The Crown Series 4

[Housewife2010]

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

Ive played ibble dibble at drunk famiy get togethers - the key being drunk! I couldnt imagin playing it with ppl I was meeting for the first time

@diddl

I do wonder about PM's having(?) to go to Balmoral.

Is it considered a great honour to be invited-if so, by whom?

And do you have to "join in" with everything?

Doesn’t the story go that Cherie Blair got pregnant with Leo at Balmoral because she was too embarrassed to pack contraceptives knowing that a maid would be unpacking her bags on arrival.

@Letsbepositive

As I said upthread, I was cringing at those scenes, and an extra eye roll for Elton John during the routine.

Apparently the actress has said she was actually listening to Cher’s “Believe” on her headphones for that scene!

I feel I ought to apologise for putting the thought of Tony & Cherie having sex in everyone’s minds with my previous post.

"Doesn’t the story go that Cherie Blair got pregnant with Leo at Balmoral because she was too embarrassed to pack contraceptives knowing that a maid would be unpacking her bags on arrival."

I think so, yes.

They could surely have gone in a personal handbag?

Still, that's not so newsworthy, is it?

Regarding Mountbatten there is a Channel 5 documentary on catch-up. Hope that's not off topic to mention, since episode one was about Mountbatten.

@Bagelsandbrie

I’m surprised HBC hasn’t received much praise for this season. I think she’s been fantastic - I adored Kirby as Margaret in the early seasons and really didn’t like HBC at first but as it’s going on I think she’s brilliant.

She grew on me too. I thought she was too old to play PM in series 3. Though I wonder about the cousins episode. Everything I've read about Princess Margaret would lead me to believe she wouldn't have been capable of the self reflection to go on that personal crusade. Was this another case of revising history to suit modern sensibilities?

@diddl

"Where were the Spencers? Why wasn't nobody by Diana's side?"

Didn't Jane live nearby as her husband worked for the Queen-although wasn't there a falling out about her book?

And Sarah was a lady in waiting to Diana at some point?

But some people can't be helped imo.

You have to fully buy in to what they say or you're out as far as they are concerned.

Charles Spencer's reasons for not letting her stay seem spurious though-it could have been temporary until she bought her own place!

Lady Jane was married to Sir Robert Fellowes who was PCs secretary I think (making her Lady Jane Fellows) and they lived in millionaires row in Kensington.

I knew them vaguely because I was a nanny and one of my nanny friends was their nanny. 'Our' kids went to each other's for play dates, and one time we went to a party at my friend's (for the kids) and Prince Harry was there. I saw the Late Lord Althorp there too, but I don't recall seeing any other adult Spencers.

They have us free tickets to see Simply Red in the royal box at the Albert Hall!

Jane was fairly pleasant. My friend and I went to a Billy Graham thing at Earl's Court, but left before the end, and it turned out she had been sitting behind us and seen us leave and she teased us about it later.

@Cloudesley

Regarding Mountbatten there is a Channel 5 documentary on catch-up. Hope that's not off topic to mention, since episode one was about Mountbatten.

I watched that. He came across as a thoroughly unpleasant individual, responsible for the deaths of many people (millions if you take into account his role in the partition of India).

Quick Google of 'Thatcher at Balmoral' throws up these beauties... not quite so out of place but hardly 'country clothing'!

@PawsAndPhytoncides

TBF on the ballet thing - I think that always happens when dramas touch on skills/subjects you know something about in real life. Every single time any form of animal/dog training or animal behavioural interpretation happens on TV, I cringe. It's always wrong

I can't watch anything hospital based as DH shouts at the TV.

Yes CaveMum he comes across as almost a con artist! At least, very good at self promotion and cavalier in his attitude to other people's lives.

Re the scene where Diana arrives at Buckingham Palace and gets confused about who to curtesy to: wasn’t there a story about Beatrice & Eugenie kicking off at a gathering because Catherine didn’t curtesy to them - something to do with she only outranks them if William is with her.

I just wondered if that was an inspiration for the scene. No way of knowing of course!

@Smallsteps88

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

Reminded me of the Spitting Image sketch at the time, where she and the cabinet are in a meeting and an aide comes in:

Aide: would you like the pork or the beef for lunch?
MT: The beef
Aide: and what about the vegetables?
MT: (looks around at cabinet) They'll have the same

brilliant!

I've just watched the ballet bits. It's so bad I wonder if they are deliberately saying that she was enthusiastic but terrible.

I was surprised they didn't reference Diana's friendship with Fergie as they were close for years.

I seem to recall them dressing up as policewomen and causing chaos outside Buckingham palace and nicking a quad bike and driving over the grounds of Balmoral in evening dress.

Perhaps verucca gate will feature next season 😂

@CaptainMyCaptain

I've just watched the ballet bits. It's so bad I wonder if they are deliberately saying that she was enthusiastic but terrible.

I have to say I assumed this was the case!

The RF are not coming across well at all this series. It's an odd day when I am feeling sympathy for Maggie Thatcher
Wish we would see more of Anne. She's such am interesting woman. I'm at episode 5, it's a bit dull so far

I have no sympathy for Thatcher at all.

I think Anne is a more interesting person too but I think she has always preferred to stay in the background.

@diddl

Ibble dibbles is a drinking game so I'd definitely hate that!

Being forced to drink under the guise of fun?-no thanks!

I don't get the premise of the game. I take it, it's not just babbling? 😁

There is a guide to the ibble dibble game here , @Andylion.

Thanks for that, I was wondering. I can see the RF playing that but definitely not MT.

I finished last night. I did feel like the tide turned against Charles so we’d feel sympathy towards Diana instead. I felt like the emphasis was unbalanced - so much focus on C & D (&C!), Fergie was hardly mentioned. Also it only mentioned one IRA bomb? I grew up in the 80s near a big (English) city and the bombs and threats were huge back then. I remember as a child it seemed to go on forever. Also I don’t think the miner’s strikes were mentioned? That’s the first thing that comes to mind (and then the Faukland’s second) when I think of MT’s rule.

I enjoy it as a distraction but I feel like it’s lost it’s authenticity- the first two seasons were factually accurate even if the dialogue was made up based on information. Now a huge amount of the time line is made up.

Cavey I need to go and bleach my brain at the thought of the Blairs snagging (bollocks to the “embarrassment about contraception” line, it was a very, very convenient time to have a baby and improve votes).