I must confess that I am not a big fan of The Crown. I watched the early series more out of professional duty than anything else, and found them irritatingly one-dimensional, reductive, and exhausting, little more than a high-budget soap opera.
Unlike other shows about the royal family, which seek to lampoon or stylize their existence, The Crown is cloying and exploitative.
Its creators have never seen their characters’ real-life counterparts on screen with any humanity whatsoever, viewing their lives, loves, and personal tragedies as nothing more than a gold mine to be mined for maximum profit.
‘Fair enough’, one might say. That’s show business. But what’s really sad is that, in this regard, they may have a lot in common with two of the most prominent members of the royal family, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who financed their move to America by joining the payroll of Netflix at the rate of several Million dollars.
People have often expressed some dismay that the queen’s grandson is willing to accept the shilling from a team that, over the years, has been, at best, cheap with the truth of his family. , at worst, downright exploitative.
But in my opinion it makes perfect sense. After all, their goals seem perfectly aligned to me: get as much money as possible out of The Firm.
Two of the most prominent members of the royal family, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (pictured in June), who financed their move to the United States by joining Netflix’s payroll to the tune of several million dollars.
Never mind that King Charles is still grieving. He now faces being portrayed in The Crown as an aggressive usurper.
The Crown does this by turning half-truths and gossip into high-ratings dramas that people, particularly Americans, gobble up without question; Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess exchange their associations with the people at home, while tearing apart the institution that feeds them by becoming victims of an amorphous conspiracy.
Why the hell wouldn’t they sleep with Netflix? It’s the perfect partnership.
The final kick in the teeth for the Royals, let’s not forget they’ve just suffered a colossal duel, comes in episode one of season five, which covers the years from 1991 to 1996, encompassing the breakup of Charles’s marriage to Diana.
It opens with the depiction of the late Queen, 65, as hopeless, trapped in the past and desperate to cling to power beyond its expiration date despite the wishes of her people who, according to a poll , wishes she would abdicate.
It hasn’t even been a month since she was finally laid to rest in Windsor; but that doesn’t bother Netflix. Business is business, ratings are ratings. If anything, they probably figure her death makes people more likely to tune in.
Never mind that his son, King Charles, is still grieving. He now faces being portrayed as an insistent usurper, desperate to get his mother out of the way so he can put her gloves on her crown.
The final kick in the teeth for the Royals comes in episode one of season five. It begins with the late Queen (played by Imelda Staunton, pictured) depicted, aged 65, as hopeless, trapped in the past and desperate to hold on to power.
The Prince of Wales has accused Netflix of ‘profiting’ from his family and in particular from his mother’s infamous Panorama interview, obtained by Martin Bashir under false pretenses (pictured), which will also feature in the upcoming series.
It’s not just monstrously disrespectful, it’s downright cruel. But that doesn’t matter, because let’s not forget: The Royals aren’t real people anyway, they’re just cash cows for Netflix executives. Somehow, though, you can’t blame them. They are just doing their job. Prince Harry, on the other hand, now that’s another matter.
These are his so-called loved ones, his family, his father and his grandmother, who are being exploited. He might have thought that he would at least not want anything to do with the perpetrators, quite possibly he would speak out against them. After all, he’s not exactly backward about stepping up when it comes to airing his grievances with other sections of the media.
But not. Not a peep. Funny that.
Let Prince Harry’s brother tell the truth and shame the Devil. The Prince of Wales accused Netflix of “profiting” from his family, and in particular from the infamous Panorama interview of his mother, obtained by Martin Bashir under false pretenses, which will also be featured in the upcoming series.
Harry has never hidden his hatred for those he believes hounded his mother to death. How sad that he now finds himself on the payroll of those who turn his pain, and that of the rest of the Royals, into entertainment.