TV by Royal appointment: The Crown and Prince Andrew's interview put monarchy top of the agenda

 From the politics to the performances, why are we so fixated with TV shows about the monarchy? 
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Ellen E. Jones20 November 2019

On Saturday evening, there was only one thing to watch. Emily Maitlis’s unflinching interrogation of a brazenly unapologetic Prince Andrew was appointment television — the only thing that anyone was talking about for the rest of the weekend.

Except, that is, for The Crown, whose third season arrived in its entirety — and to great fanfare — the very next morning. Monarchy, both fictional and gruesomely real, was topping the news agenda.

The House of Windsor is not the only monarchy that has become a must-watch in recent weeks. Timothée Chalamet’s turn as a contemplative Hal in Netflix’s The King might have threatened the Entente Cordiale (the French are, reportedly, a bit miffed about the historical inaccuracies), but audiences are beguiled by its take on the 15th-century warrior king.

And Dame Helen Mirren’s ball-busting Catherine The Great has generated almost as much hype as her Oscar-winning performance as Her Majesty herself, in 2006’s The Queen.

Netflix: The Crown - Series 3

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As rarefied worlds go, royalty is the most rarefied of all, and yet audiences are transfixed. Why? This is how the streaming services have made royal-watchers of us all.

History lessons

What was the significance of the Suez Crisis? How were gender norms understood in the court of Louis XIV? Was the Virgin Queen really a virgin? Whatever the gaps in your history knowledge, don’t expect The Crown or Versailles or Mary Queen of Scots to fill them in for you.

They’re based on the lives of real historical figures, but the question of who gets to (screen)write history is ever controversial. That’s illustrated by this latest row over Netflix’s The King, starring Hollywood heartthrob Chalamet as Henry V. Grumpy French historians say it “deforms a reality already deformed by Shakespeare” and “leaves a taste of Francophobia”, while audiences shrug and continue to admire Tim’s cool new haircut.

The King: Timothée Chalamet in the much anticipated film
Netflix

We know that dramas aren’t documentaries, but it’s the drama that captures our imagination and gets us googling in search of more information about what did really happen. So maybe The King is a little light on historical detail, but you can’t deny that

it gets to a deeper, emotional truth. Like the fact that Catherine of Valois, aka Lily-Rose Depp, and the King, aka Chalamet, would really fancy each other, as proven by the fact that they’re now dating in real life.

No-politics protocol

There are always contemporary parallels, should you choose to draw them, but why on earth would you want to do that? These shows float far above the fray of modern politics and that’s why we love them. Afternoon tea amid the comforting chintz of a Sixties Buckingham Palace feels like a holiday.

Even on the unavoidable political question — should we scrap the royal family? — these dramas somehow manage to stay as dutifully impartial as a constitutional monarch. An ardent royalist watching The Crown finds their affections intensified, of course, but it doesn’t follow that republicans will go the same way.

Her Majesty: Queen Elizabeth during a hospital visit (Getty Images )
Getty Images

If anything, this opportunity to empathise with the Queen et al as fellow human beings, makes us detest their gilded cage all the more. Not only is this institution a symbol of enduring social inequality, paid for in part by our taxes, but even the royals themselves don’t seem to be enjoying it.

The coronation of movie stars

Heavy lies the crown … except on an actor’s head. We knew Chalamet could act before The King, but did we really appreciate his star quality? Watch how Chalamet moves as Henry V — like he owns the place (because he does), like all eyes are on him (because they are) and like he’ll be bringing this same energy to every red carpet event come awards season (because, oh he most definitely will).

Playing royal separates the merely talented from the true stars and you need only look to the Oscars for the proof. Regal roles have resulted in awards recognition for Kenneth Branagh (Henry V), Dame Judi Dench (Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth I) Olivia Colman (Queen Anne), Helena Bonham Carter (the Queen Mother), Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth I) and Colin Firth (George VI) — and those are just the most recent examples.

Acting Royalty: Dame Helen Mirren in Catherine the Great (SKY ATLANTIC)
Sky Atlantic

You can hardly blame Dame Helen for choosing to specialise in imperial women of rank: she received her first Oscar nomination for playing Queen Charlotte in the Madness of King George (1994), won in 2007 for Elizabeth II in The Queen and can currently be seen as Russia’s Catherine The Great on NowTV.

All in the mind

We all feel like the absolute monarchs of our own lives, with a divine right to rule. Or, in some cases of low self-steem, at least claimants to the throne. It’s this fundamental psychological insight that every fairy story about kings and queens, princess and princesses shares.

It’s also what’s explored in a show like Amazon Prime’s The Romanoffs, an anthology series in which each episode’s characters are connected by the common belief that they’re descended from Tsar Nicholas II.

So while the problems of palace-dwellers seem far removed from our ordinary lives, royal dramas show us they’re not really. Who doesn’t know what it feels like to worry about a child being bullied at school? Or feel simultaneously proud and envious of a more successful sibling? If it’s the unrelatable #RichPeopleProblems you’re after, you should be watching Succession.

Soap opera

Does Bonham Carter’s performance in the new season of The Crown remind you of anyone? Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon sure, but isn’t there also something of Kat Slater from EastEnders in the way she pines after her man while glamorously hungover? Plus HRH’s fondness for backcombed hair and bawdy jokes suggests she shares some dramatic DNA with Corrie’s Bet Lynch. And this isn’t just a Princess Margaret thing.

Royal presence: Helena Bonham Carter in The Crown
Netflix / Des Willie

By tracing the stories of a single family over several generations — their fallouts, their rivalries and their romances —royal dramas are mimicking the time-honoured appeal of a much more familiar TV form. Yep, that’s right, royal dramas are just soap operas with nicer jewellery — perfect for cultural snobs. Though, admittedly, even the boldest soap writer would baulk at this latest “Prince Andrew in Pizza Express” storyline.

#JOMO

These days, if you manage to find the time to like a few friends’ Insta posts before Wednesday, it counts as a sociable week. But, frankly, is a Friday night in really so bad, when there’s so much quality TV to catch up on? At least you’re not the only one who senses their adult responsibilities have transformed them into a friendless hermit.

The Crown’s Lilibet regularly frets that she’s “the dreary one” compared with her vivacious younger sister, but ultimately accepts her duty. It’s like when Falstaff/Joel Edgerton, sulkily observes when Henry V/Chalamet finally turns up for that long-planned catch-up pint: “The King has no friends. The King has only followers and foe.” Royals, eh? They’re just like us.

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