The Crown. (A series I didn't think I would like)

I don't remember why I decided to watch "The Crown" but somehow I tried the first episode and I started to find it interesting. There isn't a lot of action in this show, but there is a lot of conflict. I would consider this a historical/psychological drama. The main character is Queen Elizabeth. It starts when she is young. Her father, King George has lung cancer because of smoking. When her father dies, Elizabeth becomes queen. 

The Crown is about protecting the Crown and therefore the royal family. It's about their struggle to continue as the royalty of England. They live with the possibility that someday, they won't be needed. Queen Elizabeth says that having a monarchy provides their country stability, unlike the prime ministers that come and go. Her view is that England just wouldn't be right without kings and queens.  

This series shows how keeping The Crown comes with a price. Yes, they're rich, elevated above everyone and are waited on hand and foot, but they pay a price for it. First, they're held to a much higher standard than regular people. They're not supposed to the have problems, divorces, affairs and imperfections. After all, they are made rich just for being in the royal blood line. Secondly, they often have to deal with the media and being in the public eye. 

The series starts a little before Queen Elizabeth is crowned and ends about the time Prince William is dating Kate Middleton. Most of us know there have been many problems during that time span. Mostly with their relationships and divorces. Even Queen Elizabeth had a lot of problems with Phillip early in their marriage. 

Her sister Margaret was in love with Peter, an older man who had been divorced. He worked for the royal family. They wanted to get married, but this was against the church. A royal wasn't supposed to marry a divorced person. Queen Elizabeth wanted to give Margaret permission, but her advisors and the church kept talking her out of it. Elizabeth is always very cautious with any decision, so she never let her sister marry Peter. All in an effort to protect their image. Margaret had the option to leave the royal family and get married, but she never did. Instead, Peter married someone else while Margaret unraveled into a life of smoking, drinking and eventually marrying someone who was already cheating on her with men and women. 

Elizabeth loved her sister, but most of the family were often irritated with Princess Margaret because she was a continual risk for bad press. The family was and is a target for the paparazzi and tabloids. So the royal family is on guard to prevent scandals or whatever news story that would taint their image of being perfect. While I knew that The Crown is about being perfect, I never fully knew the struggle to do so. Scandals pay good money. People love to see the elevated crash and burn. 

Charles was in love with Camilla, but she was married. So they pressured him into marrying Diana, even though he wasn't in love with her. She was too young for him and they had nothing in common. If anything in this show, Diana seems to annoy him. He became jealous of her popularity, and took it out on her. Often times, I really hated this version of Charles. 

Throughout the series, I often changed how I felt about characters. The young Queen Elizabeth was more likeable than the older one. Her days as queen seemed to make her hard and often cold as if she lacked feelings of any kind. Although sometimes she still had moments of compassion. Charles became more likeable toward the end of the series where he sometimes struggled to raise his sons alone. 

In general, actors, celebrities, and anyone in the public eye...those people do have a higher rate of divorce. The stress of the media and trying to maintain an image adds to the risk of divorce for anyone. 

Anyway, I learned some history from this show and enjoyed the psychological aspect. I recommend this series. There are six seasons and no plans for a seventh. However, there might be a prequel.