What is real and what is fiction in the Netflix hit? Below you will find answers to all the burning questions about The Crown series.
Every year, Netflix presents several series and movies that become popular overnight, but also "blow off" at the same speed. There are very few that, even after several years, still hold the attention of the audience, as the series manages to do The Crown – one of Netflix's most successful series. On November 15 this year, the fourth season was released, in which we meet for the first time with Princess Diana. And that's what makes the fourth season particularly interesting, the series The Crown but she has already shocked us quite a few times with details from the lives of members of the royal family.
All burning questions and answers about what really happened and what is fiction are gathered in one place.
Did Princess Diana really struggle with an eating disorder?
In season four, The Crown briefly reveals that Princess Diana struggled with an eating disorder that began early in her engagement to Prince Charles. In a famous interview with the BBC in 1995, she revealed that the bulimia began a few weeks after the engagement and lasted for about ten years. "My husband put his hand on my waist and said, 'Oh, we've put on a little weight, haven't we?' That statement awakened something in me. As well as everything that happened to Camillo.”
Interesting facts about Princess Diana that you probably didn't know before
Did Diana really know about Charles' affair with Camilla Parker Bowles?
Charles and Camilla met in 1970. Although feelings developed between them immediately, they had to put them aside when Charles left to serve in the navy. Before she found out about their affair, Princess Diana was on good terms with Camilla, but later found it difficult to tolerate her constant presence in Charles' life. Their lunch together, shown in the series, really happened. In an authorized biography, Prince Charles confirmed that their love affair began in 1985.
Did the royal family really hide the queen's cousins in a mental hospital?
One of the most poignant stories in the fourth season is the story of the Queen's cousins, who were secretly committed to a mental hospital, and it is revealed by Margaret, who herself struggles with mental problems. The event is real. Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon lived in an institution in Redhill due to severe motor and mental problems. Because institutions for the mentally ill were treated with stigma at the time, the public never found out. They were only 15 and 22 years old when the Queen Mother's family sent them to the institution, and they were falsely declared dead in the 1960s. For most of their lives spent in the institution, they had almost no visitors. The royal family declined to comment when the story became public.
Did ex-King Edward really give the Queen letters in which Charles tells him about Camilla?
In the third season, the series The Crown shows us the relatively close relationship of the estranged Edward VIII. (the Queen's uncle who abdicated) and Prince Charles. A few days before his death, Edward sent letters to the Queen in which Charles wrote to him about his love for Camilla. It is true that Charles and his great uncle were very close, and also that the Queen visited Edward 10 days before his death. But she never read Charles's letters, because the letters in which he wrote to the former king about Camilla supposedly never existed.
Did Lord Mountbatten and the Queen Mother really divorce Camilla and Charles?
The third season focuses on the development of Charles and Camilla's love story and argues that the Queen Mother (Charles' grandmother) and Lord Mountbatten (Prince Philip's uncle) were the main protagonists of their breakup. They begin a real conspiracy against their relationship, sending Charles to the Navy and Camilla to marry Andrew Parker Bowles.
It is true that the royal family did not like Camille at first because of the love affairs she had behind her, but historians claim that the Queen Mother and Lord Mountbatten never took an active part in their separation because they themselves were not on good terms.
Did Prince Philip cheat on the Queen?
In the second season, the series The Crown focuses on the infidelity of Prince Philip, and especially on the affair with Galina Ulanova and the Profumo scandal. Although there is no real evidence of cheating, the prince has always been known as a "ladies man". The relationship with Ulanova is said to be just one in a series of affairs. He has also been linked to TV star Katie Boyle, actress Merle Oberon, author Daphne du Maurier and even Princess Alexandra (the Queen's cousin). None of the alleged lovers have ever confirmed any relationship.
Did the Queen really forbid Princess Margaret from marrying Peter Townsend?
The truth is somewhat different from the events depicted in the series. Queen Elizabeth did not really make an exception for her sister due to many political circumstances and relations with the Church of England. However, it is not true that their marriage was forbidden. The Queen managed to devise a plan with then Prime Minister Anthony Eden, thanks to which Princess Margaret could marry Townsend, keep the title and receive a small sum of money. She could live in Britain if the public supported her (which was out of the question, as Margaret was always the star of the royal family).
Nevertheless, she would have to give up inheritance rights and any rights for her children. Apparently this, rather than the Queen's own ban, is the main reason Margaret renounced her marriage to Townsend and married Anthony Armstrong Jones.
Is Prince Philip portrayed well in the series?
Throughout the series we have seen a number of historical figures, but the biggest mystery remains Prince Philip and his transformation. He is often not portrayed in the best light in the Netflix hit, but many events related to him are not accurately depicted in the series.
It is true, for example, that he had a difficult childhood, as a result of which his relationship with his son, Prince Charles, suffered. But Philip himself came from a royal family and never had a problem kneeling before the Queen, as it is a protocol that is quite common. It is also true that he fought to have his surname Mountbatten become an official royal surname, and that he was furious that he did not succeed.
There's also his connection to Eileen and Michael Parker's divorce.
In the series, Prince Philip and his close friend and secretary travel together on a royal tour, while Michael regularly writes letters to the men's club informing them of scandalous and lewd behaviour. Eileen Parker and Michael did divorce, but the letters were never cited as evidence. It is doubtful, however, that the Queen granted Philip the title of Prince shortly after the scandal, so he never had to testify in the case of Parker's divorce.
