The Crown #BriFri
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Last week, I reviewed four books set in England that I enjoyed recently. Sim’s last post before leaving for her European adventure was about the actor Rupert Penry Jones, especially his appearance in Silk, and the related sites she expects to see on her trip. Jean reviewed The Valley of Song by Elizabeth Goudge, a book that took some effort to get her hands on. Tina reviewed Agatha Christie’s classic, And Then There Were None.
Claire Foy portrays Queen Elizabeth II as she practices wearing the crown.
I suppose it’s usual for most people to miss out on the “history” that happens in the decade or two before they were born. I knew from things that my parents said that Princess Margaret had some reputation for wildness in her youth, but had no idea about the details. I learned, in a history class, about the 1936 abdication of King Edward VIII so that he could become the Duke of Windsor and marry Wallis Simpson, but I didn’t know how recent that would have seemed to young Queen Elizabeth.
Was anyone else discomfited by knowing that these people are still alive and that their memories may or may not match some of the private moments portrayed on the screen? This week, Prince Philip, at age 95, announced his retirement from public life later this year. I wonder about the accuracy of his difficult adjustment to the life of Prince Consort that was shown in The Crown.
According to the Wikipedia article, The Crown is intended to run for six seasons. New actors will be cast every two seasons for the recurring characters so that they age with the times. I’ll be fascinated with how that works. I’ve been quite enjoying Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth and I may be sad to see a different actress in the role.
Have you watched The Crown? What did you think?
Mr Books & I surprised ourselves by how much we enjoyed this series. It was a fascinating blend of fact and imaginative interpretation. By the end of the season, the opening credits had given the series a real Game of Thrones epic feel!!
I’m deleting gated to hear there are more to come. I wonder if Helen Mirren will reprise her role as Queen for the older episodes?
*delighted!
Preemptive text gets me every time 😬
You always alert me to new books and shows that I know I would love to try. I had not heard of the Crown, I love how you described it. Also I have not seen a show where they age the actors appropriately, that would be very interesting too.
I wondered the same thing about the liberties producers take with real life events. If you are a public figure I suppose you get used to seeing your name in everything from real news reports to tabloids though.
FYI: there is a site called History vs Hollywood and they explain the facts verses what is depicted in a movie. Love this site but don’t read about a movie before you have watched it. Too many spoilers. Here is the one for The Crown and I see they had very appropriate selections for the actors.
http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/the-crown/
We watched Hidden Figures recently, excellent movie and highly recommended, this site explains how much was accurate.
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