YMMV / The Crown (2016)

• Actor Shipping:
  • Despite the disastrous couple they play on the show, Josh O'Connor and Emma Corrin have gotten some of this due to their strong onscreen chemistry and endearing behind-the-scenes friendship. It goes to the point that various fans have expressed their wish that they would reunite on another work playing another but much more functional couple.
  • Matt Smith and Claire Foy got shipped by a lot of fans during their time on the show due to their offscreen chemistry and how affectionate they are with each other in real life, even receiving the shipping nickname "Smoy" on certain social media platforms. The shipping still continues to this day despite them no longer being on the show, if Tiktok and Instagram are anything to go off of.
• Adorkable: Charles qualifies as this when he enthusiastically tells Edward Millward about the vocal warmups he has to do before a play starts in season 3, episode 6.
• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • In a meta-example thanks to Eileen Atkins playing Queen Mary here after having previously done so in the movie Bertie and Elizabeth. In that movie, Queen Mary was more of a Cool Old Lady who mainly provided sarcastic comedy. Here, she's a Grande Dame who acts as a mentor to Elizabeth and embodies the traditionalism of the House of Windsor — one of her most notable scenes is when she appears after George's death in full mourning regalia and performs a very deep curtsy to the now-Queen Elizabeth.
  • As in real-life, so many are divided by the actions and character of Margaret Thatcher. On this very page she is referred by some as a Tragic Villain, some a Magnificent Bastard, and for some a genuine Hero with Bad Publicity. The show seems to not favor any interpretation, but Elizabeth either concessionary or sympathetically gives her the Order of Merit and argues that Britain is indisputably changed by Thatcher. None can deny that, whether it was for the better or worse is the definition of YMMV.
  • With Diana, there are occasional hints and implications that she says and does certain things less out of a sense of sincerity, and more out of manipulation and knowing it's favourable for her public image. Was she truly in love with Charles in the beginning, or was she more dazzled by his stature and by the idea of someday being Queen? Is she sincere in wanting to make her marriage to Charles work, or does she know it's the "right" thing to say when Elizabeth questions her? Was hugging the AIDS patient on her New York City trip truly a spontaneous moment of altruism, or something she knew would make a really good photo-op? Diana, in the show and in real life, could be interpreted as entirely guileless, naive, and sweet — or as somewhat more dogged and calculating. Or is she using that calculating for altruistic goals? This continues into Series 5 when Elizabeth Debicki takes on the role, and we get (for example) a scene where she spends a lot of time visiting patients in the hospital where Dr. Khan works, leaving the viewer to wonder whether she's only doing that so she can catch his eye.
  • The way Camilla is handled in the show has some interesting implications for the character. On two separate occasions Anne suggests that Charles feels far more strongly for Camilla than vice versa. Charles states his love for Camilla a number of times, to her and to others, but notably, Camilla never responds to him in kind. In fact, on one occasion when Charles presses the subject, Camilla talks about how much Charles loves and needs her. While she certainly puts on a possessive display in front of Diana, some of her other moments suggest she's more drawn to Charles' adoration of her than to Charles himself. That said, Charles and Camilla in Real Life have been seemingly-happily married since 2005, so the supposition is she truly did love him too, but was more circumspect about the obstacles to them ever being together exclusively.^note In real life, she was always far more aware of what stood between them than he was, which probably explains her restraint in the show.
  • Because the focus is on the Royal Family, republicanism isn't ever portrayed well. Lord Altrincham has to strenuously deny republican leanings when it is assumed his constructive criticism of the monarchy is such and causes controversy, the (fictional) Guardian journalist in Season 3 is portrayed as presumptuous and ignorant of the monarchy's worth before he has an inspirational meeting with Princess Alice that shows him the error of his ways, and Bob Hawke comes across as a smug interloper who is stopped by Princess Diana's timely visit to Australia from getting his wish of an Australian republic. The thing is, as the focus turns towards the dysfunctional private lives of the Royal Family, their incredibly pastoral and detached existence, their pervasive classism and elitism, and the general frivolity of their actions and private pursuits, it's hard not to admit that anti-royalists have a point.
  • In a meta-example of the way that John Major was depicted in Morgan's play The Audience compared to how he is depicted in The Crown. In both depictions many of the issues that Major faces are dramatised in both, but in The Audience Major is demonstrably embodying The Peter Principle as he is out of his depth, completely socially awkward and insecure with the Queen all but being his cheerleader. In contrast, The Crown depicts Major as having an almost Zen-like calm through crises and is more often Boring, but Practical.
  • Diana gets a slightly different version in Season 5, where it's often implied that either "people" (presumably those loyal to the Royal Family and who perceive her as a threat to its stability) are out to silence her, drive her out of the UK, or even kill her - or that she's simply crazy or paranoid. At one point she speculates that the brakes on her car had been tampered with, before then suggesting that her car might just be due for a tune-up. This nods to assorted conspiracy theories about the circumstances of her death.
• Aluminium Christmas Trees: For all of the controversy over the show's use of Artistic Licence – History, we occasionally see characters doing things that may come across as a bit odd, but which are actually things that that person did in Real Life.
  • Winston Churchill really was in the habit of dictating to his secretaries while in the bath. The show actually downplays this, as in Real Life, the secretaries were often in the bathroom with him, whereas the fictional Venetia Scott gets to stay on the other side of the bathroom door.
  • The fifth Marquis of Salisbury really was nicknamed "Bobbety", and spoke with a pronounced rhotacism. The most prominent example of this came when he had to take soundings from his fellow-Cabinet ministers after Anthony Eden's resignation with regards to who they wanted to be PM next, with a choice between Harold Macmillan and R.A. Butler; several of them later recalled that he approached them individually and asked if they were for "Hawold or Wab".
  • Lyndon Johnson really was physically domineering and prone to conduct business while taking care of, err, 'other business'. The show actually downplays Johnson's behaviour. He went to the extent of having a telephone installed in said bathroom, partly so he could handle government business while on the toilet, but also partly so he could inform whoever he was talking to that he was handling his personal business while talking to them. He also enjoyed towering over people until they leaned so far back that they stumbled backwards. He'd conduct business while defecating with the bathroom door wide open in full view of his aides. He was also in the habit of whipping out his penis — which he called "Jumbo" — at random moments just to show off his manhood; he particularly enjoyed doing this at press conferences. The use of the word "Johnson" as a penile euphemism predates him, although it is definitely of American origin.
  • Princess Diana really danced to Uptown Girl at the Royal Opera House.
  • George V really did have a pet parrot that used to perch on his shoulder at mealtimes (and when he read government papers for that matter); she was an African Grey called Charlotte, though, rather than the Macaw seen in George V's only appearance in the show. She was especially troublesome during breakfast, since she would partake of any boiled eggs on the table. Queen Mary hated her.
• Americans Hate Tingle: While British critics were broadly positive in their reviews of the first three seasons, Season 4 was met with a much more mixed reception, and Season 5 was met with an extremely negative reaction. This was largely the result of a combination of these seasons being more openly critical of the monarchy while depicting events and figures still very fresh in the nations memory so the series' liberal use of Artistic License – History became even more apparent, including the portrayals of Princess Diana (still considered a Sacred Cow by some Britons^note hence why she still features regularly in some newspapers over two decades after her death) and Margaret Thatcher (still a controversial figure for many). In the case of Season 5, the death of Queen Elizabeth a few months prior to it being broadcast had the effect of making critics and the press overwhelmingly hostile to anything that might even remotely be seen as criticism of the monarchy in general, and the much-loved and much-respected late monarch in particular.
• Award Snub:
  • Jared Harris acclaimed work as King George was sadly ignored by the Emmys. This is no doubt due to his placement in Supporting Actor rather than Guest Actor. Due to appearing in one episode too many, Harris was disqualified from the latter category and had to compete in the former one, where he then had the disadvantage of competing against actors with much larger roles that were consistently present throughout their season. Most will agree that if Harris had been allowed to compete as a guest, he would’ve made the lineup.
  • Despite delivering a popular performance, having an episode devoted to him, and being guest eligible, Alex Jenning’s work as David wasn’t even submitted for Emmy Award consideration in season 2.
  • This occurred again the next season, as not only was Derek Jacobi's heartbreaking performance as a dying David not submitted, but neither was Geraldine Chaplin's work as a grief stricken Wallis Simpson.
  • Despite being considered the highlights of the second season, both Vanessa Kirby and Matthew Goode went unawarded at the Emmys.
  • Despite the third season winning the top prize at SAG, the highly praised performances of Tobias Menzies, Josh O'Connor, Jane Lapotaire, and Charles Dance ended up being snubbed by the Emmys. This was turned around for the fourth season, where both O'Connor and Menzies ended up being nominated and winning for their respective categories.
  • After the fourth season, Emma Corrin was the popular choice and presumptive frontrunner for Best Actress in her category at the Emmys, especially after winning the Golden Globe Award and Critics Choice Awards. However, the prize ended up going to Olivia Colman. Some criticized this as a name-check win, as Corrin's material was stronger than Colman's that season.
• Awesome Music: Even though the soundtrack is done by a different composer for every season (Rupert Gregson-Williams for Season 1 and 2, Lorne Balfe for Season 2, Martin Phipps for Season 3 and 4), they still remain connected to the theme of the show.
  • The title music done by Hans Zimmer makes you realize that this is a story of the institutional power of the British monarchy in modern times and how Elizabeth must carry the crown.
  • Duck Shoot is considered to be the overall theme of the series which demonstrates the unnerving duty that every royal member must remember particularly in the case of Elizabeth and Philip.
  • The trailer music for Seasons 3 to 6 shows the epicness on the time periods set per season.
    • Fort Nowhere's rendition of "The Times They Are A-Changin'" for Season 3 obviously shows the changes in the British Monarchy once it enters the 60's.
    • AG's rendition of "How Soon is Now" for Season 4 reminds the viewers of the time when Diana joins the Royal Family and the hardships she experienced firsthand.
    • There's also this version of "Bittersweet Symphony" which brings out the most eventful decade for the Royal Family, particularly with Diana's story.
    • 2WEI's cover of "Mad World" accompanies the Season 6 trailer, creating a haunting atmosphere that perfectly encapsulates Diana's final years and foreshadows the looming chaos the Royal Family is about to face.
• Base-Breaking Character:
  • Philip's near-constant sullen, petulant and unsupportive attitude towards his wife and his royal duties and subjecting Prince Charles to emotional abuse didn't earn him many fans in the first two seasons, though others appreciate his wry humour (as per real-life) as well as the moments when he makes it clear that he truly does love Elizabeth.
  • Gillian Anderson's Margaret Thatcher. Many believe she did a fantastic job bringing the famous figure to life, while others found her take on the Prime Minister to be too hammy and stilted in comparison to the other actors's more natural performances. There's also a bit of division on whether or not Thatcher was depicted too sympathetically or if it was a well done Warts and All portrayal.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment:
  • "Fairytale" includes a scene where a mouse scurries across the floor of the Queen Mother's sitting room in such a pointless detail that many fans suspect it just happened during filming and somehow no one noticed.
  • In part one of Season Six, Diana appears as a ghost... or a shared hallucination... or whatever to both Charles and Queen Elizabeth, following her death. Such an oddly fantastical break from the series' usual grounded tone is surprising, and was met with derision in some quarters.
• Broken Base:
  • "Moondust" wound up being a very love it or hate it episode. Some found it to be boring filler that could've been replaced with a more substantial story (something involving Princess Anne, for example — given that her attempted kidnapping, marriage and Olympic participation are not even mentioned. Others found it to be an intriguing and believed that it provided Phillip a strong showcase with positive Character Development.
  • Season 4 has a very mixed reception from viewers and historians alike. One camp enjoys due to introducing Margaret Thatcher and Princess Diana into the story and the actors' performances particularly Josh O'Connor's and Emma Corrin's. The other camp dislikes it for being too much of a soap opera with some accusing the show of being historically inaccurate and anti-monarchist, particularly for the portrayal of Charles and Camilla.
• Cry for the Devil: The show has been praised for successfully making viewers empathize with controversial figures such as the Duke of Windsor, Prince Charles, and Margaret Thatcher.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • After multiple reviews praised the performance of Pip Torrens and the entertainment of his character, the writers brought Tommy Lascelles back repeatedly in Season 2, despite his ostensible retirement. Torrens was one of the few actors from the first two seasons to reprise his role in season 3 (albeit in a flashback).
  • Princess Anne is presented as a dynamic individual in her own right and is lauded for her Deadpan Snarker tendencies and her confidence.
  • Sydney Johnson, a servant of the Duke of Windsor has garnered an article on Oprah's magazine for being a present but rare character of color.
  • Jared Harris's sympathetic portrayal of King George VI earned him a great deal of acclaim despite his inevitable death in episode 2. His performance was so beloved that the producers were bringing him back for flashbacks well into season 2.
  • Arguably the biggest example is Winston Churchill. Outside of two brief cameos in the following seasons, he was only around in the first, but John Lithgow’s towering performance is widely seen as one of the best parts of the series.
  • The Duke of Windsor's portrayal wound up being rather well received, thanks to David being portrayed as an enjoyably obnoxious Jerkass while also having many moments that build up genuine sympathy for the disgraced royal.
  • Many found Lord Snowdon to be a highly intriguing character and understood how he successfully attracted Margaret for so long despite his many vices. It helps that he's played by the attractive Matthew Goode, who brings easy chemistry to the screen with Vanessa Kirby.
  • Well liked before, Mountbatten's popularity went up in season 3 thanks to him having A Day in the Limelight, emphasizing his relation to his family, specifically Charles, and being played by the ever popular Charles Dance.
  • Princess Alice was regarded as an exciting addition in season 3, thanks to being a Cool Old Lady, and getting great scenes playing against her family.
  • Wallis Simpson's season 3 portrayal was well received thanks to stressing her devotion to David, and her highly memorable final words to Charles.
  • Diana's adorable, squeeing flatmates, who are not only incredibly sweet and supportive, but after Charles proposes, they take Di on what looks like an absolutely banging night out to celebrate.
• Fandom Rivalry: With Spencer, particularly on comparisons between Kristen Stewart's and Emma Corrin's performances as Princess Diana and which among the two is the best.
• Friendly Fandoms: Fans of this show get along well with fans of the Mission: Impossible films, due to Vanessa Kirby having a role in the sixth film.
• Harsher in Hindsight: The first two seasons, with Claire Foy as Elizabeth II and Matt Smith as Phillip, ostensibly centered around Phillip feeling himself inferior to Elizabeth when it came to their duties. After their time on the show ended, however, it was revealed that Foy, despite being the show's unambiguous lead, received a significantly lower paycheck than Smith (ostensibly due to Smith having by far the higher acting profile of the two going into the show) at the same time that a similar controversy regarding All the Money in the World had made it a hot topic. Netflix took the criticism to heart and ended up giving her a bonus.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter both played the Queen Mother (in Hyde Park on Hudson and The King's Speech respectively) before taking over the roles of her daughters (Elizabeth and Margaret respectively) in Season 3.
  • Doctor Who established that the Doctor married Elizabeth I. Here, the Eleventh Doctor's actor Matt Smith plays Prince Phillip, the husband of Elizabeth II.
  • Stephen Dillane plays Graham Sutherland, an artist whose portrait of Winston Churchill leads to a conflict between the two (over how Churchill is depicted) when finally ends with Churchill deciding to resign as Prime Minister. Dillane would go on to play Viscount Halifax in Darkest Hour, a rival politician who clashed with Churchill over whether or not to continue fighting the Second World War but who lost the job of Prime Minister to him. So not only did Dillane keep playing characters who apparently can't not get into conflict with Churchill, said conflicts essentially bookended Churchill's career as Prime Minister.
  • Many actors from Cranford went on to appear in The Crown: Eileen Atkins (Miss Deborah) as Queen Mary, Alex Jennings (Reverend Hutton) as King Edward VIII/the Duke of Windsor, Greg Wise (Sir Charles) as Louis Mountbatten, Imelda Staunton (Miss Pole) as Elizabeth II, Jonathan Pryce (Mr. Buxton in the sequel) as Prince Philip, Lesley Manville (Mrs. Rose) as Princess Margaret, and Andrew Buchan (Jem Hearne) as Andrew Parker Bowles. Fans of Cranford who watch The Crown find it amusing to see Rev. Hutton calling Miss Deborah "Mummy".
  • Also regarding Jennings, shortly after his time being so disdainful of Elizabeth on this show, he appeared on the Hulu miniseries Four Weddings and a Funeral as a conservative politician who's deeply concerned that she'll supposedly be reduced to a minimum wage job if immigrants aren't kicked out of the country.
  • Claire Foy and Kate Phillips (Venetia Scott) had previously played two of Henry VIII's wives (respectively, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour) in Wolf Hall.
  • Harry Hadden-Paton plays Martin Charteris in Season 1-2, but also Lady Edith's Love Interest Bertie Pelham in the Series 5-6 of Downton Abbey. In Season 3 he's replaced by Charles Edwards,who played Lady Edith's previous love interest Michael Gregson in Series 3-4. Fans quickly noted that Edith's actual first love interest (Sir Anthony Strallan, played by Robert Bathurst) was older still, and hoped he'd be cast as the final version in Season 5.
  • Fans of Merlin got a kick out of Colin Morgan playing a journalist who considers the royal family to be useless elitists, since in Merlin he played a character who insisted on protecting the Camelot royal family for five seasons straight, even though it would have been far easier (and safer for him) to let them die.
  • Lesley Manville played the titular role of Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (set in the 1950s), in which her character referenced Princess Margaret, saying, "Oh, I like her. You can see a twinkle of mischief in her eye." Manville would shortly be cast as the elderly Princess Margaret for Seasons 5 and 6.
• Hollywood Homely:
  • Halfway through Season 2 Elizabeth worries that she's starting to look old, while still being played by a not uglied up in the slightest Claire Foy. Especially jarring as it had already been announced that the decade older Olivia Colman would take over the role the following season and there is a video talking about the makeup needed for Colman to resemble the Queen in her middle age.
  • Anne gets a bit of this in "Bubbikins", the real life context is that there were papers at the time griping about how frumpy they thought the young princess was (not that she cared), and John Armstrong in that episode calls her "Little Miss Dumpy and Grumpy". She is played by Erin Doherty who is hardly uglied up and attractive.
• Hollywood Pudgy: The Duke of Windsor says the Queen Mother is "fat, common and looks like a cook." None of this applies to actress Victoria Hamilton. In Season 3, the Queen Mother is played by a fuller-figured Marion Bailey who is outfitted in replications of the real life figure's wardrobe that make her look portly.
• Ho Yay: Palpable between the Duke of Edinburgh and his Private Secretary, Michael Parker, who, when seeing Philip in his white tie, demands that he give a twirl before remarking "you look beautiful". He then affectionately pats Philip on the bottom before both men head out partying, leaving a dejected Queen Elizabeth in their wake. Philip later bitches to Elizabeth that Mike doesn't have a personal 'phone line to the Palace.
• Humor Dissonance: Charles tells a joke about England's heavy rain that flops horribly and is supposed to show him as stiff and awkward in contrast to the publicly beloved Diana, but a lot of fans said they thought it was actually funny.
• Iron Woobie:
  • King George VI, who wanted nothing more than a military career and a quiet life at home with his family, was thrust into the role of head of state with little preparation. But he stepped up and served admirably, to the great love and affection of his people, even though he was never comfortable or happy as King and suffered ill-health due to the stresses of his position.
  • Queen Elizabeth II, who'd hoped to have had at least ten or twenty years to raise her family, and allow Philip to enjoy a legitimate naval career, before ascending to the throne. But her father's failing health meant that she had to quickly start taking more responsibility and unexpectedly become Queen well before she was 30, resulting in the deterioration of her marriage and family life as she steadfastly grows into her position and refuses to let the strain show to the public.
  • Princess Alice, Philip's mother. Since her first exile from Greece^note  in real-life she already founded field hospitals near the front lines of the first Greek-Turkish war before WWI, she has had to face the breakdown of her marriage, suffering a mental breakdown, a course of treatment that could only be described as inhuman, the horrific death of her daughter Cecile and Cecile's family, returning to Greece only to live through the Nazi invasion of the country, and having to go into exile again in 1967. Princess Alice has been through a lot but hasn't allowed that to dampen her spirits or her piety.
• Jerkass Woobie:
  • Philip, who is brusque and condescending to nearly everyone he meets. But then come the revelations that he had to give up his career ambitions and nearly all of his self-worth in order to support his wife in an age when men were expected to be the absolute heads of their households, leaving him with nothing to do but socialize and pursue various hobbies to occupy his time. This grows even more in the second season, when his rough and unsympathetic treatment towards Charles is paralleled with his own traumatic childhood — his exile, his father's abandonment in favor of his mistress, his mother's insanity, and eventually the death of his beloved older sister. At said sister's funeral, his father even blames him for her death in front of the whole audience.
  • David, the Duke of Windsor, who is as much Bitch in Sheep's Clothing as he is portrayed, but the abdication weighs on him heavily. He has to endure what he feels is the constant disrespect towards his wife by being denied the style of Her Royal Highness, the British Establishment making it clear they will never forgive him for the Abdication, and his own family despising him for the same, even making him responsible for the death of his brother Albert. And yet he remains devoted to the institution of the Crown, even as he admits that he lacked the strength to bear it. The origin of his ordeal — marrying for love — does humanize him and make him sympathetic often, but he's just as often quick to negate it all with a mean, unfair, and or disparaging remark born out of his embitterment.
  • Harold Macmillan takes it to a whole new level of both jerkass and woobie. He's relentlessly ambitious and manipulates Eden nonstop and arrogantly for his position, only to be extremely unsuccessful. However, he's also largely reviled, far outside of his actual sins; for example, he genuinely adores his wife, but has to watch her cheating on him and laughing mockingly at a comedy show that regards him as a useless goofball - as everyone else him laughs, too.
  • Margaret Thatcher displays the negative side of her personality in spades and earned her place as one of the most hated politicians of all time. Still, it's hard not to feel bad for her when she's invited to Balmoral and is judged the entire time by the royal family for not enjoying their incredibly rustic pastimes or knowing their inscrutable rules of etiquette she was never taught, in addition to which she is mocked behind her back for her scientific background. Princess Margaret even takes the time to insult her for her middle-class manners and upbraid her for daring to sit in Queen Victoria's chair, even though no one told her it was Queen Victoria's chair, and said chair was located in the guest bedroom that the Thatchers were assigned to.
  • Charles. Both of his parents meant well but abused him in their own way, with his father being ashamed of his son's sensitive and non-masculine nature and his mother remaining distant due to him representing her death. Originally not interested in the crown, his status as the next in line caused his family to frequently control and change him. When Charles tries to resist and claim that he has his own voice that he wants to share, his mother frankly tells him nobody wants to hear it. Eventually he falls madly in love with Camilla Shand, who breaks his heart when she winds up marrying Andrew Parker Bowles (after the machinations of his grandmother and his Uncle Dickie). Charles' relationship with several members of his family is also damaged due to this as they actively worked to keep him separate from Camilla, which causes him to become a much colder, crueler individual. After a previously warm relationship, his last words to his grand uncle are highly confrontational, something he greatly regrets when he's killed later that day. He later marries his girlfriend Diana Spencer 13 dates into their relationship due to his family's pressure, even though he's still not over his First Love. Their marriage proves to be deeply unhappy, with Charles being deeply jealous of her greater popularity and infidelity rife on both sides, which just makes it even worse. Even when the two seem to have a breakthrough and he embraces Diana as his love, their mutual massive insecurities prove that they're simply incompatible, making their disastrous, doomed romance even worse than it was before.
• Narm:
  • While Gillian Anderson's performance as Margaret Thatcher was mostly very well received, several viewers have noted that her exaggerated voice and mannerisms occasionally veer into a parody of the Prime Minister.
  • There are multiple scenes in Season 5 where either Charles or Diana is complaining about their marriage or other problems to friends or relatives, only to stop themselves by saying something like, "Oh, listen to me going on like this when you're dealing with [plot device for the episode]." While there's likely meant to be some implication that both Charles and Diana tended to be self-absorbed about their issues, the dialogue itself comes across a bit clunky, and more like a clumsy means for the writers to move the plot along while giving Charles or Diana a Character Check.
  • Diana's ghost in Season 6 is probably one of the most wildly criticized parts of the season. Not just because it has been seen as a bizzare fantastical addition to an otherwise grounded series, but as a heavy handed manifestation of Elizabeth and Charles's unresolved tensions with Diana, and as a cheap way of giving them closure following her death.
• Narm Charm: Despite criticisms of acting like a caricature of Thatcher, Gillian Anderson's portrayal was still deemed strong enough that many viewers weren't bothered by her being a Large Ham and was showered with accolades, including an Emmy and a Golden Globe.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • The death of Philip's sister and her family in Season 2. The pregnant Cecilie was flying to a wedding (and she was extremely frightened of flying) and the plane crashed, killing everyone inside. When Philip notes that the body count is one higher than expected, he is informed that a newborn was discovered in the wreckage, meaning Cecilie had gone into labor during the flight. Philip eventually dreams of a nightmarish recreation of the incident.
  • The Aberfan disaster, in which a literal mountain of coal slurry finally spilled over onto the town below after an especially heavy rainy period, killing nearly 150 people, most of them children. We get to see a schoolteacher see the wall of rock spilling inexorably down, strong enough to rip trees from the ground, without any time to escape, so he futilely orders the children under their desks as the school is completely engulfed.
  • The murder of Nicholas II and the rest of the Romanovs by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution, shown in its entirety as they are all shot and stabbed to death with bayonets. All while the children scream and cross themselves, knowing that there really is no escape.
• Overshadowed by Controversy: Season 4 received backlash from British reviewers and historians for being historically inaccurate with some accusing Peter Morgan of taking too much artistic license to portray the Royal Family in a negative light. The show's portrayal of Charles and Diana's marriage is the breaking point of the controversy where some accuse the writers of vilifying Charles and Camilla. This reached the point where UK Secretary of Culture, Oliver Dowden, suggested to Netflix to put a fiction warning at the beginning as a disclaimer. However, Netflix didn't budge, stating they trust their viewers to know the difference between fiction and reality.
• Questionable Casting:
  • To be expected with the recasting of the entire main cast. It can be more than a little jarring to see Olivia Colman bemoaning the ravages of age, when Queen Elizabeth herself would've only been in her late thirties.
  • The decision to keep John Lithgow as Winston Churchill significantly aged up, while recasting other fan favorite characters like Alex Jennings's Edward, has been controversial. Lithgow’s reprisal can be excused though given Churchill's role amounts to a single quick scene, so bringing in a new actor for what amounts to a cameo could be seen as doing them a disservice, especially since Lithgow’s portrayal would definitely be a Tough Act to Follow.
  • Michael C. Hall as John F. Kennedy seemed like a good idea on paper, but his performance, combined with the "rougher" characterization of JFK, has been met with some criticism.
  • While this is downplayed by their actual performances, some viewers found it distracting how Princess Margaret went from being played by the 5'7 Vanessa Kirby to the 5'2 Helena Bonham Carter. Interestingly, Despite Kirby playing her first, Bonham Carter is much closer to her actual height. Similarly, Princess Diana goes from being played by the 5'8 Emma Corrin to the 6'3 Elizabeth Debicki (both being taller than the actual Diana, though much more so in Debicki's case).
  • While his performance as Mountbatten in the middle seasons was well received, a few fans think that Charles Dance should've been cast as Philip in the show's final years, as he bears a noticeable resemblance to the real life prince around that time.
  • Most of the casting choices for the final two seasons caught some flack, but Dominic West as Charles probably got hit the hardest, as many considered him to be too handsome and charming to be convincing as the prince. Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce were regarded as too old, with the latter additionally criticized as coming across too warm and grandfatherly compared to previous actors. Marcia Warren as the Queen Mother was regarded as too generic and slender for the role. Ultimately, while acting talent of the new cast was unimpeachable, too many of them were seen as poor fits visually or stylistically, especially compared to earlier casting choices for the royal family.
  • The final actor for Prince Harry, Luther Ford, was criticized for not looking like the real Harry at all, as well as for being too old for the role. The latter was especially jarring because of the timing of the switch—the change was made for the second half of the season, but mere weeks had passed in-universe, resulting in the 23-year-old Ford playing a 13-year-old Harry (the casting switch for William also got some criticism for this, but the difference for him was much less dramatic). Many wondered why the previous actor, who actually was 13, couldn't have continued to play the role for at least one more episode. Hilariously, Ford bears enough of a resemblance to actor Eddie Redmayne that some fans thought he actually was playing a young version, which actually would have been realistic given that Redmayne and Prince William were actually classmates at Eton at the time.
• Seasonal Rot: The closer the show has got to the present day, the more criticism it has drawn for its use of Artistic Licence – History. One advantage the show had when it started was that few viewers knew much about the post-war events being dramatised, and most of the people involved were dead. By the time it got to the 1980s it was dealing with events and people (particularly Diana and Margaret Thatcher) who many viewers not only remembered well, but still harboured strong views about. With the public events being so familiar, the drama came to rely more on the private conversations which had always been highly speculative, making the show feel less like the historical drama is started out as, and more like a soap opera in which most of the characters happen to be real people. Some of whom, like John Major, have criticised the show for depicting real people having conversations that never took place in Real Life (Major himself was especially critical of "Queen Victoria Syndrome" as he and Charles never discussed the opinion poll at the centre of the episode, which was actually published before he became Prime Minister).
• Special Effect Failure: The stag in "The Balmoral Test" is quite an obvious piece of CGI, not helped by how the episode keeps cutting back to it as if showing it off.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: Series 3 underwent a recast of the Queen, Phillip, Princess Margaret and many of the other main cast members (though not Winston Churchill, who is simply aged-up for the one scene he's in). Whilst the casting and performances of the undoubtedly skilled new actors (like Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter) have generally been met with praise in the press, some fans thought that the recast has lent series three the feeling of a completely different show, as opposed to a continuation. Not helping matters was the fact that most of the actors being much more famous than their predecessors in their roles led to the recast being accused of Stunt Casting, to the point some fans decried a Seasonal Rot (though in fairness to the actors, the season was accompanied with a succession of heavy-going plot-lines and some oddly missed-out historical events). That being said, the news of another recast for Series 5 were much less divisive in comparison, implying that the novelty of the Series 3 recast itself in the first place might've been a factor in its reception.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: The Crown proves its own thesis in a lot of ways: in the royal family, people's lives are only as important as the impact they have on the throne and its current and future occupants.
  • Anne. While she has a supporting role in Season 3, as detailed in They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot, they skipped over everything to do with her marriage, her attempted kidnapping, and her Olympic participation. This has been particularly controversial given that some people regarded Philip's Day in the Limelight episode as being pretty boring, dealing as it did with his less-than-thrilling realisation that the astronauts who went to the Moon came across as being just regular guys rather than big heroes. As far as Anne is concerned, it's especially telling that her husband Mark and children Peter and Zara are barely even mentioned in Season 4, with even the brief glimpses of Sarah Ferguson being more substantial.
  • While he does get a few strong showcases, some fans felt like this way about Charles in season 3, as despite being a very well received portrayal, he’s noticeably absent from most of the season. This is greatly rectified by Season 4 essentially making him a Deuteragonist with his mother.
  • He still appears and gets at least one scene of note in every episode, but Philip winds up being far more Out of Focus in Season 4 than he ever was in previous seasons, with his Character Development seemingly at peace throughout the season. Fortunately, he helps close out the finale with a powerhouse scene that potentially sets his character up for some strong drama in the next season.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • Season 3 skips from 1972 to '77 in its final episode, bypassing a ton of juicy stuff like Margaret's highly publicized dinner with Peter Sellers after he'd lied about being sick to ditch the film he was making, the attempted kidnapping of Anne, and Anne's participation as an equestrian in the Olympics. Unfortunately, while many of these events would make great television on their own, they likely wouldn't serve the overarching story. Anne unfortunately suffers the most from this (her marriage, children and divorce would be greatly overshadowed by Charles's; her attempted kidnapping, while arguably more dramatic than the Queen's encounter with Michael Fagan, was probably too similar of an idea and has less narrative potential.)
  • The season 4 premiere depicts Mountbatten's assassination by the IRA, but the rest of the season ignores the Troubles completely, leaving out events such as the 1981 hunger strike and the 1984 assassination attempt against Thatcher and her cabinet at the Party conference in Brighton.
  • The miners' strikes during Thatcher's tenure were equally long and infamous as those under her predecessors, and Arthur Scargill was already introduced in Season 3; the difference is that Thatcher wound up with a Curb-Stomp Battle on her favour against him and the NUM. Not so much as a mention of it is made in Season 4.
  • Seasons 5 and 6 noticeably dial back the portrayal of then-current events and politics, which many viewers enjoyed, in favor of focusing mainly on the royals' interpersonal relationships. John Major's scenes are mostly about him discussing Charles and Diana's relationship and there's no attempt made at contextualizing his heavy defeat in 1997 to Tony Blair’s New Labour campaign after the Conservatives had been in charge for almost two decades. Blair gets A Day in the Limelight episode in the second part of season six, and passing references to 9/11 and the Iraq War are made in the final episodes, but the balance still feels off compared to the previous seasons.
  • Some viewers believed that the natural endpoint for the show would have been the Queen's eventual death, and that the show felt unfinished ending nearly twenty years earlier at the wedding of Charles and Camilla. Given that the real Elizabeth died very late into the show's run, it would have required an adjustment, but a significant portion of her tenure was left uncovered. In particular, the second half of the final season sets up storylines for William and Harry that it was never intending to see to fruition.
• Too Cool to Live: An unfortunate real life example with King George VI. A kind, well meaning man who never wanted nor was meant to be king, but he still accepted the throne when it was thrust on him, and against all odds became a universally beloved leader. Unfortunately his illness caused by his position's pressure (leading him to smoke even more that he already did) leads to his death before the second episode is even finished, breaking the hearts the family and subjects that he loved so dearly.
• Tough Act to Follow: The first part of Season 6 struggles in the shadow of The Queen, also written by Peter Morgan, which covers the same period of history specifically the fallout following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
• Unconventional Learning Experience: Given that the show is loosely based on true events surrounding Queen Elizabeth II's reign, many viewers, particularly those who are not from the UK, became interested in the country's history and began researching events depicted. For example, a lot of non-British viewers were unaware of the Aberfan disaster until they watched the titular episode, and there are probably many Generation Z viewers who were unaware of the extent of the popularity of Diana, Princess of Wales. However, the show raised many issues over its historical accuracy, which even led the UK Secretary of Culture to demand that Netflix to put a fiction warning at the beginning as a disclaimer, which Netflix opted not to do, not helping establish the lines between history and dramatization much.
• Unexpected Character: Sydney Johnson, the valet of Edward, Duke of Windsor, briefly appears in season three as a background character. It was a bit of a surprise that he's the focus of season five's "Mou Mou", which delves into his backstory, and much of the episode is a two-hander with him and Mohamed Al-Fayed.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic:
  • The episodes about Edward VIII's death become a hagiography about him being a forward thinker who could have been one of the greatest kings ever if the establishment hadn't forced him out over their terror of the changes he'd make...while we're apparently just supposed to completely ignore his kowtowing to the Nazis that the show itself spent an entire episode on.
  • Margaret's outrage over the Unperson treatment given to her cousins Katherine and Nerissa loses a lot of sympathy when after getting her confrontation with her mother out of the way, she then doesn't seem to actually do anything about it, not even so much as paying them a visit. She ends up looking like all she cared about was being able to get on a moral high horse over the rest of the family, rather than anything about the women themselves.
• Values Dissonance: One of the plots in Season 2 involves Mike Parker's wife requiring proof of his adultery in order to sue him for divorce, something that seems extremely unreasonable for people living in places with no-fault divorce, where neither party has to prove any wrongdoing on the part of their spouse in order to successfully get a divorce. Many countries enacted this reform in the second half of the 20th century, but the UK only passed legislation allowing it in 2022 (five years after the season was released). It must be noted that even 30 years after the Parkers' divorce that Diana was urged to turn a blind eye to Charles's indiscretions.
• Willing Suspension of Disbelief: Yes, the characters switching actors between seasons results in some very unrealistic aging. But, given the potential Narm of having the younger cast continue to play these characters decades beyond their age and the high level of talent in the replacement cast, most fans can accept the change. Helps that the very first scene of season 3 hangs a lampshade on this.

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