Dust settles, with crowning glory

Nonika Singh

‘Tears and self-pity are not a currency in this house,’ muses the Queen in her inimitable sardonic style. But whatever may be the royal prerequisite, grief has to be processed and tears shed by ‘your majesty’ too. The fifth episode of Season 6 of the much acclaimed and awarded series focuses on Prince William (the disarmingly charming Ed McVey). How he negotiates his angst, directed at his father, as he grieves for his mother and stardom thrust upon him makes for an interesting watch. Once the rift between him and his concerned father Prince Charles is almost bridged on an emotive note, the focus shifts to where it should: the Buckingham Palace.

The Queen (Imelda Staunton, at once stoic, vulnerable, caring and human) is again at the heart of it. The gaze is sympathetic though we are made privy to her frailties and insecurities that stem from the dwindling popularity of the royal household. A new king, at least in popular imagination, has been ‘anointed’ and he is the Prime Minister of Britain at the time, Tony Blair. Bertie Carvel as Blair is fantastic and comes across as a perfect man in charge of the nation, with a potential to upstage the monarchy. As the Queen frets, fumes, even dreams (nightmare actually) of his rising popularity, she decides to do a reality check. Questions that have loomed large over the relevance of England’s monarchy resurface. A queen in this day and age, what possibly can such extravaganza achieve in the 21st century? Even the Queen does some introspection. Perhaps reforms are in order, till she arrives at a suitable, or convenient, realisation: ‘Modernity is not always the answer, sometimes antiquity is too.’

In reliving the past, once again ‘The Crown’ does what it does best, humanise ‘your highnesses’. The writing regains its verve and edge and the lens becomes emotional. Besides the fathers and sons seeing the light of the day and patching up, there are some wonderful scenes between the royal sisters: the ailing Princess Margaret (Lesley Manville) and the Queen, whom we see teary-eyed more than once. The sequence involving a younger Elizabeth and old Princess Margaret as a cinematic device works far better as a goodbye than any depiction of the funeral scene of Margaret would have. The vivacious Lesley Manville is a perfect fit for Margaret, who did not lose her spirit or humour even in the face of death. Indeed, with the season dropping long after the Queen’s demise on September 8, 2022, it has to touch upon her mortality. Thus, the talk of funeral arrangements, perhaps a royal custom, hangs heavy.

Fissures between Diana’s sons, Williams and the slightly wayward Harry (Luther Ford), are factored in. But there is love and cheer too. Kate Middleton (wide-eyed beauty Meg Bellamy) is introduced as a classmate of Prince William. He is so much in love that when quizzed by the grandmother on dating her, he believes he may have chosen ‘impossibly high’. We are also led to believe that it was her pushy and ambitious mother who played more than just cupid.

As the curtains fall, it’s indeed a befitting and majestic finale. The makers salute if not pay an outright ode to the Queen, who lived like a queen and had to obviously depart like one. And as dust settles on the show, naysayers would have picked holes and dissected the historical authenticity of fictional retelling. Yet, there is no denying that ‘The Crown’ would go down as a cinematic gem that got all its elements, from performances to production and costume design to musical choices to cinematography, together.

Indeed, this reel splendour is going to be everlasting. Streaming on Netflix, check out the final six episodes or in case you missed out the first four, the entire season is worth your time. If, by any chance, you are wondering if the makers will be tempted to add more seasons, well, ‘the strength and stay of the Queen’, Prince Philip (an effective Jonathan Pryce), sums it up, “You are one of a kind. We are a dying breed, you and I.”

Clearly, no one else can create the same magic as the tale of the longest reigning British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. Long live(d) the queen… ‘The Crown’ has ensured she will, even in the minds of those far removed from her presence or influence.