王冠第一季

作为Netflix的首部“英剧”，担任编剧的Peter Morgan早在2008年就因为操刀相同题材的影片《女王》为大家所知。

《王冠》的诞生同样可以追溯到2013年由他编剧的戏剧《女王召见》（The Audience），这部剧展现了伊丽莎白二世在位60年中和历任英国首相们（从丘吉尔到卡梅伦）每周御前报告的场景。

没错，这部13年度热剧《女王召见》正是电视剧《王冠》的底本——戏剧导演Stephen Daldry同是电视剧集导演之一，Netflix为此掷下重金，号称网飞史上投资最高剧集，预期把女王自1940年代末继位前夕起的生涯用每季10年的跨度展现给观众。

戏剧《女王召见》在头一个10年里（从1947年到1956年），伊丽莎白成婚，乔治六世去世，女王继位，伦敦大雾，公主结婚风波，苏联氢弹试爆，女王出访英联邦，丘吉尔卸任……这一连串和英国王室关联的事件中，我们窥见了什么？

菲利普亲王时常闹情绪，虽然情有可原但越到后来他看起来越不像一位称职的丈夫，在重压之下他似乎选择了逃避。

女王的私人秘书汤米（Tommy Lascelles）包办一切的古板“老父”形象，真的非常讨人厌。

龙钟老态的丘吉尔在战后不像是一个英雄，而是个自大的老顽固，在52年应对伦敦大雾时犯了大错，更可气的是，这场危机中“拯救”他的是秘书的意外死亡。

至于副手艾登，也就是下一任首相，有野心却无能力，还是个药罐头，虽然在历史上对他的评价确实不高。

本剧讨喜的角色似乎不多，或是为了满足观众对王室的窥视欲，或是为了让剧集更可看，他们个性都很突出，可这样并没有让人感觉更好。

最明显的例子是剧中的温莎公爵，温莎王室的亲戚们大半都厌恨他，他是个不负责任的败家子，他的私情让王室权威岌岌可危。

更有甚者，老去的温莎公爵开始做起了曾经皇帝的旧梦，对过往地位的怀念让他对如今的王室更加眼红愤恨。

——这一切，如果站在“王权”的角度看并无不妥，女王毕竟还是对这位叔叔给予了最低限度的尊重。

剧中温莎公爵的形象，实则树立了一个王权荣耀的对立面，似乎想告诉我们，辜负无上荣耀的人最终只会落得丧家犬般的下场。

这也很好地说明了，为何与王权关系不大的温莎公爵，在剧中戏份如此之多。

温莎公爵这个角色不仅是被黑，还十分刻意地安排在那里，以显示出“崇高”和“背离崇高”之间悬殊的距离。

但在我看来，这反而使他成为《王冠》中的绝对例外。

他几乎每次出场都语带讥讽，一提祖国和家庭就是彻骨的阴冷。

还在通过电视机观看加冕典礼时嘴炮连连：“你会变魔术时，怎么会希望别人一眼看穿”。

通览全剧后，难道他的语句不是最毒辣和戳中要害的吗？

同时，他也见缝插针地被安排成为化解两起事件（阻止女王子嗣改姓和争取公主婚事）的关键人物，难道他是一时诋毁王权一时又劝说女王维护王权的跳梁小丑？

没有这么简单，谁都知道他并非没有坚定立场，他一再宣示自己的对立，所以他的出场无非是为自己而已。

最微妙的是，这位被加以强调的不负责任的公爵，孤立于王权之外的人，居然仍对女王有着强大的说服力！

他自称没有国土的王，向另一位王宣教并立下预言。

若从这个角度看，剧中没有其他王室成员敢像他那般地破格做事和说话（唯一敢爱敢恨的玛格丽特公主每在彰显个性时就立即被遏制）——因为那样做会被告知破坏了王权。

这让温莎公爵比伊丽莎白二世看起来更像一个人，他是真正从枷锁中挣脱出来的，他的生命更加敞开和充满未知，就算为了钱写写专栏接接采访，又何尝不可呢？

报纸对公主恋情的报道和“例外”的对比，恰恰让全剧表现女王个人和王权之间张力的意图显得尴尬，编剧想通过想象和史实的结合来丰满她的个性，但实际上王权在这两面之中总是压倒性的。

这不是在过程和抵抗中展现出西绪福斯式的生命力量，而是一切尚未开始，就看到了结局，一再预演和服从，其中的挣扎甚至有些假模假样了。

英国《独立报》（The Independent）对《王冠》的评论中写道：“简而言之，如果把这部剧集拆开来，本质上只看见在一个房间里，一连串的男人在谈论一个女人应该和不应该做什么，当然在这之前，他们会礼貌地在这位女人面前坐下并提出自己的建议。

”这样看来，《王冠》只是在重复上演父权制的把戏（即便温莎公爵也不外如是），尤其是，这次掌权的正是一个女人。

女王的角色似乎令人同情，因为在这套系统中越往上走，越失去个人自由——潜在的呼喊是：根本没有人想当国王/女王。

但总体上来说，本剧只关心“王冠”，它强调王冠是一种责任，乃至是神圣的责任，它也在叙述这个新生的王是如何一步步让王权压过自身，最终“在其位，谋其职”的——而不是两者之间调和的可能。

“王冠”还有效地隔绝了人民的踪影，在本剧为数不多出现民众意见的时刻，我们反而发现人民拥戴“动摇王权”的公主和上校，那么贵族和政客们每天念叨的王权要垮，是谁的王权呢？

真是英国人民的吗？

本剧暂未给出任何可能的回答。

正如剧中所有冲突都被一股力量所钳制，剧中人物真实可触的灵魂也极其有限——没有任何反思的自我，也看不出什么孤独，只是一直在说：真的很对不起，但那是规矩，我不能碰。

在夹缝中填充进的人物个性最终触及到的是真实的王权，在现实中，女王不会也不能对英国议会做出的决定表示异议。

但同时，王室并不是受害者，它握有一定的权力。

使得本剧在各个层面上都折射出王权在现代的尴尬处境，甚至隐含着更广的价值冲突：曾经那嵌入的，统一的世界和如今这祛魅的，多元的世界。

既然一种荣耀树立起来了、稳固了，它不可避免地描述王权衰微和危机。

如果《王冠》的后续剧集还有什么令人期待地方，那就是当60年代之后王室面对更多丑闻和外界攻击时，王室家族会有怎样的反应？

还是拭目以待吧。

丘吉尔80大寿演讲和他的肖像画参考资料：The Crown writer Peter Morgan: 'I bet the queen would've voted Brexit', via The GuardianThe Audience – review, via The GuardianThe Crown review: Sumptuous but empty, Netflix's latest fails its queen, via The Independentt

美国总统大选尘埃落定，Donald Trump赢得了这场权力的游戏，坐上了总统宝座。

消息一出，美帝人民立即陷入了“冰火两重天”。

Trump的支美帝人民在请求英国女王伊丽莎白二世，执政美国“史上第一个女总统”的梦想破灭，那就请英国女王执政喽这部剧就是一部关于伊丽莎白二世的“纪录片”。

结果，我无法自拔，一口气看完了10集。

一. 良好的制作Netflix在这部剧上可谓下了血本：光第一季就花了1亿多美金，平均到每一集，手笔已经超过《权力的游戏》。

二.演技不必多说演员阵容好到爆炸Clair Foy：她在剧中扮演年轻的伊丽莎白二世,看这英伦范的红唇第十一任《神秘博士》Matt Smith:剧中扮演伊丽莎白二世的丈夫，菲利普亲王Jared Harries:扮演伊丽莎白的父亲，乔治六世John Lithgow丘吉尔的大智慧完全被表现出来历史的细节都被重新摆出来我们看到的每一幕都是历史三. 独到选材伊丽莎白这个看起来和蔼的小老太太真的就坐的这么安稳？

她难道就没有经过一些世事？

她真的就如同电视里的得体？

座位待机时间最长的女王她经历的比我们想象的多的多她经常穿着不同颜色的得体的套装经常没事就给人们颁发奖章偶尔人们会想起她的大名鼎鼎的儿媳戴安娜王妃所以我们就根本不了解这个小老太太欲戴王冠必承其重这句话总在伊丽莎白上再合适不过王冠值得一看

女王形象被搬上银幕多次，这次有点儿不一样。

网飞投资1.4亿英镑的大制作《王冠》，故事丰富饱满，画质清晰感人，评分居高不下。

那些历史上真实的场景，那些教课书里的枯燥人名，一下子活过来，在眼前铺满，好像一伸手就能抓住，一伸脚就能走进。

这剧未有热血沸腾，也无刀光剑影，却可以叫人耐下心，品咂其中滋味。

换个俗气的抒情点的剧名，它还可以叫“女王的爱与哀愁”。

女王不再只是高不可攀的掌权者，她还是有血有肉的女人。

戴上皇冠的那一刻。

昔日养尊处优的公主，转眼成为政事缠身的一国之君。

在外，她沉静内敛，她面带微笑，她挥手致意，她君临天下。

回家，她有小情绪，有大烦恼，有各种纠结和不如意。

但她知道，既要维护女王的形象，还得过好自己的日子。

尽管王权时时给她添堵，但她却不能甩手不管。

这是一个宿命般的故事，也像一个宿命般的结局。

一王冠易带，其重难承。

伊丽莎白二世加冕礼当天所戴的王冠，总重2.2公斤，那一顶帽子置于头顶，闪闪发光艳羡世人，却也真的可以压到头疼：那重量一方面来自于王冠的材质，一方面来自于身上所担的责任。

此前对女王的总体印象，基本是“没有实权的君主，过优裕的生活，享民众的爱戴，忙时接见外国元首，出席各种庆典，闲来种花养草、含饴弄孙，有时要对付八卦小报，还要捂住家庭的丑闻。

”看完全剧才觉得，活在世上，谁都不易，自带神圣光环的女王亦无例外。

普通人尚有大哭大笑的权利，女王不行；普通人还有逛街购物的乐趣，女王不行。

她像一趟被预设了程序的列车，只能按照既定的轨道前行。

爱默生说，要么享有权力，要么享受乐趣。

做女王，天生便被剥夺了乐趣，她所享有的，亦不过虚化的权力。

她要处理好与政府的关系，还要不断地和丈夫妥协，出访时则代表大英帝国的形象，在家时还得尽家庭的责任。

她是母仪天下的一国之君，她还是妻子、母亲、女儿、姐姐，君主的权力，她所享不多，普通人的烦恼，她一样没少。

伊丽莎白二世超长待机的一辈子，就是做平衡的功夫：在女王与女人间，在传统和现代间，在人民和政客间，在亲情和责任间。

若让她选择，伊丽莎白二世最想做的，大概是相夫教子的农场主妇，或英国驻马耳他的军官夫人。

她竟然没有可能安排自己的人生——这是独属于女王的悲哀。

二女王非一日炼成。

最叫我讶异的，是女王的一身本领。

她可以驾车飞奔，她可以骑马驰骋，她熟读英国宪法，又精通于穿衣戴帽的日常妆扮。

她还是赌马高手，有经济头脑，通过赛马成功赚取过不少散碎银子。

身为温莎王室的长公主，第一顺位继承人，自小被父亲乔治六世严格要求，同样是女儿，她承受的是未来女王的训练，妹妹玛格丽特则被视为父亲的小甜心。

她稳重、老练、循规蹈矩，玛格丽特放纵、独立、个性十足。

二战爆发时，女王还是个13岁的少女。

她和妹妹玛格丽特奔赴苏格兰巴尔莫勒尔海滩避难。

有人建议两位公主应去加拿大避难，母亲伊丽莎白王后坚决反对：孩子们不能在没有我的情况下离开，我不能在没有国王的情况下离开，而国王不能在任何情况下离开。

1940年，14岁的伊丽莎白公主首次发表战时广播演说，鼓励避难中的儿童。

1945年，19岁的伊丽莎白公主说服父亲，加入后方防卫支援部队“国内妇女支援部队”，成为伊丽莎白·温莎名誉少尉，她学会了开车、修车，是王室第一个经过正式训练的汽车修理员。

21岁生日时，她向整个英联邦做广播演说，宣誓将终身为英联邦和帝国人民服务。

初登王位，与丘吉尔召开每周一次的御前会议，发现自己对政治一无所知，经常插不上话，表现不够自信，便请了一位家庭教师，恶补各种知识。

在强势的丘吉尔面前，她需要保持女王的形象和自信。

女王还得有超人的精力和旺盛的体力。

在位60余年，伊丽莎白二世出访海外300多次，主持超过100次国宴，收到过350万封信件，授予了近40万个荣誉头衔和奖项。

她每周要与首相举行一次会晤，讨论国家事务。

所以受民众爱戴，不仅仅因为她是女王，还有她的人格魅力，她的不服输的精神，以及她好学不倦的人生。

三成为女王，孰知是幸运还是不幸。

不羁的丈夫不愿意接受形式大于内容的生活，不愿意降低自己的尊严，与她产生各种摩擦和对抗。

他在外还干下了许多风流韵事。

母亲感觉到女儿长大成人，独挡一面，自己不再被需要，母女之情渐渐疏离。

妹妹恋上了离婚的男人，她同情妹妹，却受制于传统约束做出拆散这一对恋人的决定。

远在法国的伯父也来凑热闹，不停地制造各种麻烦。

剪不断，理还乱。

面对层出不穷的问题，女王也有失控时候。

她大喊大叫，和丈夫吵翻，她质问丈夫敢不敢像她一样发誓“你是我唯一爱的那个人”；妹妹玛格丽特愤恨地咒骂她，讽刺她是没有个性的女人，妒忌父亲给自己的爱更多，女王顿时变成争宠的小女孩，反唇相讥，怒目而向。

冷静下来，她总是能够出于责任和担当，做出冷静的决定，尽管那决定看上去那么冷血，又那么没有人性。

她的痛苦无人可懂。

她可以为帝国形象牺牲家庭，但在必要时，她维护家庭的决心也绝不退让。

她争取为自己的儿女冠夫姓，她为丈夫谋得加冕礼主席的职位以照顾他的体面，她努力维护妹妹追寻真爱的权利。

这部剧NB之处在，它未一味地强调牺牲，凸显伟大，也着意渲染女王作为女人的一面。

她有她的缺点，她有她的个性，她有普通人都有的感情。

这也是让观众能够产生亲近的原因。

四尽管是被虚权的君主，她却不愿只做一个摆设。

她不想要既定安排的秘书，想要换个现代点的年轻人，改变沉闷无趣的传统；面对强势的丘吉尔，她以沉静老练的语气斥其不从国家利益着想，隐瞒了患病的事实；她出国访问行程满满，脸已笑僵也不肯休息，往脸上打松驰针时毫不犹豫；……据说这剧集将拍六季。

只这第一季便已征服众多观众。

不知女王超长待机的一生，究竟还有多少精彩故事可续。

对未来的五季充满期待。

国内的剧，或台湾，日本的电视剧呈现的一般问题，总是考虑用最低制作成本为制剧第一优先，把大多数钱花到演员身上，艺人演员与制作费的比例常常在４：１以上，做出来的影片就像把芭比娃娃放在便利店的萤光灯管下拍摄，明明是粗糙画质与低劣演技却仍沾沾自喜的做了一个剧。

布鲁斯喜欢王冠这个剧的精致感，像电影般的经营剧情与画面。

打一开场就吸睛，不会想休息或转台，终于在这两周一堆烂剧停停看看的呕吐过程中，布鲁斯重生起来。

Crow是一开始就把规格定高了，所以从演员，制景，色调，历史风，重编真实历史事件，在大事件上描绘女王与每个角色的世界，看起来就特别舒服与入戏。

才看到第七集，布鲁斯就等不及要写感想了。

第一季的第七集，伊莉莎白因为对于自己从未受过正式教育而感到无法跟大臣，外国宾使流畅对应辩驳，因此找了个通识的导师，在一个政治的危机之中，伊莉莎白女王以为应该像原本一样，对发生的认识事情都保持沉默，但导师提醒她：你是对的一方，他们是错的去教训别人无关教育水准与才智这是诚信与原则问题你说你没有知识才能去对抗那些聪明人不，你有的。

你从小学宪法，比任何人都懂宪法这是你所有的知识，也是你唯一需要的知识运用宪法来做为你的基础好好的斥训那些大臣与首相

所以剧情结尾就是，伊莉莎白女王首次获得首相与大臣的尊重，有情也有理的把上位者教训了，而不失论点与礼节。

女王踏出的一小步，是她个人生涯的一大步，当然也是历史上的一大步。

最近在一个案子中，有个年轻制片，在事业与事情的处理上有些困扰，问了布鲁斯很多问题。

布鲁斯的回答，跟导师很像的。

做电影，可以是导演想怎么做就怎么做，纪录片是呈现你想呈现的真实，但广告片就要绕在广告核心目的上，我们开会资料最重要的ppm资料上，为什么呢？

广告片最终目的不是吹客户牛逼，抱代理代理商的大腿用的。

广告片是要完成“广告目的”，达成宣传上的目的，而这个目的是我们所有事情的决策与执行指标。

所以ppm资料上广告的核心目的，就是制片手中的宪法。

以之为规矩，画出方圆。

所以在广告片的生产链上，即使只是一个制片，还是可以站得住脚，在大家都该坚守的规矩之内，去跟客户提理由与想法，而不是什么都听客户的。

这想法一点也不反骨，而是诚信与原则问题，是一种敬业精神。

布鲁斯 杨

在看这部剧之前，看过爱德华八世和辛普森夫人有关的电影和书籍、也看过关于玛格丽特公主和汤森的的故事，关于菲利普亲王的花边新闻也看过一些。

丘吉尔的自传也读完了。

《国王的演讲》也看过了。

只是关于女王的故事没有看过。

对于伊丽莎白二世的事迹一直是模模糊糊的，在别人的故事中，她一直是底色般的存在。

常常不显眼，但一直都存在。

网上有一句经典的调侃“铁打的女王，流水的首相”，来说明伊丽莎白二世超长待机时间。

现在她已经打败维多利亚女王，成为英国历史上在位时间最长的君主。

作为那些对历史发展有影响的人物，我们的评价并不重要。

她一直在那里，我们只需要看着就好了。

特别是近几年，女王的表现越发让人觉得她简直是吉祥物般的存在，只要挥手微笑。

似乎就会收获民众的鲜花和欢呼。

在看这部剧之前，我对英国女王的印象就是这样的。

在看了这部之后，觉得那个超长待机的老太太真是不容易啊，果然权力越大，责任越大。

虽然本质上英国皇室是没有什么权利的。

欲戴皇冠，必承其重： 虽说只要挥手微笑，可是从来没有人知道脸是会笑僵的，必须通过注射治疗才能继续微笑，而注射治疗的后遗症是你可能会把汤撒出来。

找一个自己爱的人结婚，他的亲戚却妄图窃取自家的皇位。

每一个王后跪拜王是世人眼中最平常不过的事情，而王夫向女王下跪，似乎是受了天大委屈一般。

明明是把烂摊子留下，并间接害死父亲的凶手，却还要继续给他支付高昂的抚养费。

明明退位前就说不会再出现在公众面前，要过隐居生活的人，却为了金钱，向媒体爆料各种内幕。

似乎是很可靠的大臣，也偶尔会把事情处理的一团糟，在轰前任下台的时候，似乎各种计谋源源不断，对于外交上的麻烦却无能为力。

虽然这有着历史进步的原因。

女王，果然不会一个简单的工作啊，因为王权必须赢。

女王责备首相丘吉尔和他手下的这一段太精彩了。

高手过招，招招致命啊。

真正展现出女王的成长，以及如何与英国最精明的政客之间的斡旋。

我把这一段摘录下来了，值得反复体味。

对丘的下属：（沉默的几秒钟）（严肃生气的语气）我注意到上周有段时间我的首相丧失了工作能力，外交大臣也是。

你们互相串通，向我隐瞒这个消息。

（不让打断）我的职责不是统治，但是我的职责是确保正确的统治。

但要是我的大臣们撒谎、密谋、隐瞒真相，我怎么能做到。

（语调升高）你们阻碍我尽职，你们妨碍蒙骗了王权的正常运作。

你们怎么敢这样？

[how could you?]（开始打感情牌）我那过世的父亲非常器重你，他相信那句老话，“历史告诉我们，永远不要相信一个塞西尔”。

这句话非常不公平，（停顿）也许很公平。

（讽刺他未担负起这份信任）（不动声色）你可以走了。

对丘吉尔：（语气柔和平静）我只是个年轻女性，刚开始为公众服务。

我永远不会试图对一个比我年长那么多，又对这个做出过卓越贡献的人进行说教。

然而，你参加了我的加冕礼，那你就应该亲耳听到了我的庄严宣誓，我将根据相关的法律与习俗统治我的王国。

有一条习俗就是，他们选出的首相应当是身心健康的。

没人会认为这个规定太过分吧。

但是看起来过去几个星期，你的身心不够健康，而且你故意向我隐瞒这些情况。

这给我一种背叛的感觉，这种背叛不只在于我们自己与我们共同代表的政府之间所约定的那种信任，也在于我们个人之间的信任。

（这句太高超了，既点出政府与王室的信任关系，又动之以情，用个人关系增进情感拉进和老丘之间的距离）（女王走开，老丘偷偷抹泪）。

1867，沃特•巴杰特写过：“宪法有两个元素，效率与庄严。

”君主即是庄严，而政府即是效率，这两者只有在互相支撑、相互信任时，才能发挥作用。

（金句！

让我突然理解了英国君主立宪制存在的原因和意义）。

你这种破坏互信的行为是不负责任的，而且会对国家安定造成严重的后果。

（停顿了几秒钟）（话锋一转）-你现在身体好点了吗 -好些了 -Good.但是有足够好吗，可以正常工作吗（丘想回答，女王打断）我希望你给出的回答能考虑到对我的地位和工作的尊重，而不是考虑我的年龄或性别。

（让老丘不要急于回答，而是考虑清楚希望他这次能够诚实坦诚）

原文链接Series one, episode one: Wolferton SplashThe series opens with King George VI spewing blood into a lavatory pan, to indicate that he is a sick man. Before the opening credits, there is a scene in which the King invests Prince Philip, as Duke of Edinburgh. Prince Philip is described as a Prince of Greece and ‘of’ Denmark. Then the King knights him as he bestows titles on him in the wrong order, and only then gives him the Order of the Garter. There is a scene in which the King uses the ‘C’ word. We are introduced to the Prince Philip character, portrayed throughout the series as a kind of ‘Jack the Lad’, smoking a cigarette on the day before the wedding and treating it all as something of a game.This episode introduces the various themes. We see tension between the King and Prince Philip, we meet Group Captain Peter Townsend hovering amorously around Princess Margaret, and Princess Elizabeth preparing for her future role, at work with her father.At the 1947 royal wedding Prince Philip’s mother is depicted in a nun’s habit – in reality she was a civilian then and did not adopt the habit (which she wore at the Coronation) until 1948. But this allows Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) to describe her disparagingly as ‘the hun nun’. But then she calls her daughter ‘Elizabeth’ when it was always ‘Lilibet’. There are scenes in Malta of Princess Elizabeth’s carefree life, though her son, Prince Charles, was not in Malta at that time.The King has to have an operation, so we see Princess Margaret waiting anxiously with Queen Mary and the King with his doctors. There are gory scenes of the lung being removed and the lung is wrapped up in a copy of The Times (a story gleaned from Hugh Trevor-Roper’s letters). There is a scene where Sir John Weir, the well-known homeopathic doctor, informs the King of the gravity of his illness despite the operation. It is curious that this role was assigned to Weir. In reality he failed to give the King proper advice. He was even mistrusted by the admirable Dr Margery Blackie, the most distinguished of homeopathic doctors, who had little time for him.In 1948 Dermot Morrah, a respected Times writer, reported privately that the King was in danger of losing his leg: ‘One special source of anxiety is his personal physician – a homeopathic quack with a fascination for women, some of whom planted him on Edward, Prince of Wales, who bequeathed him to his successor as official medical officer. Of course they’ve called in good men as consultants, Cassidy and Learmouth especially, but this old menace is there all the time, and it was he who let the trouble go to this length before sounding the alarm.’It was as bad in 1951, in which this episode is set. Weir accompanied the King to Balmoral for the summer. The worldly doctor enjoyed himself shooting with Scottish dukes. Only when the local doctor was called in was the gravity of the King’s illness appreciated, resulting in him being whisked down to London to have his lung removed. Following that, those who understood such things realised that the King’s life was likely to be short.This episode depicts Churchill becoming Prime Minister again (in October 1951), and suggests that neither he nor the King are in good health, the King is forced to wear rouge (which was the case). In reality it is not certain how much the King was told about his state of health. The episode ends with Princess Elizabeth looking at the King’s boxes, and in a sense facing her destiny.A minor mistake: Princess Elizabeth’s car has the royal coat of arms on it. This is reserved for the monarch. Lady Churchill’s GBE riband at the wedding is too red and too wide.Series one, episode two: Hyde Park CornerEpisode 1 warned us that the King’s life was in danger. Episode 2 carries him off. It starts with Princess Elizabeth arriving in Kenya on the first leg of the proposed Commonwealth tour she is undertaking on her father’s behalf.We see the royal limousine arriving at an event and the Royal Standard fluttering on the front of it, the inference here being that Princess Elizabeth has already become Queen, but no, it is the wrong Royal Standard. Princess Elizabeth’s would have had a label of three white points. Soon afterwards a cocky Prince Philip mocks a Kikuyu chieftain for wearing a medal to which he is apparently not entitled, in fact a VC, though this is not explained. This was in February 1952 and yet Prince Philip was wearing a 1953 Coronation medal, which, arguably, might not have mattered, but for the fact that he was chiding someone else for wearing the wrong medal.As they arrive at Treetops for the fateful night of 5/6 February, the Prince Philip character does a Crocodile Dundee feat in seeing off a bull elephant. In reality there were no elephants there that day or night.The scenes in which Lord Salisbury is seen plotting to get rid of Churchill have not been well received by the Cecil family due to inaccuracies. He would never have elicited the help of Lord Mountbatten, for example. Anthony Eden did not go to Sandringham to ask the King to exercise his constitutional right to remove the Prime Minister from office on account of his incapacity to run the country properly, least of all in February 1952. Churchill himself is given a fictitious secretary called Venetia Scott, so that she can play a role in Episode 4.Following the King’s death, we see a gruesome scene in which Princess Margaret visits the body of her father during the embalming process. Churchill did not broadcast in the presence of the entire Cabinet, yet his actual words are as moving to listen to today as they surely were at the time. Tommy Lascelles, the Private Secretary, is invested with a most sinister role. He is given good lines, such as when he passes on the Queen Mother’s offer to Townsend to become her Comptroller at Clarence House: ‘I don’t expect you to accept.’Minor mistakes: It was not Lascelles who told Churchill of the King’s death, it was Sir Edward Ford; Queen Mary was told by Lady Cynthia Colville, not by a footman; it is unlikely that Princess Elizabeth had just written to her father before hearing of his death; Queen Mary did not come to Sandringham to curtsy to the new Queen (that happened at Marlborough House); there is no evidence that Lascelles caught Princess Margaret and Townsend kissing; contemporary evidence proves that the Queen Mother did not cry hysterically when she heard of the King’s death (she was far too stoical); Martin Charteris did not disappear from royal service immediately after the King’s death (he became part of the team, though no longer the new Queen’s actual Private Secretary). Some of these things are acceptable under the heading of dramatic licence.Series one, episode three: WindsorBack we go to 1936, seeing Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret playing just before their uncle, King Edward VIII, broadcasts his Abdication speech. There is no way that Queen Mary would have come into the room to see the King to try to dissuade him from broadcasting. And Mrs Simpson was not hovering in the background as he made that speech. In reality she was in Cannes. In the real abdication speech he was announced as ‘His Royal Highness Prince Edward’ not as Duke of Windsor.Presently there are many scenes involved with the aftermath of King George VI’s death, the young Queen wearing black and sometimes a black veil, and Tommy Lascelles becoming ever more the dominant figure in the Palace.Two big issues are explored to show how Prince Philip no longer has any say in the running of his family. There are many scenes of the redecoration of Clarence House, and he wants the family to stay there. He insists that the Queen puts this proposal to Churchill. The other issue is the family name. It is understood that, in real life, the Queen and Prince Philip would have preferred to stay at Clarence House, which was the perfect London home for a young family, not too big, and with a well-sized garden. Buckingham Palace has always served multiple purposes: a series of state rooms, offices for members of the Household, and the King and Queen’s rooms along a long corridor on the Constitution Hill side. It must have been a bit like living in an Edwardian hotel. But Churchill insisted that the monarch must live in the Palace, and so they moved in on 5 May 1952. The Queen Mother moved into Clarence House on 18 May 1953.The name issue was another genuine cause for Prince Philip to be upset. As seen in this episode, Lord Mountbatten, curiously dressed for dinner in his own home (Broadlands) as an Admiral, boasts, with some justification, that the House of Mountbatten now reigns in Britain. Normally the male who marries a Queen Regnant gives his name to the new house, hence Queen Victoria was the last Queen of the House of Hanover which became Saxe-Coburg when she married Prince Albert in 1840. Prince Ernst August of Hanover was at Mountbatten’s table in 1952 and did not like what he heard. He informed Queen Mary who called for Jock Colville, then Private Secretary to Winston Churchill. The Prime Minister duly informed the Queen that the Royal House must be called the House of Windsor. There is a fictional scene in which the Queen reads out this declaration to the Privy Council.It is true that Prince Philip was livid about this though, in reality, he wanted it called the House of Edinburgh, rather than Mountbatten, the preferred choice of his ever-manipulative uncle. Harold Macmillan recorded that Prince Philip wrote a well-reasoned memorandum making his case, but the Government would not countenance the Mountbatten name being used. In opposing Prince Philip, ministers such as Macmillan were keen to send ‘a shot across his bows’, to keep the young consort in his place.The Duke of Windsor comes over for his brother’s funeral, and the series makes much of the newly styled Queen Mother’s hostility to him. The Duke of Windsor also wants various things. There is a lot of bargaining in this episode. The Queen asks Churchill to do her a favour by informing the Cabinet about the Mountbatten name, claiming that she is keeping him in office by agreeing to a delayed Coronation. In fact the Coronation was always planned for June 1953 as it takes a long time to arrange such a ceremony.Then Churchill asks the Duke of Windsor to help put various points to the Queen – for example to be an intermediary over the other two issues of this episode, the family name and the move to Buckingham Palace. In exchange, the Duke wants to retain the allowance King George VI promised him (which ceased at the King’s death) and again demanded an HRH for the Duchess. There is a curious scene in which three contrasting aspects of love are explored – we see a sequence with the Windsors dancing romantically, the Queen and Prince Philip at the opera (where he takes her hand), and Princess Margaret popping in to Townsend’s office to kiss him with some passion.The Duke of Windsor then lunches with the Queen, which did not happen in real life, and puts Churchill’s two points to her. Most erroneously, we find the new young Queen turning to the Duke of Windsor for avuncular advice. He is presented as a sage and explains in the almost Shakespearean language the scriptwriters give him why she, as a monarch, must move from Clarence House to Buckingham Palace.Alex Jennings, the actor, looks incredibly like the Duke of Windsor, but the real life Duke never delivered such Shakespearean oratory. Nor would the real Queen ever have asked for advice from a man so patently incapable of giving it.The Duke of Windsor had been immensely tiresome ever since the Abdication in 1936, and Tommy Lascelles had seen him off on more than one occasion, most effectively in 1945. The Royal Family felt gravely let down by the Abdication, and Lascelles wrote at one point in the 1940s that any appearance in Britain by the Duke would have a grave effect on the health and peace of mind of George VI. Later on, in real life, the Queen was courteous to her uncle, and various rapprochements were made before he died, but the trouble with the Duke of Windsor was that if he was given an inch, he would take a mile.In other themes, we see Prince Philip asking Group Captain Townsend to teach him to fly, a theme followed up in the next episode. He did learn at White Waltham, near Maidenhead, but was taught by Flight Lieutenant C.R. Gordon, of Cheltenham. He received his wings from Air Chief Marshal Sir William Dickson, on 4 May 1953, having flown for 90 to 100 hours.The film-makers also introduce the idea that Prince Philip bullied Prince Charles, which is again addressed in later episodes.Minor mistakes: Prince Philip was a descendant of the royal houses of Greece and Denmark, but not of Norway. King Haakon of Norway (1872-1957) was a Prince of Denmark who was given the Norwegian throne in 1905.A recurring mistake throughout the series: All the characters arrive at Buckingham Palace through the ceremonial front gates. Normally they enter via the gate to the right near Constitution Hill.Series one, episode four: Act of GodThis is a curious episode based on the great fog that descended on London between 5 and 9 December 1952. This fog caused some spontaneous burglaries and one murder. London was perfectly used to fog, so it was not treated as a particular emergency until much later when it was estimated that between 4,000 and 12,000 people died – though most of them had breathing problems or were very old. Most of this episode is fictional and did not happen. Obviously the scenes involving Churchill’s fictional secretary, Venetia Scott, were made up. She is killed when hit by a bus, but since there was no public transport, other than trains on the London Underground, due to the fog, this could not have happened.The film-makers then involve Churchill failing to take action, the question of Clement Attlee, the Leader of the Opposition, potentially turning the situation to political advantage, and Churchill’s decision to visit a hospital during the crisis, but all this is fiction too. Interestingly the fog did not rate a mention in Martin Gilbert’s official biography of Churchill.The other scenes involve Prince Philip learning to fly and Government annoyance at this. Queen Mary falls ill and takes to her bed, attended by Sir John Weir. The Queen walks through the fog to visit her ailing grandmother to discuss what is expected of her as a monarch.Series one, episode five: Smoke and MirrorsThere is a flashback to 11 May, with George VI explaining the significance of anointing in the Coronation ceremony, and talking of the weight of the crown, both actual and symbolic. The action then moves forward to 1953, with the Queen trying on the same crown before her Coronation.Queen Mary falls gravely ill, which brings the Duke of Windsor over. In this series he comes from France, though he actually came with his sister, the Princess Royal, from New York. There are lots of opportunities for him to complain to the Duchess of Windsor about his family, his mother and his treatment. The Queen is warned by the Queen Mother to be wary of the Duke – ‘like mercury, he’ll slip through the tiniest crack.’ During his visit, the Duke is summoned from Marlborough House to Lambeth Palace where he finds the Archbishop of Canterbury, Tommy Lascelles and one other, ranged against him explaining why he should not attend the Coronation and that the Duchess would not be invited. The Duke is furious, but he agrees to put out a statement explaining why he won’t be there.While he is at Lambeth Palace, a message comes through that Queen Mary has died. In reality the Duke was not at Lambeth Palace. Her funeral is shown (with the Royal Standard on her coffin, not her personal standard).In real life, the question of the Duke’s possible attendance preoccupied the Archbishop of Canterbury as early as November 1952 and he raised the matter with the Queen at lunch. It was agreed that his presence ‘would create a very difficult situation for everybody, and if had not the wits to see that for himself, then he ought to be told it.’ Churchill took the line that while it was understandable that the Duke would wish to be present at family funerals, it would be completely inappropriate for him to attend the Coronation of one of his successors. Tommy Lascelles wrote to the Duke’s lawyers making it clear that no summons would be forthcoming. A statement was prepared for the Duke to issue to save face, but he must have alarmed the British Government by giving an interview at Cherbourg in which he said he might well be in England at the time of the ceremony. As it happened he and the Duchess stayed in Paris and watched it on television with friends, a scene recreated in this episode. We see the Duke explaining the proceedings in the Abbey, again in Shakespearean phrases, to a group of undistinguished guests. The episode ends with him playing his bagpipes outside the house, with tears in his eyes, presumably to hint that he is regretting all that he discarded.The other main theme in this episode is the role of Prince Philip in the preparations and also in respect of the part he intends to play in the ceremony. Here he only agrees to chair the Coronation Committee if he has total control and we see him coming out with all sorts of modern ideas for the day, such as inviting Trade Union leaders and businessmen to take part. He is told that some things cannot be changed. There is a row with the Queen and he tells her he refuses to kneel before her to do homage. In the end he is obliged to do so, but he is given credit for insisting the ceremony be televised.Having written a book on the Coronation and delved into the Archbishop of Canterbury’s papers I can testify that these reveal the Archbishop of Canterbury, pushing Prince Philip out as much as possible. He pronounced: “There must be no association of him in any way with the process & rite of Coronation.” Yet they also show that Prince Philip was quite happy to do fealty after the Archbishop (when he could have been expected to go first) and that he presented a silver gilt wafer box to the Abbey, and a chalice and paten to Lambeth as a form of offering to respect taking his place next to the Queen during the communion.Unlike other flaky consorts such as Prince Claus of the Netherlands and Prince Henrik of Denmark, Prince Philip was raised within the Royal House of Greece. But for the birth of the future King Constantine in 1940, he would have ended up as King of Greece in 1964, and marriage with Princess Elizabeth would have been out of the question. In real life he adapted quickly to his changed circumstances, but in The Crown, they put him in conflict at every opportunity.The Coronation scene was a wonderful opportunity to create a scene of great visual magnificence but it fell seriously short in regard to a great number of details. Earl Mountbatten, seated in the front row of the Royal Box (he was not in the front row) appears dressed in ducal robes, and is not wearing his Garter collar. Nor is the supporting actor representing the Queen’s uncle, the Duke of Gloucester. The Marquess of Salisbury carries the Sword of State (which he did at the actual Coronation), but he crowns himself with an Earl’s coronet. The Dowager Duchess of Devonshire (Mistress of the Robes) fails to put on a coronet. The oath was not administered during the anointing but before it. There are a number of peeresses sitting where the Peers sat in reality. Thus this scene is one of the least convincing in the series.The St Edward’s Crown with which the Queen is crowned was far too big, but this may have been intentional to demonstrate the burden the Queen was assuming.Series one, episode six: GeligniteThe theme of this episode is the Princess Margaret – Peter Townsend love affair and their attempt to marry in 1953. The opening scene shows the Queen and Prince Philip going to the Coronation Derby, but we then see a newspaper office where an unshaven journalist has picked up what he realises is a huge scoop (hence ‘gelignite’) – Princess Margaret having been observed picking some fluff off the jacket of Group Captain Peter Townsend at the Coronation – he being by then a divorced equerry. Princess Margaret and Townsend are on the point of accompanying the Queen Mother on an official visit to Rhodesia.The Princess invites the Queen and Prince Philip to dine with her and Townsend and they believe that they have her blessing, but they soon run up against the establishment. Tommy Lascelles invokes the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, which stated that no lineal descendant of George II could marry without the consent of the Sovereign, and so Princess Margaret is asked to wait for two years. The series suggests that the Queen deceived her sister by appearing to support her wish to marry him and then eventually forbidding it. The film-makers imply that the Princess never forgave her sister, a theme which recurs in later episodes. The essence of this episode is more or less correct, but the sequence of events is somewhat muddled. Since there are also a number of contradictory accounts left by Peter Townsend, Tommy Lascelles, and Princess Margaret to her biographer, it is hard to settle on a true version, since that true version depends on which source is trusted.Lascelles appears at his most severe in this episode, a Satanic and menacing figure. This is an interpretation that might well have resonated with the real life Princess Margaret, not to mention the real life Peter Townsend.There is no doubt that Princess Margaret fell in love with the Group Captain. He was the trusted equerry of the father she adored and a Battle of Britain hero. He was rather a gentle figure. However, as Lascelles made clear to him in no uncertain terms, he had been placed in a position of trust and responsibility. He was a married man with two sons and he was considerably older than the Princess. The real Lascelles said of him: ‘He has Theudas trouble’, a reference to the Acts of the Apostles: ‘For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody.’ Churchill made it clear that the Queen could not sanction the marriage. So Townsend was sent away to Brussels, where he stayed for two years. By the time he returned in 1955, when the British public were agog to know whether the marriage would take place, the path of love had completely run its course. This is the main theme of Episode 10.Minor mistakes: The costume department gave Townsend his CVO, but failed to give the actor playing Lascelles any medals or Orders (by 1953 he was entitled to a GCVO, CMG, MC and various other medals); in Rhodesia, there was a Governor-type figure in a Guards tunic with a GCB, but only bar ribbons for medals. At one point we see the telephone switchboard, which includes Highgrove House. This is the house that the Duchy of Cornwall bought for Prince Charles in 1980, so it would not have been on the switchboard in the 1950s.Series one, episode seven: Scientia Potentia EstIt is 1940 and the Princesses are with their French governess. Princess Elizabeth goes to Eton College to be instructed by the Provost, Sir Henry Marten (not Vice-Provost as stated in the series). This leads to the Queen wishing to be better educated – knowledge is power - and as the story moves on into 1953, one of the themes is that she wants a tutor to help expand her general knowledge. Martin Charteris such a figure called Professor Hodge, but he is a completely fictitious character. The Queen did not seek a tutor to help her and nor would she ever have taken advice over constitutional matters from a figure outside the Palace system.Retirement, or rather non-retirement, is in the air. Churchill is getting old and rather desperate, but refusing to go. The Anthony Eden character is ill in Boston, rather luridly so, taking injections, the implication being that he was almost a drug addict (a theme which gets worse in subsequent episodes). Then Churchill has two strokes. Evidently the Queen is not informed and so the fictitious Hodge urges her to summon Churchill and Lord Salisbury to tick them off like recalcitrant schoolboys. The Crown plays out the two wiggings. Symbolically this is to demonstrate that the Queen is getting on top of her role as an assured constitutional monarch.Tommy Lascelles is also about to retire. In this series, the Queen wants her former Private Secretary, Martin Charteris, to take over and even offers him the job. He and his wife (Gay in real life, but here carelessly called Mary - the name of his daughter), go to look at the Private Secretary’s new home at St James’s Palace and have a tree trimmed outside it. They even say the house will be good for ‘the girls’. (In real life they had the one daughter and two sons). Michael Adeane hears about this, is aggrieved, and complains to Lascelles, who engineers that he does succeed him and not Charteris. Once again Lascelles proves himself more dominant and the Queen’s private wishes are set aside.This is inaccurate. It is traditional that the monarch’s serving Private Secretary stays on for a few months at the beginning of a new reign to help with the transition as did Lascelles until after the Coronation, retiring at the age of sixty-six on the last day of 1953. Michael Adeane and Martin Charteris were working as a team (along with Edward Ford, who is not portrayed in the series). Michael Adeane was always the natural successor, and there was no fuss. He took over.In this episode, the film-makers have put a 1972 story into a 1953 context, presumably so that they could use the Lascelles figure. There was a fuss over Adeane’s successor when he retired. At that time Charteris was the natural successor but Lord Cobbold, a former Governor of the Bank of England, wanted to sweep away the Guards officer Old Etonian types who held sway in the Palace and replace them with more meritocratic types. He tried to reject Charteris in favour of Philip Moore. But Charteris went to see the Queen and asked to take over. She immediately agreed, and he proved to be an inspired Private Secretary, who succeeded perhaps better than any other Private Secretary in presenting her to the world as she really is. He served until 1977.The message that emerges from this episode is that the Queen is conscientious, prepared to do her homework and research, with a knack for discovering the truth when it is kept from her – as, for example, with Churchill’s two strokes (though Lord Salisbury is unlikely to have been willfully withholding this information from her).Lascelles is well played in the series, though his older daughter (now 94) has said that his hair parting is wrong and his moustache too big. By curious misfortune, the actor playing Michael Adeane looks more like the real life Martin Charteris.Series one, episode eight: Pride and JoyThe King used to say of his two daughters: ‘Lilibet is my pride, and Margaret my joy.’ (This is something first published by me in my biography of the Queen Mother and therefore explains the title of this episode). Here there is a complete jumble of the real life facts. The episode starts with a scene where the Queen unveils a statue to King George VI in the Mall. This was in fact unveiled on 6 October 1955. But suddenly plans are being made for the Commonwealth tour of 1953 and 1954, so the story moves back in time.There is particular discussion about Gibraltar as a place that could be dangerous. This was quite true. There were threats from the Spanish and for a visit of less than two days, there were detectives from Scotland Yard operating under cover there for several months. There are some scenes from the Commonwealth tour demonstrating the Queen’s determination to undertake it all, and the strain this put on her. At one point the press see the Queen and Prince Philip emerging from a house after a row. Rightly, they stress the success of the tour.The film-makers decided that while the Queen was away on her Commonwealth tour, the country would be run by Princess Margaret, rather than the Queen Mother, enabling them to use her as a modernizer breaking all the rules and introducing a spontaneous and touchy-feely (quasi Diana, Princess of Wales) approach to being Head of State which, not surprisingly, upsets everyone. She rewrites a speech, suiting her wayward personality and introducing more colour into it, and delivers this at an Ambassadors’ reception (curiously British Ambassadors serving overseas, in Washington and Athens, who appear to have flown in for this occasion). She gets the guests laughing. The point they seek to make is that Princess Margaret thinks she would make a better Queen than her sister, more in tune with the changing times. The Charteris figure gets more and more worried as she chats to miners, gives spontaneous interviews to the media in which she mentions her affection for Townsend and takes a dig at the Queen. She gets ticked off by Churchill who begins to detect a crisis arising, akin to the Abdication. When the Queen comes back, Churchill alerts her to Princess Margaret’s behaviour.None of the above happened and is ultimately tabloid invention. Nor do I subscribe to the idea that there was bitter jealousy between Princess Margaret and the Queen. Princess Margaret always supported her sister.To achieve this, they blur the dates and have the Queen Mother out of the way, buying Barrogill Castle (later renamed the Castle of Mey) in Scotland, something which actually happened a whole year earlier, in 1952. Lascelles (who would by then have retired) tells the Queen Mother what her duties will be, but she tells him she wants to be away. The episode twists history by suggesting the Queen Mother was prepared to shirk all her responsibilities.In reality the Queen Mother was very much in London while the Queen was away, not least looking after Prince Charles and Princess Anne, who stayed with her at Royal Lodge most weekends (when she was not away racing) and at Sandringham for a long Christmas holiday. She was the senior Counsellor of State during the Queen’s absence. Counsellors act in tandem and Princess Margaret usually assisted her. But Churchill had the same kind of audiences with the Queen Mother as he would have done with the Queen, but not so regularly. The film also has Princess Margaret being advised by Martin Charteris, when in real life, he was travelling with the Queen and Prince Philip.As to the Castle of Mey scenes, the Queen Mother did not ride horses after the early 1930s, so to see her cantering along the beaches is somewhat strange. Nor is it likely that the castle’s funny old owner, Captain Imbert-Terry, would not have recognised her. While she stays with the Vyners, she addresses the issues of her early widowhood. As this is meant to be late 1953, and not 1952, this does not convince – even with dramatic licence.Minor mistakes: At a fitting they dress Prince Philip in the naval uniform which he wore but once – at the Coronation, an outdated uniform with epaulettes; later, he wears a Garter riband and bar medals, which is incorrect. The Caribbean Governor in white is wearing what might be a curious interpretation of a military GBE riband along with a huge GCMG star. When Princess Margaret gives her speech, the guests are wearing Orders, but she is not.Series one, episode nine: AssassinsIn London in 1954 Jean Wallop, a private person still very much alive, arrives in a restaurant to dine with Lord Porchester (later 7th Earl of Carnarvon). He proposes to her. She accepts on one condition – that he does not still hold a torch for ‘her’ – i.e. the Queen. I have it on impeccable authority that the future Lady Carnarvon did not even know that he knew the Queen when she met him. The outcome of this scene is that he tells her that for the Queen there was only ever Prince Philip, and she (his bride to be) is the only one for him. The Porchesters were married in January 1956.The Crown suggests that Porchester was the man many wanted the Queen to marry, and they hint that she would have been happier with him than with Prince Philip. For the record, the Queen Mother originally wanted Princess Elizabeth to marry a Grenadier Guards officer. The late Duke of Grafton springs to mind. But from very early on, she set her heart on the good looking Prince Philip. Soon after he returned from war, they were engaged. The Queen Mother told Sir Arthur Penn: ‘Won’t the Grenadier Guards be disappointed?’ They were and at first refused to have Prince Philip as their Colonel.The episode depicts Porchester ringing the Queen late at night, with a certain number of double entendres, his wife-to-be coming through from the bathroom. The Queen’s love of racing is emphasized as is Prince Philip’s boredom with it. This theme is rather dropped as the episode goes on, though in one scene, the Queen and Prince Philip watch a mare being covered, with Lord Porchester observing from afar and with some predictably cheap lines. Afterwards Prince Philip jumps out of the Land Rover in a rage. This is followed by a scene back home with a declaration of love by the Queen for Prince Philip.Lord Carnarvon was a close adviser to the Queen as her racing manager and she often stayed with him and his wife to visit studs in the Berkshire area. Both she and Prince Philip flew down from Balmoral to attend his funeral in 2001.The Graham Sutherland story is well told. Sutherland was commissioned to paint Churchill’s portrait to be presented to him in Westminster Hall for his 80th birthday on 30 November 1954. Peter Morgan is on firm ground here as it is within the political domain. Intermingled with this is the theme that Churchill should stand down. There is a fictional scene where Eden visits Churchill at Chartwell and bids him to give way in a histrionic, hysterical way – presaging the recurring theme that he was some kind of junkie. As to the portrait itself, it was revealed after her death in 1977 that Lady Churchill had destroyed it. In 1957 she described Churchill’s reaction to the painting in a letter to Lord Beaverbrook: ‘it wounded him deeply that this brilliant … painter with whom he had made friends while sitting for him should see him as a gross & cruel monster.’There is a partly fictitious version of the speech he gave in Westminster Hall in which he teases the audience that he is about to retire and that his successor, Anthony Eden, is to hand. It appears that he then promptly resigns and with the brutality of the political system, as he leaves the Palace, Eden’s car draws up. The Queen’s speech at Churchill’s farewell dinner was taken from a private letter from the Queen to Churchill after his resignation and not delivered as such on the night. As we listen to it, we see another scene – Lady Churchill presiding over the burning of the Sutherland portrait.In reality Churchill did not resign immediately after his 80th birthday in November 1954. He hung on in office until April 1955.Series one, episode ten: GlorianaThe episode reprises the events of December 1936. Edward VIII agrees to see his brother, the Duke of York, but not the Duchess (there is no evidence for that). Then the new King informs his daughters that their uncle has put love before duty. He tells them never to let each other down thus introducing the theme that there could be tension between them later on.A Royal Standard is hoisted over Balmoral. It is Princess Margaret’s 25th birthday (21 August 1955) and she declares she still feels the same way about Group Captain Townsend. It seems possible that she can now marry him. But the Queen discusses the Royal Marriages Act with Michael Adeane. He invokes a different version of the situation. He mentions that both Houses of Parliament need to approve and the need to wait for 12 months. Still under the illusion that she is free to marry, Princess Margaret wants to announce it.Another scene shows Prince Philip teaching Prince Charles to fish so that we realise that he is quite tough on the boy. The Queen Mother voices the opinion that Prince Philip is taking it out on Charles due to the frustrations of his life. The Crown likes to think that the Queen Mother is very thick with Lascelles, in his retirement. She relied on him a bit after the King’s death but Lascelles took a dim view of her philosophy of life, considering it was best summed up in the hymn: ‘the rich man in his castle, the poor man at his gate’. But it gives them the idea that Prince Philip was sent by the Queen to open the Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia in November 1956 to get him out of the way, to get him away from bullying his son and in the hope, as expressed clearly in this episode, that he would come back ‘changed’. But this all happens in August 1955 and he did not undertake the voyage until October 1956.The second and final round in the Princess Margaret – Peter Townsend drama is played out. We see headlines speculating as to whether or not she is going to marry the Group Captain.Apparently Prince Philip is somewhat in league with Princess Margaret over the marriage question. Townsend returns and they run together in a passionate embrace. Then come the problems, the involvement of the Attorney-General, the threat that Lord Salisbury will resign if the marriage takes place, the Queen saying she will support her in any way she can, but then that she would be deprived of money and titles, and have to live abroad for several years as Mrs Peter Townsend. Princess Margaret claims the country is on her side. The invented words of their father about mutual support are repeated by the Queen.Then it all gets worse, with the Cabinet advising against the marriage, the Archbishop of Canterbury and other Bishops reminding the Queen that she is Defender of the Faith and of the oath made at the Coronation, and finally the Queen seeking advice from the Duke of Windsor in France. He tells her ‘You must protect the kingdom’. And so, in this episode, the Queen’s line is that Princess Margaret cannot marry Townsend and remain part of the family.In reality, Eden did advise the Queen at Balmoral, but there was no involvement from the Archbishop, and the Duke of Windsor was in no position to pontificate about the role as sister and Queen, and duty to the realm.The film-makers maintain that Princess Margaret broke off from Townsend because she had been forbidden to marry him. Furthermore, she tells him she will never marry anyone else. And then Townsend makes a public statement, in fact reading much of the written statement that in reality Princess Margaret issued to the press. He then returns to Brussels.In truth, the decision was a mutual one between Princess Margaret and the Group Captain, largely based on the fact that Lascelles’s separation plan had worked and the love between them had died.None of the characters are happy at the end of this episode. Princess Margaret is seen depressed at parties, and Peter Townsend sitting forlornly alone in his apartment in Brussels. Prince Philip is angry at being sent away on the long tour.The situation with Nasser in Egypt is flagged up during this episode, meetings with Eden, more pills being taken and in the end, Anthony Eden slumped in front of burning cine-film of Nasser, having just stuck a needle full of drugs into his arm – followed by an image of the Queen posing in tiara and evening dress, next to the Crown Jewels which have been brought to the Palace for effect. She is shown as an assured and confident young monarch while the ever-frustrated Prince Philip drives off down the Mall in his open care, all alone, looking distinctly fed up.I should be grateful that it is Cecil Beaton who gets the last word in both this series and Series two, extolling the virtues of monarchy with Shakespearean lines. Nevertheless Claire Foy’s Queen looks ominously sad.

对英国历史只了解到皮毛的我，长久以来满足于知道温莎公爵就是那位不爱江山爱美人的英国国王。

当要迎娶有过三段婚史的美国女人不被皇室、教会和国会允许后，他毅然放弃王位。

对温莎公爵的好感，还迁移于此地皇权更迭时频频出现的恶斗。

此地常常为了一个皇帝的位子争斗得六亲不认兵戎相见，彼地却可以为了爱情舍弃王位，对于不懂得皇位或者王位到底至尊到何种地步的我来说，对温莎公爵的感佩真是难以言表。

但是，英剧《王冠》第一季却告诉我们，温莎公爵不是我们认识的那个样子。

不，应该先说，在大英帝国一个男人放弃王位他所得到的社会评价并不如我们想象的那样，是个轻权势重感情的好人。

要与心爱的女人一起浪迹天涯、与治下的百姓相忘于江湖，在《王冠》看来，无论是玛丽王后、伊丽莎白二世的母亲，到丘吉尔为首的英国政府以及教会，都认定温莎公爵是一个懦弱的没有责任心的男人，甚至，乔治国王病死后，王后怪罪温莎公爵，就是因为他的任性将约克公爵逼上了王位，让老实简朴勤奋的乔治国王累死在了王位上。

原来，彼邦对王位的态度跟此地我们对皇位的态度是大相径庭呀。

即便如此，我也还是愿意仰头看着他，一个为了爱情可以放弃江山的男人，我们这些格局小的人，到底是欣赏的。

然而，等到第一季10集《王冠》全部看完，恐怕没有人再会喜欢温莎公爵了。

他出场，是在乔治国王病逝以后，一副“我将国王让给你们”的还乡团的模样。

等到得知人们对他放弃王位只有谴责没有赞美的时候，抱怨开始从他的内心汩汩而出。

对那个女人，他是真爱呀，虽然厮守在美国过上了奢华的生活，短期回英国参加侄女的婚礼、弟弟的葬礼、母亲的葬礼、侄女的登基典礼，他都要给不得不留在美国的妻子写上一封喋喋不休的长信，信里，他说皇室就是一个勾心斗角的场所，他说从弟弟开始，“秀兰·邓波儿”（伊丽莎白二世）、“小饼干”（王后）等等都是压榨他的人……他在给妻子的长信里贬斥皇室的同时，跟皇室、政府、教会甚至自己的母亲在一起的时候，永远都在讨价还价，向玛丽王后抱怨的目的是让母亲帮忙为他讨要到更多的生活费，跟丘吉尔互探底细是为了得到丘吉尔政府的帮助从而获得更多的钱财，对侄女伊丽莎白二世撒娇一样地诉苦目的也是为了多要一些钱——在美国的日子已经奢侈惯了不得不想尽办法弄钱弄钱弄钱，可是回转身来马上在写给妻子的信里对帮助过他的人恶语相向，这个男人的品性，实在让人鄙夷。

想要看伊丽莎白二世是怎么一步步走上王位又是怎么运用女性特有的手段牢牢把控了王位半个多世纪的，却看到了它扒了温莎公爵的皮，一个在心里站立了数十年的一往情深男人的形象，轰然倒塌，这让我在赞美《王冠》拍得大气、典雅的时候有些迟疑。

幸亏，它给了温莎公爵一个优雅的退场仪式：通过电视收看完侄女的登基仪式后，温莎公爵走出豪宅独自一人站在花园里吹响苏格兰风笛。

伤感的音乐中，我们看见，形象俊逸的温莎公爵泪眼模糊——英国人真不给王室脸面，就算做国王不到一年，他也是英国历史上的一位国王，怎么可以扒皮到如此境地？

为了重塑温莎公爵在我心里的地位，看完《王冠》四处寻找温莎公爵在退位以后的作为，才发现，英国人是小骂大帮忙。

问家里要些钱，顶多是贪得无厌的泼皮样子。

如果《王冠》实事求是地告诉我们，温莎公爵所娶的那个女人是个纳粹的狂热追随者、温莎公爵在成为她的丈夫后也一时与纳粹打得火热并试图希望纳粹帮助他重夺王位，温莎公爵留给世人的，就不是骂名那么简单了。

王冠第一季第九集，这一集算是整个季里面最好看的一集了，尤其是画家和丘吉尔对话这一段，简直堪称经典，尤其是说到“鱼塘”的时候突来的配乐，让我鸡皮疙瘩都起来了。

晚上睡觉的时候我就在思考1.为什么这部剧能得到这么高的评分？

仅仅是因为是皇室题材吗？

2.这部剧显然和其他剧比起来都明显枯燥一些，没有那么多的转折那么多的架设，可是为什么我能坚持看到现在？

第一点毋庸置疑是摄影：随便拿出一帧可以作为一副摄像的电影不少，可是电视剧并不多，但是随着近几年以来许多电视剧开始摄像变得极其考究，例如权利的游戏，例如唐顿庄园，可是就拿唐顿庄园来说，王冠的摄影显然高于它，有很多长镜头，很多特别的拍摄角度，例如从车后窗拍摄车后说话的人，从上空拍摄女王骑马，从教堂顶拍摄下面说话的人，王后海边骑马那段可以堪称大片**，还有游行时女王微笑菲利普眼神配上漫天彩花的慢镜头，等等等等，虽然女王很多时候你觉得她的打扮就是普通人，还不如现在的明星打扮，可是那种精致无法比拟，很多时候我都在批判暗影掉，可是兴许正是这样的暗影掉凸现出来一种特别的沉重和细腻。

第二点在于演员的演技：女王，菲利普，丘吉尔，女王妹妹，丘吉尔夫人还有画家（完全没看出来是史丹尼斯），很多近距离的镜头特写，眼神，甚至每个皱纹都凸显出演技的用心和高超，让你觉得这是值得细细品味的；第三点在于台词：看这样的英剧的台词和口音无疑是一种享受，高贵而精致，女王的许多台词应该经过精心设计，让你忍不住退回去再看一遍；第四点当然在于还原：光是雾霾那一集，接电话的场景，加冕礼以及多次透过黑白电视表现历史感让你觉得这ttm用心了；第五点是我最想记录的一点关于自己的思考，就是本剧的编剧。

第九集中文译名我觉得很好：时间刺客，穿插了丘吉尔被政党排挤退位和一个曾经叱咤政坛呼风唤雨的老人最后要拜倒在时间的“刺杀”之下，一方面是时间让他老去，另一方面是他已经感到这不再是属于他的时代；我想我终于找到这部剧得以拍出来的部分原因，在于编剧的用心良苦，他的确涉及了很多时代背景，人物，以及大家都想看到的帝国皇室的衰弱，甚至是女王婚姻的背后，但是编剧把一切的力度把握的都刚刚好，没有去涉及很多的政治细节，整部剧就像女王一般超然于政治之上，就算是写丘吉尔，都是借用的他与画家的真实事件，一丝一缕，不讲政治，从他的另一面入手，塑造的如此鲜活真实，不能说这是一种欺骗，因为没有展现出一个完整的丘吉尔就是欺骗，这是一种高深的境界。

丘吉尔与画家之间的“英雄相惜”（他从一开始的反感到最后自己不小心表达出的friendship）这一段太精彩了，而最后他退位了却还是把画像烧了更是留下了足够的遐想，以及对人物性格和内心的探索，太好；另一主线则穿插女王和菲利普的婚姻危机，很隐晦，完全没有菲利普风花雪夜的场景，只有女王在窗前等待他归来，雨点打在窗户上的镜头，以及冷漠，争吵，完全是平常夫妻会有的状态，影片让女王的婚姻接了地气，却保留足了面子，最后女王穿上礼服在床前说的那段话又是高潮，can you，离去和菲利普站起的镜头可谓意犹未尽，多少婚姻埋葬在这样的无可奈何之中，编剧真的很厉害。

此外许多细节让人感叹，女王在见养马的那个人的时候对折镜子整理自己头发，丘吉尔老婆在宴会上那个可爱的眨眼，这些戏码真是太足了。

好片终究是好片。

版权归作者所有，任何形式转载请联系作者。

作者：蜘蛛约影（来自豆瓣）来源：https://www.douban.com/note/593642011/最近好多人跟美剧叔安利一部美剧，美剧叔看完第一集就和他们翻脸了——“能不能专业点？

”叙事像呼吸般平稳有力，史料和虚构如水乳交融，最重要的是，那股浓浓的英伦味道，装不了。

“这一看就是正宗BBC出品好吗？

”结果被打脸了。

Netflix剧集《王冠》，连乔治六世都是美国人演的。

网飞的老规矩，第一季十集，全部放出。

一口气看到第九集，不禁脱口而出一个字：爽！

好在，网飞继续土豪上身，投资1亿英镑， 后面还有5季。

据说，要换三个女演员，演出不同时代的女王。

这，才叫史诗大制作。

口碑已经爆裂，豆瓣评分9.2，高过一票美剧。

IMDb9.1分。

烂番茄的新鲜度91%。

整部剧集，就是一部讲述超长待机女王事迹的英伦王室正传。

有一定阅片量的人应该知道，这种为活人做传的剧集，简直是九死一生。

拍得太主旋律，观众受不了。

人为修改历史制造戏剧冲突，当事人受不了。

总之，几乎就是个不可能完成的任务。

但是这个不可能完成的任务，被《王冠》完美完成了。

有一种历史剧，看的是历史，虐的是人心，因为——唯真实最打动人心。

《王冠》不是纪录片，里面有大量与史诗不符的细节变化，但正是这种修改，令剧集反倒更加接近历史的真实。

“欲戴王冠，必承其重”第一季的故事，就是以伊丽莎白二世为首的英国王室的真实生活。

伊丽莎白在代替父亲去非洲考察的途中，惊闻父亲去世，连王冠都不知道怎么戴才好，就这样成为了伊丽莎白二世。

历史，比任何虚构的剧情都更加惊心动魄，还原历史，主要基于其场景的逼真，以及顶级摄影、服装、道具带来的视听盛宴。

被完美还原的历史感、精美无比的王冠、令每个人焦灼无比的历史氛围……没有一处不靠谱，为了让历史靠谱，满眼都是钱。

但是，绚丽的场景只是为剧集本身服务，《王冠》的角色塑造，也几乎是一本影视剧教科书。

尽管它的选角，处处是争议：几乎所有观众都说，这是他见过最高的丘吉尔和最丑的菲利普亲王。

丘吉尔的扮演者约翰·利特高，身高1.93米，丘吉尔的真实身高1.6米。

历史上的菲利普亲王，是有名的美男子，他的扮演者马特·史密斯，因为出演第11任《神秘博士》被人熟知，颜值还算有，但是和顶级美男子，差距有点大。

公认塑造最好的角色，一代名相丘吉尔。

第一集公主结婚时，老谋深算，最后一个到场。

伴随着音乐、掌声和女王的注视，缓缓进入教堂，尽显身份的与众不同。

第九集，全剧评分最高集，那个骄傲的丘吉尔，却在一幅画像面前终于承认了自己的衰老。

希特勒和纳粹都打不败的铁相，终于还是败给了时间，历史的沧桑感，尽在演员惊心动魄的演技里。

是的，惊心动魄！

当丘吉尔画像最终在火焰中被燃尽，连火焰也成为了表演的一部分。

同样奉献出伟大表演的，还有乔治六世。

一直到死，他都在想着怎样履行英王的职责，想着怎样让女儿顺利接过王位，同时，幸福地活下去。

他对菲利普亲王说的那句“你的工作就是给她幸福”，所有的父亲，听到都会泪奔。

国王与父亲，王权与人性，身体孱弱与灵魂坚强，几场戏而已，演得比汗牛充栋的历史文献更加清晰，也更加动人。

当然，还有第一季女王的主演克莱尔·芙伊。

长得一点不像女王，但是从无忧无虑的公主到身负重任的女王，她每一刻的表演都足够让观众相信，这就是历史中的伊丽莎白二世。

这样一群演员，就这样在历史和虚构的反复交错间，在安逸和危难的反复切换间，用强烈的真实感狠狠揪住了观众的心。

“王权必须胜利，必须永远胜利”这么厉害的剧集，编导团队怂不了。

编剧，是《女王》的编剧彼得·摩根，一部活的伊丽莎白二世及王室的字典。

第一二集由史蒂芬·戴德利执导，他的代表作你一定看过，《朗读者》、《时时刻刻》。

最打动人心的第9集，导演是《成为简·奥斯汀》的导演朱利安·杰拉德。

收官的第10集，导演是《霍金传》的导演菲利普·马丁。

这些导演风格虽然各有不同，但有一个共同的特质：故事扎实、角色丰满、影像的历史感精准到毫厘。

在统一的艺术把握下，整部剧集，如同出自一人之手。

如果是历史是任人打扮的小姑娘，那么《王冠》显然给了历史一副淑女的模样。

重要的不是场景 “真实到窒息”，而是角色、氛围和历史感“真实到窒息”。

剧集不是纪录片，因为每个人心里，都有一个伊丽莎白二世。

可是在正史和野史，事实和虚构之间，编导却最大程度地接近了那段历史。

剧集不是为英伦王室歌功颂德，而是像刻刀一样，近乎残酷地表现出历史的无情，这样才能让观众直观感受到，这些传奇人物，到底失去的是什么？

没有刻意煽情，也没有神话的高大上，每个普通人都能感受到菲利普亲王内心的不甘，伊丽莎白女王面对妹妹爱上有妇之夫时在王权和亲情间的无奈，还有，丘吉尔离开唐宁街时的落寞与无奈。

无论史诗还是传奇，能够为后人所理解的，都在人性。

英伦王室真正的高贵，不是在历史中一尘不染，而是经历过人性的深渊和王权的冲突，依然保持着王室的尊严和王权的尊严。

全剧最动人的台词，来自看着三位国王走上王位的祖母，在给还是公主的伊丽莎白的信中，她说出了这样一段话：在你悼念你父亲的同时，你也要悼念另一个人——伊丽莎白·蒙巴顿。

因为她现在已经被另一个人所代替，伊丽莎白女王。

这两个伊丽莎白会经常起冲突，事实是王权必须胜利，必须永远胜利。

当她面对新上任的女王，自己的孙女，完成对女王的跪礼，所有的观众都明白了这句台词的意义。

从历史真实中还原的人性，不回避人性与王权永恒的冲突，才让人了解了英伦王室何以在现代社会屹立不倒，这才是《王冠》最动人之处。

这部BBC范儿的美剧，豆瓣9.2都嫌低！

说它每一集都是一部《国王的演讲》，太夸张。

可是像第9集这样的品质，说它配不上奥斯卡，说不过去。

英女王的故事，还没讲完，我知道，你们最关心的故事，比如戴安娜之死，还得等等。

后面的5季，按照网飞的习惯，应该有50集——一段大英帝国的历史，60集，讲完。

咱们的武则天撕逼传奇，96集。

你想看哪一种王冠，美剧叔不知道，但是对于我来说，《王冠》这么牛的剧集，再久，也值得等。

本文作者：美剧大叔原创文章禁止转载，转载需联系微信公众号：蜘蛛网订阅号（spider201310）-THE END-