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The fourth season of The Crown is the story of two iconic women, neither of whom has the letters “HRH” before their names. Because while Olivia Colman’s ironic (and sometimes unsympathetic) Elizabeth II, of course, still gets top billing, the season is really about Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher.
This could have been the point at which Peter Morgan’s trustworthy chronicle of the queen’s progress throughout the 20th century was derailed. Diana and Thatcher are seismic figures. The obvious concern is that parachuting them into this delicately crafted drama would turn the entire effort upside down.
But to his credit, Morgan incorporates Princess Di and Mrs. T seamlessly into his grand chronicle of Elizabeth’s life and times (they may be the stars, but they are orbiting her). She is helped by the extraordinary performances of Emma Corrin as the bright-eyed young Diana and Gillian Anderson as a rather melancholic Thatcher.
Corrin captures Diana’s naivety and taste for being the center of attention (the first time the paparazzi are after her, something like a smile crosses her face). Morgan clearly sees Diana as a victim tricked into marrying a prince (Josh O’Connor) who is already in love with married Camilla Parker-Bowles (Emerald Fennell, who brings undertones of panto villainy).
The description of her struggles with bulimia is particularly frank and shocking. Still, The Crown is careful not to go too far down the road of framing her as completely hapless. Morgan makes it clear that Diana is a smart woman with her own agency (and a stunning pair of skates, which she wears to talk about Buckingham Palace).
Thatcher is also a revelation. The part is a showcase for Anderson, who couldn’t be further from his X-Files days. An Emmy Award is sure to come.
However, it is the first episode that Irish viewers may find especially eye-catching as Charles’s beloved uncle Louis Mountbatten (Charles Dance) is assassinated by the Provisional IRA in Sligo. The good news is that The Crown’s take on the troubles isn’t as clunky as we might have feared. But it feels a little weird anyway.
Morgan, as veteran Crown watchers will know, has a tin ear for cultures and contexts outside of his London quackery vibe and that proves once again.
It is not just that Ireland is mislabeled as “Republic of Ireland” in an onscreen caption. There is also his decision to establish the murder of Mountbatten, his grandson Nicholas (14) and Paul Maxwell (15) of Fermanagh by causing a Provisional IRA gunman to rant about Britain’s historic misdeeds in Ireland.
This is accompanied by images of riots, police charges and hunger strike protests: Now that’s what I call … The problems! version of Irish history. It doesn’t help that the actor delivering the Provo speech seems to have been inspired by Harry Enfield’s character of William Ulsterman (ironically, a satire on uncompromising unionism). The “angry Nordie” stereotype has surely passed its expiration date.
Still, The Crown quickly moves on and gets into the spicy stuff: Diana’s disastrous marriage to Charles and the queen’s awkward relationship with Thatcher. Charles and Diana are presented as a love story that began with the best of intentions and could not survive Charles’s obsession with Camilla. Here is humor. When Camilla invites Diana to dinner and they agree to be Dutch on the bill, Camilla’s eyes sparkle as she declares that she “loves to share.”
Thatcher is also treated with relative sympathy. We are certainly on his side, as he must take the “Balmoral Test” on vacation with the Royals in Scotland for a weekend (they are such horrible and dumb snobs).
Later, Morgan argues that her refusal to listen to others was her ultimate downfall. This is brought home in an episode where the Prime Minister and Queen clash over whether or not to impose sanctions against South Africa’s apartheid regime (Elizabeth is passionately for, Thatcher stubbornly against).
The Crown’s first season “Diana” was always going to bring a huge novelty factor. And Morgan deserves praise for giving the story’s melodramatic elements room to breathe while staying true to the show’s essentially sober tone.
It is not a correct real game. But it’s a riveting journey through some of the darkest years of the British monarchy, and a great soap opera, too.
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