TV Royalty

It’s curious that the outcry about The Crown – Netflix’s imagined view of royalty – has subsided somewhat since the actual release of the series. Could it be that the series has actually toned down some of its representations of royalty? This series seems rather more sympathetic towards Charles and Camilla than previous ones. One episode actually describes the good works of King Charles III through his Princes Trust charity. And Diana is presented not as someone who is vaguely saintlike in her life, but as a flawed young woman. It’s true that writer Peter Morgan is harsh about the late Queen’s parenting style, which seems rather cruel. While he could hardly have foreseen the death of the monarch shortly before the release of the new series, did he really mean to be so nasty? After all, most people would prefer to be criticized for their work rather than for their failings as a mother or as a father. And like most Netflix series these days, he seems to be dragging this out in an overly long series. I realize everyone has to make a living, but this could have been wrapped up quite handily in this series. Do we really want to wait to see Netflix recreate through their jaundiced lens the events of the last 20 years, when many of us have seen the real events involving the real people unfold in real time nightly on our television sets?