The Mail: ‘The Crown’ is ‘lurid,’ portraying Charles as ‘devious, impatient, resentful’

The British royal commentators are playing a dangerous game with Netflix, The Crown and the monarchy. Their gleeful commentary about the “lurid, unflattering” Netflix series shows their eagerness to exploit all of these tragedies all over again, all while assuming an air of performative fury on behalf of King Charles. Does Charles really understand what he’s unleashed? Netflix is laughing all the way to the bank, especially with Salt Island’s media giving The Crown millions in free publicity. Even more than the free publicity, the commentators are making The Crown sound like the most epic royal takedown ever. The Mail’s Christopher Stevens has seen the whole (still embargoed) season 5. And he couldn’t help but throw a huge tantrum about all of it.

There are no depths of bad taste that writer Peter Morgan does not plumb in the new ten-part series of The Crown on Netflix. Divorces, infidelities, the most intimate conversations, the infamous interview with Princess Diana and Martin Bashir, even the death of a five-year-old from cancer, all are exploited for lurid drama. As the eight-and-a-half hours of new film were made available to journalists last night, under a stringent embargo, the sheer virulence of the storylines became shockingly clear.

Charles, Philip and at times the Queen herself are portrayed with disdain bordering on mockery. A teenage Prince William is also shown in an unflattering light, as slightly dim and sulky, though his younger brother Harry is let off lightly and barely features. Netflix may well find that, with the international grief and mourning that marked the death of the Queen less than two months ago, viewers’ appetite for royal muck-raking has disappeared.

Insiders at the streaming video giant say the mood in the company is already uneasy, with some American executives surprised by the backlash from fans who fear the death of the Princess of Wales will be re-enacted in graphic detail. This series stops short of that moment. It ends with Diana, divorced from Charles, preparing for a Mediterranean holiday with her friend Dodi Fayed.

Full reviews, with assessments of individual performances and an analysis of how far the script strays from historical fact, are embargoed until Saturday morning. But no spoiler alert is needed when I say that this series of The Crown is unrecognisable in its tone, compared to the original series in 2016. This show with its almost unlimited budget and all-star cast has become a monstrous perversion of itself.

At the beginning, The Crown charted the affectionate romance of the Princess Elizabeth and her prince, the Duke of Edinburgh, played with touching vulnerability by Claire Foy and Matt Smith. But it has descended into scandal-mongering, intent on inflicting every possible embarrassment on the Royal Family. The Crown is now a nakedly republican polemic, using embarrassment as its chief weapon against the monarchy.

Chief victim is the monarch himself. Perhaps Morgan and his Netflix paymasters imagined, like most of us, that the Queen would survive, ruling above reproach, for a number of years to come – and that the Prince of Wales was fair game. Certainly, none of the preview episodes (labelled, it ought to be said, as ‘work in progress’) carried an acknowledgment of Her Majesty’s death. Any viewers expecting a respectful caption, saluting her 70 years on the throne, will be disappointed.

But from the outset, the campaign against Charles is lacerating. In scene after scene, he is depicted as devious, impatient, resentful, devoid of self-awareness in his desperation to be king. This prince is a plotter whose mind works constantly, even during holidays with friends, on ways to dislodge his mother and force her aside. His aides talk of little else.

Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles – now the King and Queen Consort, a fact shamefully ignored by Netflix – suffer greater indignity still, with the replay of that excruciating phonecall. Dominic West as Charles and Olivia Williams as Camilla, then his married mistress, re-enact every word of it… including that awful extended metaphor about being reincarnated as a tampon. It is performed without mercy, and to emphasise the humiliation we see the reaction of other royals when the transcript is published. Princess Margaret reads it in bed. Diana holds her head in her hands.

[From The Daily Mail]

Charles “is depicted as devious, impatient, resentful, devoid of self-awareness.” “The Crown is now a nakedly republican polemic, using embarrassment as its chief weapon against the monarchy.” DON’T THREATEN ME WITH A GOOD TIME!!! Omg, I was genuinely worried that Peter Morgan was going to soft-pedal some stuff but I guess not! Apparently, Diana’s Panorama interview stretches over two episodes, which is pretty fair – it was the biggest f–king thing to happen to the monarchy in decades. I love all of the agitation about “they didn’t acknowledge that Charles and Camilla are king and queen now” and “they didn’t acknowledge QEII’s death!!” My dude, this is a dramatization of what happened in the ‘90s, not a documentary. In fact, the monarchy has run a huge campaign against the Crown to emphasize that it’s not a documentary. Anyway, one more week!!!

Photos courtesy of Netflix.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

115 Responses to “The Mail: ‘The Crown’ is ‘lurid,’ portraying Charles as ‘devious, impatient, resentful’”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Seaflower says:

    The Streisand Effect might need to be renamed…..

    • Mooney says:

      The Crown effect, Chucky effect, Netflix…no wait Megflix effect, the Tampon Tantrums…. take your pick 😂

      • Geegee says:

        OMG tampon tantrums!!! I choose that one.

      • Debbie says:

        First of all, kudos, “Tampon Tantrum” is a clever turn of phrase, and so fitting. But if the show is “plumbing” these depths, it must be because the parties engaged in this lowly conduct (divorce, infidelities, lurid conversations, etc.). So, don’t blame The Crown for accurately depicting true life events. Nowhere in all that nonsense he wrote does he claim it didn’t happen.

    • usavgjoe says:

      That he is… and more!

    • Kingston says:

      The BRF Effect.
      Hee hee hee.

    • Lorelei says:

      It’s now The Windsor Effect

      At least Barbra only fcked up ONE TIME, with the incident which caused people to coin the term in the first place. These people inadvertently draw attention to their own poor behavior every. single. damn. day., for years.

  2. Jais says:

    Yeah no lies detected in that description of Charles 😂

    • ThatsNotOkay says:

      Like…sometimes I truly believe the Royal Rotten are trolling Charles, William, whomever. They’re saying what they want put out there, just in a way that makes it seem like they’re appalled it’s being said.

      • Couch potato says:

        Oh, they desperately want to write the bad s$%% about them! They were probably rubbing their hands, grinning from ear to ear writing this, and all the other BS about the crown.

      • Gabby says:

        Perhaps they are afraid The Crown will expose some of that “new material” upon which they have been sitting. There will be outrage at being scooped especially by an American media company.

    • SarahCS says:

      I love the epic outrage about things that happened and were well documented at the time. It sounds like they got Chuck spot on if those are the best descriptors the writer could come up with.

      • Mustang Sally says:

        Precisely. The marriage WAS lurid (he was having an affair with Camilla when he married Diana) and clearly devious- how else to get away with it for as long as he did? I don’t understand what all of the outrage and shock are about. He admitted it on TV!

    • Eleonor says:

      They forgot petty, otherwise is pretty accurate.

    • goofpuff says:

      “Charles, Philip and at times the Queen herself are portrayed with disdain bordering on mockery. A teenage Prince William is also shown in an unflattering light, as slightly dim and sulky,” “[Charles] is depicted as devious, impatient, resentful, devoid of self-awareness in his desperation to be king. This prince is a plotter whose mind works constantly, even during holidays with friends, on ways to dislodge his mother and force her aside. His aides talk of little else.”

      I mean all this is still very true to this day with Charles and William. The Crown is honestly very kind to them considering what they really could have done with even more true stories they left out.

      • Lorelei says:

        A “sulky teenager?” Are we supposed to see this as offensive? Find me a non-sulky teenager ffs.

      • Debbie says:

        “… whose mind works constantly… on ways to dislodge his mother and force her aside.” You mean, like we’ve seen from William’s stories and polls saying that Charles should be bypassed as King and the country should go straight to William and Kate? Oh my God, who are these outraged rotas fooling? They all work that way and we’ve seen it with our own eyes.

  3. Veda says:

    So an accurate portrayal then. I can’t wait for it to drop!

  4. GuestWho says:

    “Netflix may well find that, with the international grief and mourning that marked the death of the Queen less than two months ago, viewers’ appetite for royal muck-raking has disappeared.”

    Nope.

    • equality says:

      Big nope. If that were true, the tabloids would all now be out of business.

    • Snuffles says:

      Nope. It’s a real life Game of Thrones that will keep people entertained until the next season of House of Dragons.

    • C says:

      LOL. That made me laugh. Are they kidding? People have been waiting for the Crown to cover this since it started.

    • Margaret says:

      Nope. That international grief and mourning was specific to the Queen. Now she’s gone the royals are fair game for all and viewers’ appetites for royal muck-raking are greater than ever. And thanks to all this free publicity from people like Stevens, we are looking forward to it and Netflix execs are rubbing their hands with glee.

    • Becks1 says:

      LOL right?? This is the season we’ve been waiting for. This is what the previous 4 seasons were leading up to. We are HERE FOR IT.

    • Seraphina says:

      Big NOPE. This is what we have been waiting for. This is the climax of the story because we saw it unfold. And I CANNOT WAIT. my friends and I are watching every episode together and drinking and eating and enjoying it.
      Sorry Chuck and Cams your sorry deeds will be replayed before your eyes on a world stage. And Lord forgive me, it’s delicious.

      • panthress says:

        To Seraphina, Iam with you!! I never watched the Crown so I had to binge watch all the previous seasons. I have several bottles of my favorite wine all lined up and properly chilled. I can’t wait for the new season to start.

    • AnneL says:

      I laughed so hard at that!

      No disrespect to the dead, but viewers have moved on from QEII’s passing? The woman was 96 years old. We knew it was coming. And we were watching episodes and seasons that showed her marriage crumbling and her family acting up and coming apart at the seams while she was still alive. Why would we stop now?

    • Nic919 says:

      This really shows the insularity of UK media. No the rest of the world does not care about the image of the monarchy and the pseudo non UK royalists were not going to watch this season anyway. But everyone else will.

    • Lux says:

      Same, nope. I am RAVENOUS for some royal muck-raking and am THRILLED by these threats. In one week, we FEAST!

      Waiting for the hot tea like the cat that got the cream. Waiting with my cheap popcorn and expensive ice cream.

    • Christine says:

      Seriously! These people are fundamentally stupid. This part made me roll:

      “This show with its almost unlimited budget and all-star cast has become a monstrous perversion of itself.”

      Ummm, what has become a monstrous perversion of itself? Answer: Salty Isle. Get a grip, for real. These are your royals, and nothing that is happening on the Crown hasn’t been reported on for DECADES, BY YOU, Rota Clowns.

    • Debbie says:

      “Netflix may well find that, with the international grief and mourning that marked the death of the Queen less than two months ago, viewers’ appetite for royal muck-raking has disappeared.”

      This columnist may find out what everyone else knows: People “grieve” in different ways. Some people may raid the just-deceased person’s belongings and drape themselves in her jewels (Hello, Kate), while others binge-watch The Crown, you know, for old times’ sake. I just hope that Netflix does good business on this because it would be a shame to disappoint the BRF and RR.

  5. C-Shell says:

    “Charles ‘is depicted as devious, impatient, resentful, devoid of self-awareness.” “The Crown is now a nakedly republican polemic, using embarrassment as its chief weapon against the monarchy.’ DON’T THREATEN ME WITH A GOOD TIME!!!”

    I’m crying!

    To be clear, that description of CIII is **spot on**. Succinct and accurate.

    • SussexWatcher says:

      Right?! Chuck has shown us that he’s “devious, impatient, resentful, devoid of self-awareness” just since his mother’s death with the way he treated Harry and Meghan, staffers, and fountain pens! We don’t even need to go back to the 90s to be reminded of his character. That institution and its members are getting what they deserve.

      • Giddy says:

        I wish I believed in ghosts, because then I could picture Diana having a ball watching this. Those of us who remember the Tampon Charlie episode also remember how awful it all was, and then the tragedy of Diana’s death. Those who were young enough to not be aware of the Tampon Scandal will learn of a rather disgusting chapter in royal history. Either way, Diana would have loved it!

    • Emme says:

      “Charles is depicted as devious, impatient, resentful, devoid of self-awareness”…..AND??

  6. amyb says:

    and? Maybe the DM should look at its archive

    • lanne says:

      IKR? If Charles is described as deviant, selfish, sneaky, a jerk–um, that’s how the tabloids themselves described him in the 90s!!

      Harry once again showed how astute he is in terms of his family’s problems. He was absolutely right–they are stuck in an invisible contract. They dance on the tabloids puppet strings, and the tabloids are supposed to “give” them good press in return. It’s a bad bargain, because they have put themselves at the mercy of rabid sociopaths who ultimately only care about their own bottom line, and who absolutely love the fact that they have power over the UK’s most important family. The royal family are the frog carrying the scorpion on its back, and is actually surprised that the scorpion stings them. The tabloids are evil and greedy, but they aren’t stupid. They know that they are making sure everyone in the Uk will be tuning in to the Crown. The Crown is a pot of gold for them–they have content for weeks from the TV show, and they’re getting it on both ends. They benefit from the public interest in the show, and they also get to be the “royal spokespeople” for the show.

      How dumb can the royals and their minions be? The story of royal families has always been the story of ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances. Sometimes they rise to the occasion, (George 6th, Elizabeth 2), and others they fail utterly (Nicholas 2). Charles is going down the Nicholas 2 route–it won’t end up with him dead in a basement with his family, but he’s lucky that he has the inertia of the British public in his favor, or calls for abdication would be much, much louder.

      • Ceej says:

        The press was so bored once M&H moved but now they have the perfect excuse to ramp up scandals about the royals and get those much needed clicks!!! They must be ecstatic and no doubt working out how to keep the attention going up til January…. (When Spare will give them another 5 years of nonsense to complain about)

      • Kingston says:

        When Harry suggested to his family that they diversify from the stronghold of the Rota and engage with other, more modern and more far-reaching media, his idea was roundly rejected.

        I am very sure that the rejection was force-fed to betty by the usual suspects, led by di bwoy Edward Young. It is !NOT! in the interest of the courtiers for the RF to have any control over their own narrative.

  7. Snuffles says:

    “The Crown is unrecognisable in its tone, compared to the original series in 2016. This show with its almost unlimited budget and all-star cast has become a monstrous perversion of itself.”

    That’s because the royal family has become a monstrous perversion of it self. As each decade has passed, they have become trashier and trashier.

    “[Charles] is depicted as devious, impatient, resentful, devoid of self-awareness in his desperation to be king. This prince is a plotter whose mind works constantly, even during holidays with friends, on ways to dislodge his mother and force her aside. His aides talk of little else.”

    Sounds accurate to me. And I dare say history is repeating itself with William plotting to do the same to Charles.

    • ThatsNotOkay says:

      Nail—>head.

      CIII is too dumb to be king, because he thinks leaking info that he’s “bewildered” and “poorly advised” and “hurt” and all these adjectives that suggest he’s a weakling, lacking moral character, and too stupid or racist to understand why, is somehow a good thing. It is reason enough to #AbolishTheMonarchy

    • SarahCS says:

      Exactly, they’re simply showing how the family/firm evolved over time and this is exactly what happened to them.

    • Cessily says:

      So they have a very accurate description of him..that is what has him in a panic.

    • Christine says:

      THIS.

    • Debbie says:

      I’m still waiting for them to let me know whether this is the “Don’t explain” or the “Don’t complain” part. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe it’s a demonstration of “Stiff upper lip.”

  8. Miranda says:

    Christopher Stevens could not clutch those pearls any tighter if Kate had come over for tea and asked to see his mother’s jewelry box.

  9. M says:

    I have never watched this show, but all the screeching from Salt Island sure does make me want to.

    • AnneL says:

      Please do. The larger Netflix’s audience for this show, the more these people will froth at the mouth. Also, it’s quite good. I resisted watching it for a long time because the Royals didn’t interest me, but I finally relented and really enjoy it.

    • ArtHistorian says:

      It is great television. Well-written and well-acted with great production values.

      • Deering24 says:

        Agreed–it’s terrific work. I initially didn’t think Elizabeth’s early reign was all that interesting before I started watching TC–but it is brilliant at showing what a truly lousy gig The Firm is and how distorting living in that bubble is.

    • Peachy says:

      Same. I remember quite vividly how vulnerable Diana always seemed and what a sleazy manipulator Charles appeared and I remember it from living through that era. However, it may be interesting to see it unfold in a dramatization, especially since Diana and Harry are apparently treated well in the telling.

  10. equality says:

    I think they will find that anybody worried about Di’s death being shown are Diana fans and not worried about how Charles is being portrayed.

  11. Mslove says:

    Is the DM trolling Chuck? I can’t tell, but that description is accurate. I bet he never thought tampon gate would make a comeback. Tampon Chuck, King of Menses.

  12. Amy Bee says:

    The DM is just gaslighting people at this point.

  13. chill says:

    “There are no depths of bad taste that writer Peter Morgan does not plumb in the new ten-part series of The Crown on Netflix. ”
    Who does the RR think did all of the “bad taste” things in real life? It was the royals!!! They cheated, gaslighted, had intimate conversations, did interviews. Yes, the royals did it all. Now, we are just seeing what happened. The fiction is based on FACTS.

    • equality says:

      And who aired it all originally? The tabloids. Complaining about it now is just hypocritical for the royals and the tabloids.

    • Tessa says:

      And it was not bad taste for c and c to cooperate with penny and Ingrid to gaslight Diana and after she died. Penny wrote they did cooperate with her. And not bad taste for Charles buddy Joan rivers to trash Diana on the Larry king show.double standards galore.

  14. Snuffles says:

    I’m loving that this is Charles worst nightmare come to life. What did he think would happen when this series started. He knew that when the series got to Diana they would cover all of this.

  15. Eurydice says:

    Hahahahahaha!! I love how indignant they are on Camilla’s behalf and then they remind everyone she was Charles’ “married mistress.”

  16. Alexandria says:

    How about tabloids in the 80s and 90s huh?

  17. SJ (they/them) says:

    I can’t get over the incessant self-sabotage these people engage in! It’s just mind-boggling. You hate the show and don’t want anyone to watch it,,,,, so your plan is to tell them it’s chock-full of the juiciest gossip imaginable??? wall-to-wall no-holds barred drama?? THIS is your plan?????? make it make sense!!!!!!!!

    • Lorelei says:

      Seriously! Imagine an alternate universe in which the BM has said NOTHING about The Crown. Not a word. Just mourned the Queen, and then went right back to covering the engagements of the remaining royals (harder to do when W&K go MIA for weeks on end, but still) and discussing plans for the upcoming coronation.

      There are probably soooooo many people who wouldn’t even be aware that a new season of The Crown was about to drop. The show’s established fans would be excited, but it wouldn’t be freaking *headline news every single day* in the UK that Charles is going to come across so poorly in the next season.

      It just shows how many more viewers their constant little temper tantrums have driven TO THE SHOW to see what all the fuss is about. It is absolutely unreal that this family pays people for their PR expertise, and the result is…this absolute shitshow.

  18. Tessa says:

    This is what.happened it cannot be rewritten. I wonder what will thinks of being shown as slightly dim
    Lol.. And Charles would not mind had Diana been depicted in a bad way.

  19. Tessa says:

    So the past can be erased because c and c got a promotion to king and queen consort. On what planet

  20. Harper says:

    “A teenage Prince William is also shown in an unflattering light, as slightly dim and sulky, though his younger brother Harry is let off lightly and barely features.” Cue Tom Bower/Wooten/Eden accusing Meghan of insisting that Netflix portray the Burger King as stupid and keeping Harry out of the drama.

    • equality says:

      Since they are the ones who claim PH is irrelevent and only PW matters, they should be happy with that portrayal.

  21. Joy says:

    How dare they portray Charles as he is! The audacity!

  22. Pumpkin (Was Sofia) says:

    “At the beginning, The Crown charted the affectionate romance of the Princess Elizabeth and her prince, the Duke of Edinburgh, played with touching vulnerability”

    Now I admit it’s been a minute since I saw the first 2 seasons but I do remember the show all but outright spelling it out that Philip was a cheat and Philip himself was pretty unpleasant. He had his reasons but he was complaining. A lot. I remember reviewers actually complaining that he was doing nothing but complaining. Also, the show says he got his Princely title after he threw a big temper tantrum. So not really super positive there.

    “Any viewers expecting a respectful caption, saluting her 70 years on the throne, will be disappointed.”

    Uh what are they expecting? A season that was wrapped in terms of filming weeks/months before the queen died to suddenly change course? For post production to chop and heavily edit the show so it’s “nicer” to the royals? Not quite sure what they’re asking.

    “In scene after scene, he is depicted as devious, impatient, resentful, devoid of self-awareness in his desperation to be king.”

    So in other words, it’s not that far from reality.

    • Tessa says:

      Philip left elizabeth for a while going out to sea. And it was shown on the crown.so it was not all hearts and flowers for elizabeth and philip.

    • dee(2) says:

      Yeah, they were pretty clear that A led to B there. All of your friends in your weekly private club are cheating on their wives and one gets caught and it causes a scandal, but yeah no we don’t SAY Philip was cheating. All the others on this South Pacific tour with you are heading off with these indigenous women, and one literally grabs your hand and beckons you, but let’s fade to black. He definitely never cheated, nope, uh uh. The main trailers for Season Two showed them arguing and the show opened with them talking about how if they weren’t the Queen and Prince consort they would divorce. He acts like people didn’t just watch this show and can’t immediately go and watch the earlier seasons now.

      • Pumpkin (Was Sofia) says:

        That’s what I meant lol. The Crown did not show a “affectionate romance” all the time and even spent a lot of time in S1+S2 highlighting Philip’s dalliances and the negative aspects of his personality.

    • equality says:

      To me Phil and Liz’s “love story” is kind of cringey anyway given their ages when they met and the fact that he (like Kate) hung around for years to close the deal.

      • C says:

        I honestly don’t think he really wanted to marry her – he had relationships before he got married, but “Uncle Dickie” insisted that given his position he would never get a better chance in life, basically, than marrying Elizabeth who was hell-bent on only him, and he needed to grab it.

    • Emmi says:

      I’m actually re-watching the show right now and I forgot how unflattering they were portrayed from the first episode! Affectionate romance? Philipp – especially as portrayed by Matt Smith – comes across as a sulky, cheating man-child who really does not know the word “duty” during the first decade of his marriage. Elizabeth is hopelessly naive and weak.

      In season 4, Charles is portrayed the same. Weak, sulky, self-absorbed (the Queen even says as much) and not interested in his duty either.

      So I’m not sure when this show was ever a love letter to this family. Margaret? Yes they did her dirty when she wasn’t allowed to marry her Group Captain but my god, I hope she wasn’t THIS much of an asshole in real life.

      • Sarah says:

        Oh, Margaret was the worst of all. The stories of how spoiled, demanding and unpleasant she was are legendary. If you google her, be prepared to be infuriated.

      • C says:

        One of my favorite scenes from the early Crown seasons was Philip and Elizabeth in the car together outside the stables, the camera behind them, screaming at each other but it was muted.

        Margaret was a spoiled brat and there’s a reason her funeral was very sparsely attended, lol.
        But (and I say this a lot but I do believe it) Townsend was a groomer and they always ignore that.
        It’s also very telling that Elizabeth’s 13-year-old continuing passion was indulged but Margaret who also “fell in love” at that age was denied.
        It’s funny because they always insist on Elizabeth’s “sacrifice” for the throne when in fact all of her desires were indulged and it was everyone else who had to sacrifice for her.

      • Pumpkin (Was Sofia) says:

        Yup that’s how I remember it too. The negative aspects of the family were still there. The one saving grace the show does give to the royals is showing/saying they’re like this because of the courtiers/rules of the institution/the monarchy itself rather than being genuinely not great people in their own right. Which is possibly true yes but only to a certain extent.

        And yes the show does “romanticise” Margaret a fair bit as others have pointed out above.

      • Deering24 says:

        “…Philip – especially as portrayed by Matt Smith – comes across as a sulky, cheating man-child …”

        Geez, that trait dominates the RF males, doesn’t it. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

  23. LightPurple says:

    Elizabeth Debicki!
    Imelda Staunton!
    Leslie Manville!
    Jonny Lee Miller!

    I will watch everything any one of them does and to have all four of them together? No way am I missing this!

  24. Miss Owlsyn says:

    I am just a twee too young to have understood, in a moment, everything that happened to Princess Diana. But in the past 5 years or so, I have twice now seen the monarchy throw their entire power and influence in to trying to absolutely destroying something. It’s fascinating and I just imagine what would happen if they used that power -for good- instead of, well, not good.

  25. kyliegirl says:

    So now that Charles is king we should forget all his bad behavior? I’m sorry, but in his first few weeks as king he has shown that he can be devious, impatient and resentful. Since many of his family members seem to be selling homes or vying for paid gigs he may also be cruelly tightening the money so it all stays with him.

  26. Brassy Rebel says:

    Apparently, The Crown forgot to remind everyone that Charles is also jealous! Just add that to the descriptions and it is a very accurate portrayal of the King. Die mad about it!
    Sounds like they got William right too.

  27. Blujfly says:

    I wonder for years how the right wing papers that splashed this everywhere and publicly took Diana’s side – the Mail’a Richard Kay being Diana’s most prominent mouthpiece – would handle Charles becoming king after having turned him into a mockery for so many years and now I know, simply by cloaking him in the same protecting as the queen.

  28. CarrieVirginia says:

    Yeah, sure it’s going to be mighty to watch The Crown. Even better will be watching William at the BAFTA’s 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 having to make small talk with the actors. Or will he be indisposed?? Oh how she laughed

  29. Kazzzzz says:

    “ Netflix may well find that, …viewers’ appetite for royal muck-raking has disappeared.”
    That’ll be the day!
    There will always be an audience for muck raking!

    • Snuffles says:

      Considering their ENTIRE business model is royal muckraking/hate for profit, they have some unmitigated NERVE to make a statement like that.

  30. one of the marys says:

    It’s bizarre but in that excerpt you could replace ‘Netflix’ with ‘tabloids’ and it would read the same way. I guess the British tabloids want that monopoly on trashing people

  31. Concern Fae says:

    The danger of the Rota is showing here. Once one of them writes an article on a topic, everyone has to do so as well and raise the level of outrage (or flattery), lest they be seen as lacking in fervor for the royal cause. This means a never ending fever pitch of coverage that has nothing to do with what is actually going on. It riles up a small number of devotees, but turns off even more.

  32. Paulkid says:

    I had to postpone getting Netflix by a week because I needed to purchase a Smart TV before The Crown premiere.. During that break in signing up, Netflix increased their monthly rates by a few dollars. I am sure that the company is thinking, “Thanks, Mate!” to Chawlz and his footstompers.

  33. THANDIELAND says:

    THE DAILY MAIL describes Church de Turd aptly. They know exactly is character! and as usual they are projecting. How can they know what Season 5 portrays him as when they haven’t seen it?

  34. annel says:

    DON’T THREATEN ME WITH A GOOD TIME!

    *dying*

    These people are hands down the best promoters for the new season. I can’t wait!

    As for William being portrayed as a little sulky? To be fair, he was a teenager. They can be that way. I was no worse than any other teen at that age, maybe even better than most, but I sure would not want to see myself portrayed as I was to millions of people. But that’s the downside to being Royalty and living the high life on the taxpayers’ money. Sorry, William.

  35. Dee says:

    Seriously, I wouldn’t be surprised if Netflix paid some of these people to write this stuff. There is no advertisement better than this overwrought prose. I wasn’t gonna watch The Crown but now I am truly tempted.

  36. Scout says:

    The Crown is merely repeating the words and actions of the individuals portrayed.

  37. sparrow says:

    Charles should just be quietly flattered that someone, somewhere, thought Dominic West was a good match.

  38. Nicegirl says:

    Don’t threaten me with a good time. 🔥

  39. Deeanna says:

    In order for muckraking to occur, there must be muck to rake.

    All of this muck has been out there for years. Peter Morgan has merely gathered the truths of these wretched people into a cohesive, understandable narrative. And of course his research for his storylines came from the British tabloids themselves.

    Wonder if they’ll have the scene at Highgrove where after Charles and Diana separated, he supposedly took any and everything that had belonged to Diana and burned it up in a large bonfire outside in the yard?

    I think Charles has been a big jerk for a long time and that Camilla, despite her supposedly benign demeanor, urged her lover Charles on in his humiliation of his wife.

    They are both finally getting their comeuppance. (I also believe this is the big concern for what Harry might reveal about Camilla in his book. I dont think he will. But he could.)

  40. Emily_C says:

    They’re pretending Charles and Camilla was/is a love story, so they’re soft-pedaling like mad. Are they showing Charles’ other mistresses? And unless they show that Charles’ main emotion is infinite self-pity, they’re still being too generous to him.

  41. PopeArchibald says:

    Damn. I’m going to be so disappointed when this season doesn’t live up to the hype the Daily Fail has me all excited for! 🤣

  42. Michelle says:

    Charles “is depicted as devious, impatient, resentful, devoid of self-awareness.”

    If you don’t want people to think you are a devious, impatient, resentful person devoid of self-awareness, don’t act like a complete asshat to your wife and your sons. And don’t have an ongoing affair for the length of your marriage while tormenting your wife, who was a teenager when you married her. He gave “The Crown” the copy points to create the storyline for the show.

  43. Feebee says:

    It started with bunny rabbits and fluffy ducks and has descended into a snake’s pit.

    I thought they said it wasn’t a documentary?

  44. Bassflower says:

    So…accurate then?

  45. Gabby says:

    Oh my god, just 7 more days….. Prince Dim and Sulky. Chuckles the Tampon Clown. No “respectful caption” genuflecting at the late queen. I cannot wait!

  46. Mustang Sally says:

    Precisely. The marriage WAS lurid (he was having an affair with Camilla when he married Diana) and clearly devious- how else to get away with it for as long as he did? I don’t understand what all of the outrage and shock are about. He admitted it on TV!