about sending young children away to boarding school. I always hoped Edward & Sophie and Zara & Mike were more progressive than other members of the royal family!"

I'm not sure that either Beatrice or Eugenie boarded?

Neither of Edward's two do I don't think?

I think that Zara enjoyed her time at Gordonstoun, so it'll be interesting to see where her daugters go!

I haven't seen the last episode yet but I'm sure I remember MT shedding a few tears when she resigned.

She did. When she left.
She didn’t sit quivering tearfully during GH’s resignation speech though.

"As I also understand it C&C did break off all contact with each other after he got engaged and then resumed a friendship again (that later did become an affair) years later and only after the marriage with D was under huge strain and she had started developing other "interests"."

I always thought that they had been friends but that the affair started when the marriage had "broken down".

But then-in whose eyes?

But was also under the impression that the affair wasn't happening whilst they were "courting", engaged & first married.

I haven’t watched any of the previous series, but I am really looking forward to watching them now after the first three episodes of Season 4.

I find Colman’s portrayal of the Queen to be far too sweet and soft. I don’t imagine her to be as approachable as portrayed.

Interested to see Claire Foy’s Queen.

The boarding school thing is interesting, I remember at the time hoping William and Harry might not go, but knowing it would be very unlikely. I do remember reading that Prince Philip was absolutely furious that they were not going to Gordonstoun! Apparently Charles was determined they would not go there.

I wonder if they'll depict all of Diana's extramarital affair in the fifth season? I guess not with her kids still alive.

I watched it all and just finished yesterday, just some of my la la thoughts......

GA I thought was good as MT at first then she started to really annoy on me and the hair indeed get bigger to the point it was laughable, could not help thinking was she practicing for this role with the voice in The Fall. Or of Faith Brown.

As much as I did not like OC she was better in this series IMO. EC was fine at first as Diana but the coy glances got quite tiresome. Much of the rest of the cast to me were just ok.

I really could not understand the need for a whole episode of Fagen, just why when so many other topics could of been dramatised. Lots of things missed out in the 'story' and things (of course artistic licence at play) such as the Conservative MP who Fagen went to see, was not at all true. His MP was Labour, John Grant.

The wigs, dear god they could not get Diana's hair right, awful.

I really disagree about the costumes, on the whole I thought they looked really poor. esp Diana's. Thin cheap looking material, badly fitting, and the jumpers were dreadful, even the recently reproduced black sheep one. For £9,000 as reported by David Emanual the wedding dress looked awful. Really thought we would of seen more of it, and the tiara really? And one of MT jacket was pulling so bad at the buttons BHS would of done better. Also thought the outdoor clothing, as in the Barbour look alikes were poor.

Some of OC outfits were very poorly fitted and was thankful that neither her nor HBC stood to close to a naked flame in the fear of death by polyester.

I really cringed at the Diana dancing in the palace, and later on the stage with Wayne Sleep (another terrible wig).

I agree with others many subjects were missed and really could of been included, wonder if the 'squidgygate' tapes and Charles calls will feature in the next series?

All in all it was an ok series, some dreadful scenes and acting and some fine, it was just drama and not the best

I think Diana's behaviour with Oliver Hoare and Will Carling was pretty awful, but by that time I think she'd become bitter and a bit unhinged. Everyone around her was having affairs with married people and I think she just thought 'why shouldn't I?'. She couldn't find happiness in her marriage so she started to look anywhere she could . I think also she was jealous of those who were happy perhaps. It's a very sad tale.

I think her thought Charles would be proud of her for dancing with Wayne Sleep. She couldn't compete for his approval or attention in many fields, perhaps this was one way she thought she would get his attention. She also danced with John Travolta. Dancing was something she loved, but of course he had no interest in it, or in her or her performance.

longwayoff, yes I really did feel for Julia Carling, but she has never spoken about the whole awful situation and kept her dignity.

I wonder how many more we will never know about.

Just read this quote by the Crown creater

It seems to matter to The Crown’s creator, Peter Morgan, who has said that the team does its ‘very, very best to get it right’, while also admitting that he has had to ‘conflate’ incidents. Tellingly, he added: ‘Sometimes you have to forsake accuracy, but you must never forsake truth.’

Okay.

I cannot believe that Margaret Thatcher went stalking with the Queen in a formal suit. This suggests that MT was completely stupid and socially inept and the Queen was a cruel hostess. This was like something out of a Carry On film. I'm sure the Balmoral stays are excruciating but nothing like this.

@derxa

I cannot believe that Margaret Thatcher went stalking with the Queen in a formal suit. This suggests that MT was completely stupid and socially inept and the Queen was a cruel hostess. This was like something out of a Carry On film. I'm sure the Balmoral stays are excruciating but nothing like this.

Completely agree with this There was a lot of unbelievable scenes throughout the series.

@derxa

I cannot believe that Margaret Thatcher went stalking with the Queen in a formal suit. This suggests that MT was completely stupid and socially inept and the Queen was a cruel hostess. This was like something out of a Carry On film. I'm sure the Balmoral stays are excruciating but nothing like this.

Totally with you. She knew where she was going, and she knew who she was going with and what they did there. There is absolutely no way she went without the proper outdoors gear and if she did it’s because she had no intention of going stalking. MT was not an idiot.

BTW I equally loved and hated the scene where MT was cooking dinner for all her cabinet men with seamless ease whilst talking politics, and them all standing looking like gormless hungry children waiting for mummy to serve dinner

Peter Morgan has understandably exaggerated and made up a lot for dramatic purposes but the Thatcher not wearing the right gear for outdoor pursuits story has some truth because she apparently never brought the right footwear. She never liked going there, saying each stay was 'purgatory'.

I thought the scenes with MT at Balmoral were ridiculous too. She'd have had someone in her office call someone in their office and would have had a list of equipment, including outdoor shoes, prepared for her. And not even a complete townie would think a visit to a shooting lodge would involve wearing heels the whole time.