Let’s be honest. For the past six years, Netflix has been doing pretty well. The whole world has been so carried away by “The Crown” that they have forgotten that it is fundamentally a hugely speculative project. That is, they have forgotten it until now. For now, both feted actors and former prime ministers are protesting what they believe is a misrepresentation of history. Making “The Crown” was a golden idea from the start. As the fifth season of the ambitious series launches this week, you can almost hear the buzz of anticipation from a very global audience, all curious to see how the stormy divorce between Princess Diana and the then Prince Charles will be portrayed. RE-DISCUSSED: Criticism has increased against the fifth season of “The Crown”, in which Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce play Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. Photo: Photo Credit: Keith Bernstein / Keith Bernstein “The Crown” could offer pomp, splendor and visits to the chambers of the House of Windsor. Curiosity about what the British royals are really like, about what they really feel, has always been strong – just ask Rupert Murdoch and various other newspaper moguls, who have built their fortunes on spicy stories from the royal family’s inner chambers. “The Crown” has given a more nuanced picture of the royal drama than what British tabloids have done, and has shown greater interest in the political framework surrounding the family at the centre. They have put tiaras on actors from the top tier and pushed them forward on the posters and the red carpets. All this has given the series credibility. The fifth season of “The Crown” will, among other things, be about the death of Princess Diana. Photo: Erik Johansen / NTB This credibility has also grown due to the simple fact that Buckingham Palace very rarely comes out and denies claims about the royals that are not true – otherwise they would hardly do anything else. And for the royals, it doesn’t look too good to complain about representations of themselves that they don’t like. But now, as the story being told creeps closer and closer to our own time, the protests come from those who were present and have a definite opinion about what happened. Recently, Netflix felt obliged to clarify on its side that “The Crown” is fiction in the trailer for the fifth season, after they were criticized for dealing roughly with the truth by a heavy and big name in British culture, actress Judi Dench. Now John Major and Tony Blair are coming out and criticizing what they believe to be irreproachable renderings of events they themselves were a part of. REACTING: Former Prime Ministers John Major (front) and Tony Blair have both come out and criticized the fifth season of “The Crown”. Photo: JEFF J MITCHELL / Afp The two former prime ministers object to a story thread where the series supposedly suggests that he, who is now King Charles, tried to enter into a conspiracy against his own mother, Queen Elizabeth, together with Major. Major says this is complete fabrication. Netflix itself says of the series that it “imagines what could have happened behind closed doors during an important decade for the royal family”. Every time there is a movie or TV series that is based on real-life stories, there is a debate about how reliable they are. But inaccuracies and diction are not in themselves a sign that the filmmakers have not done their job. If these stories had been presented exactly as they took place, they would probably have become both boring and incomprehensible. There would have been too much that was understood for viewers from another time to be able to keep up. Tales like the one about the House of Windsor must always be interpreted and adapted for new generations of audiences. Prince Charles (Dominic West) and Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) in the fifth season of “The Crown”. Photo: KEITH BERNSTEIN / Netflix But it is also appropriate to criticize film and series creators when dealing with history becomes too easy. Many viewers get their knowledge of historical events primarily from series such as “The Crown”, and with that comes a certain responsibility that the portrait of the main characters is not too distorted. And here, the series creators have not always stayed within what seems real and reasonable. I myself have written a book about Queen Elizabeth and the British royal family, and have noted several places where the series creators add more than they have evidence for, at least according to available sources. In short, it is possible to say that “The Crown” retells what actually happened fairly accurately, but takes great liberties when portraying what the various royals thought and felt in the face of the various challenges. In the first season, for example, there is an episode that depicts Prince Philip’s dramatic and wandering background. He and his family were thrown out of their native Greece after a military coup, and soon after his mother was forced into hospital while his father went to Monte Carlo with his mistress. Philip became a living parcel post, sent from one rich relative to another, but nowhere at home. In 1937, when Philip was sixteen, his sister, Cecile. and her entire family killed in a plane crash. WRONG: Matt Smith played the young Prince Philip in the first season of “The Crown”, where the prince’s life story was not completely truthful. Photo: Alex Bailey/Netflix / Alex Bailey/Netflix All this appears in “The Crown”. But these events are certainly not violent enough for the series creators, who let the little brother be the direct reason why Cecilie was on board the plane – and insert a scene where Philip’s father blames him for his sister’s death. This is pure fiction, which helps to create a false impression of both Philip and his family. In other words, it is perfectly timely to confront Netflix with the choices they make. At the same time, it is also important to bear in mind that the battle for the truth is often fought by parties with heavy interests on either side. Actress Judi Dench is among those who are critical of “The Crown”. Judi Dench, for example, is not just a famous actress. She is also a personal friend of the new king and queen. When she speaks out as clearly and strongly as she does, it is naturally with the tacit knowledge and blessing of the new royal couple. The British royal house is in a vulnerable phase now in the time just after the death of the Queen, where Charles, a controversial figure before, must succeed in being seen as a unifying king. The last thing he needs is a global hit of a series that retells the most melodramatic and controversial years of his life, namely the final years of his marriage to Princess Diana. Here we are talking about two heavy and resourceful bastions of power clashing: the streaming giant Netflix, and Buckingham Palace. THE KING’S SIDE: Judi Dench, who has come out against “The Crown”, is a friend of King Charles III. Photo: JONATHAN BRADY / AFP The battle for history is fought again and again. The fact that one party is wrong does not mean that the other is right. But those who have made good money from retelling other people’s lives must endure being confronted with why and how they do it.
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“The Crown” has always been a speculative project – Statement
