That the monarchists fearing that The Crown offers an unflattering portrait of King Charles III at the time when his marriage to Diana, Princess of Hearts, was nearing its end, calm down. The fifth season reveals nothing that the so-called serious press and gossip newspapers did not reveal in the 1990s. As the song implies Bittersweet Symphony (The Verve, 1997) in the trailer, it is on a bittersweet and melancholic note that this season plays out, where the excellent Imelda Staunton lends her features to the late sovereign.
Succeeding the haughty Claire Foy (seasons 1 and 2) and the imperial Olivia Colman (seasons 3 and 4), the unforgettable interpreter of the angel maker Vera Drake and the terrifying Dolores Umbridge plays a vulnerable Queen Elizabeth . With moist eyes and a morose air, she observes the ravages of time on her features, her silhouette and her memory. Philip (Jonathan Pryce), whom she married more than 45 years ago, moves away from her and finds solace in a woman 30 years his junior, Penny Knatchbull (Natascha McElhone). This intrigue that the Duke of Edinburgh could have been unfaithful is, among other things, at the origin of the loud cries pushed by the relatives and admirers of the Windsors.
Remember that before being offered on Netflix, the fifth season aroused a lot of negative comments. In addition to demanding that the word fiction be attached to the series in a letter sent to the Timesactress Judi Dench felt that The Crown exhibited “gross sensationalism”, while the former British Prime Minister John Major, advantageously personified by Jonny Lee Miller (the Sick Boy of Trainspotting), called it “a barrel of nonsense”.
Although its creator, Peter Morgan, has never concealed that The Crown is a drama based on true events, Netflix had no choice but to add this disclaimer to the series’ home page: “This fictional re-enactment based on true events tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped his reign. »
Decrepit Empire
Unlike the previous ones, this season is more focused on the intimate life of the Windsors than on historical and political facts. Without being relegated to figuration, the Conservative Prime Minister John Major and his successor Tony Blair (Bertie Carvel), leader of the Labor Party, are much less present than were the “Old Lion” and the “Iron Lady”. We see them above all talking with Prince Charles (Dominic West) who wants to convince them that the kingdom needs a monarch in tune with his times.
These scenes have also provoked the anger of Major, who denies having had such conversations with the one who will have had to wait another thirty years to accede to the throne. True or false, these tete-a-tete between the Prince of Wales and the Prime Ministers serve very well the melancholic story during which the Queen will have to say goodbye to one of the symbols of the monarchy, the ship Britanniawhich will make its last trip during the handover of Hong Kong to China.
Always as meticulous in its period recreation, the series is this time carried by a twilight light, the shards of which deposit a patina on the sumptuous sets where the characters seem more isolated, more cut off from the world than ever. Coughing more and more, still with a glass in hand, Princess Margaret (Lesley Manville) has lost some of her splendour. By reconnecting with Captain Peter Townsend (Timothy Dalton), whom she was unable to marry because he was divorced, she bitterly understands that mentalities have hardly changed at Buckingham.
On a few occasions, the series recalls that respecting social conventions sometimes leads to unfortunate, even tragic consequences, going back in time to tell the agony of Wallis Simpson, for whom Edward VIII abdicated, and the execution of Tsar Nicholas. II, cousin of King George V, with his family – the director Christian Schwochow did not skimp on the bloody details to relate the last moments of the Romanovs.
The episode devoted to the links between the crown of England and Russia, where Boris Yeltsin (Anatoliy Kotenyov) appears boorish and contemptuous towards the royal family, serves as a striking counterpoint to the one entitled Mou-Mou. Directed by Alex Gabassi, this episode chronicles the rise of Mohamed Al-Fayed (Salim Daw), father of Dodi Al-Fayed (Khalid Abdalla), Diana’s last lover, and his friendship with Sydney Johnson (Jude Akuwudike), valet of Édouard for 30 years. In the eyes of the ambitious Egyptian and the refined Bahamian, nothing surpasses the British Empire.
This year
Taking place from 1991 to 1997, the fifth season of The Crown cruelly illustrates the weight of the crown on the destiny of the Windsors. Powerless, Elisabeth witnesses the decline of the monarchy and the breakdown of the marriages of three of her children, as well as the resulting sex scandals… including the “ tampongate “. Having shocked propriety at the time, the conversation between Camilla Parker Bowles (Olivia Williams) and Charles here takes on the appearance of a naughty conversation between two lovers who laugh.
Less and less popular in the hearts of the British, the queen then shows a more human face – to the great displeasure of the queen mother (Marcia Warren) – at the end of the year 1992, theannus horribilis, shortly after the fire at Windsor Castle. The final shot shows her broken, far from the image of the smiling sovereign of recent years.
As was the case during her lifetime, Diana, embodied by the remarkable Elizabeth Debicki, eclipses everyone in every appearance, including the sovereign, with the most memorable pieces of her wardrobe, including the famous revenge dress. The one through whom the scandal arrives finds herself at the heart of the most captivating scenes, whether it’s the writing of Andrew Morton’s book (Andrew Steel), the BBC interview with Martin Bashir (Prasanna Puwanarajah) or her spats. with Charles — the same cannot be said of his affair with the bland Dr Khan (Humayun Saed).
Moving, if not the most thrilling, the fifth season sets the stage for the sixth season at length, the filming of which was briefly interrupted in September out of respect for the queen. If it is about the fatal accident of Diana and Dodi Fayed, the last season should end on a brighter note with the meeting between Prince William and Kate Middleton.