The Crown - Netflix

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As others have said, anyone intrigued by the Romanov history, The Royal Mob is worth a watch. It's light hearted history but does delve into the family politics behind it all.
 
Ok so I’ve finally finished the show and I’m just wondering what happened for it to decrease in quality after series 2? The final episodes of this series were so boring. The best episode was the one with Mohammad and Sydney and I think Elizabeth Debicki’s performance as Diana was really good.
Felt absolutely no sympathy for Charles or Camilla and this just reminded me of how badly they acted during the whole fiasco. I don’t see why Charles was allowed to do a tv interview but the minute Diana did one it was all ‘how could she?!’
Before on the Royals thread I believe I said that I think it’s good that William had banned the Martin Bashir interview and someone pointed out that even though the interview was got by dubious means, what she said was her own thoughts and that shouldn’t be silenced. I actually now agree with that poster, and I think it’s shown William in a bad light. Martin didn’t tell Diana what to say and a lot was similar to what she said in the Andrew Morton interview. William would rather silence his mother and protect his father and his position. It’s all rather seedy.
Bit annoyed they didn’t show more of her relationship with Khan because they split up in early 1997, not before the divorce and she dumped him after a holiday with the Al Fayed’s. The scenes with him and Diana were really sweet.
 
thegirlscout said:
Ok so I’ve finally finished the show and I’m just wondering what happened for it to decrease in quality after series 2? The final episodes of this series were so boring. The best episode was the one with Mohammad and Sydney and I think Elizabeth Debicki’s performance as Diana was really good.
Felt absolutely no sympathy for Charles or Camilla and this just reminded me of how badly they acted during the whole fiasco. I don’t see why Charles was allowed to do a tv interview but the minute Diana did one it was all ‘how could she?!’
Before on the Royals thread I believe I said that I think it’s good that William had banned the Martin Bashir interview and someone pointed out that even though the interview was got by dubious means, what she said was her own thoughts and that shouldn’t be silenced. I actually now agree with that poster, and I think it’s shown William in a bad light. Martin didn’t tell Diana what to say and a lot was similar to what she said in the Andrew Morton interview. William would rather silence his mother and protect his father and his position. It’s all rather seedy.
Bit annoyed they didn’t show more of her relationship with Khan because they split up in early 1997, not before the divorce and she dumped him after a holiday with the Al Fayed’s. The scenes with him and Diana were really sweet.
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Sorry I disagree. The book was Diana's voice, the TV interview was manipulated. The factual stuff in the interview was already in Mortons book anyway, anything else was driven by her paranoia and emotion from the lies she had been fed.
 
Mark81 said:
Sorry I disagree. The book was Diana's voice, the TV interview was manipulated. The factual stuff in the interview was already in Mortons book anyway, anything else was driven by her paranoia and emotion from the lies she had been fed.
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But she says in the interview what she says basically in the book? It’s been along time since I read or saw them but it’s pretty consistent.
 
thegirlscout said:
Bit annoyed they didn’t show more of her relationship with Khan because they split up in early 1997,
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God I was so bored of the Hasnat Khan bit, so it just goes to show, they can't please all the people all of the time! They really made Diana look like a nurjob in that episode, and Charles and Camilla I though as just quite sweet ( which takes some doing when Charles is played by sleazy Dominic West!

thegirlscout said:
But she says in the interview what she says basically in the book? It’s been along time since I read or saw them but it’s pretty consistent.
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Yes, I think it's pretty much word for word. Her brother was a journalist for CBS. He wasn't naive about the way the media works. Both he and William are now trying to get things banned to protect the Royals in Wiliams case, and probably some level of guilt in Charles Spencers case. Bashir used underhand tactics to get the interview, but what she said, she wanted to say, imo. The tapes were played on Netflix when the last season was on, I'm not sure if it's still on there.I think the quality has deteriorated because of the relentless criticism by the media (who, at the time were falling over themselves to publish all the salacious details) aided and abetted by the Palace press office. So a show made mainly in the UK, with a mainly British cast and crew, which showcases British talent across the world has been diminished because an overprivileged family doesn't want things they did to be aired in public, and the press, who are supposed to hold authority figures to account have just fallen over and done their bidding.
 
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thegirlscout said:
Ok so I’ve finally finished the show and I’m just wondering what happened for it to decrease in quality after series 2? The final episodes of this series were so boring. The best episode was the one with Mohammad and Sydney and I think Elizabeth Debicki’s performance as Diana was really good.
Felt absolutely no sympathy for Charles or Camilla and this just reminded me of how badly they acted during the whole fiasco. I don’t see why Charles was allowed to do a tv interview but the minute Diana did one it was all ‘how could she?!’
Before on the Royals thread I believe I said that I think it’s good that William had banned the Martin Bashir interview and someone pointed out that even though the interview was got by dubious means, what she said was her own thoughts and that shouldn’t be silenced. I actually now agree with that poster, and I think it’s shown William in a bad light. Martin didn’t tell Diana what to say and a lot was similar to what she said in the Andrew Morton interview. William would rather silence his mother and protect his father and his position. It’s all rather seedy.
Bit annoyed they didn’t show more of her relationship with Khan because they split up in early 1997, not before the divorce and she dumped him after a holiday with the Al Fayed’s. The scenes with him and Diana were really sweet.
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Charles' interview with David Dimbleby was very different to Diana's. Apart from the question about Camilla and his fidelity, the rest was a standard Royal interview/documentary. That was the only sensationalist aspect. Diana's was completely different. It was a last minute addition to the television schedules and was a television event. I remember watching it with my Mother and we were completely stunned. It was completely unexpected of her, despite the book. Afterwards it was discussed on Newsnjght and was all over the papers for days. Everyone was talking about it at work the next day.
 
LoopyLou47 said:
God I was so bored of the Hasnat Khan bit, so it just goes to show, they can't please all the people all of the time!
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😂 this made me smile haha, yes it’s so true! I have heard lots of differing opinions about this series than the previous 2. I watched the series with my mum and she totally disagreed with my views on lots of things, she thought it showed Charles and Camilla in a good light and felt a huge amount of sympathy for them, whereas I was totally opposite. I think it’s a mark of a decent series when the viewpoints are quite differing instead of everyone agreeing it was tit.
I found the storyline of the boat quite boring, I get that it was important to the Queen and her family but I couldn’t engage in it at all.

Someone mentioned previously that the second incarnation of the show didn’t cover Anne’s kidnapping, what other big storylines did they miss? I swear this era of Diana had Paul Burrell? I also think they should have included a part where Earl Spencer refused to let Diana live at the family home.
 
The Hasnat scenes were boring really. I suppose they were meant to show Di was really lonely and wanted to find a nice down to earth man, but they just came across as a bit weird and awkward.

It’ll be hilarious if they bring Paul Burrell into it. I don’t think they will though, because despite what he says, he just wasn’t that important to the royals and probably went unnoticed until the thefts. We’ve seen that Di was very familiar with people and made them feel like they were her friend, and it clearly went to his head.
 
Mr Krabs said:
The Hasnat scenes were boring really. I suppose they were meant to show Di was really lonely and wanted to find a nice down to earth man, but they just came across as a bit weird and awkward.

It’ll be hilarious if they bring Paul Burrell into it. I don’t think they will though, because despite what he says, he just wasn’t that important to the royals and probably went unnoticed until the thefts. We’ve seen that Di was very familiar with people and made them feel like they were her friend, and it clearly went to his head.
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I agree. He was a butler, that's all, and they probably couldn't have cared less about him, including Diana. He was staff, and she was used to having staff. He wasn't special. He seems ( still) obsessed with Diana though, but I suppose they have done the obsession bit with Mohammed AlFayed.
 
thegirlscout said:
But she says in the interview what she says basically in the book? It’s been along time since I read or saw them but it’s pretty consistent.
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That's my point, so she hasnt being silenced by her son. She has already had her say in the book. It's the extra venom she had in how she spoke, phrasing (suggest to her) and the fact that she was talked into it at all that's the issue with the interview. She was made to go on tv in fraudulent circumstances and in a way humiliate herself and ruin her public image (she later regretted it and public opinion turned a bit as time went by). All to further a journalists career. Plus its all incredibly manipulated when you look at her pose, make up, the way it's shot etc.

His mum was manipulated and used by an ambitious and morally corrupt journalist. It has no journalistic or historical value as its all based on lies.
 
thegirlscout said:
😂 this made me smile haha, yes it’s so true! I have heard lots of differing opinions about this series than the previous 2. I watched the series with my mum and she totally disagreed with my views on lots of things, she thought it showed Charles and Camilla in a good light and felt a huge amount of sympathy for them, whereas I was totally opposite. I think it’s a mark of a decent series when the viewpoints are quite differing instead of everyone agreeing it was tit.
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Yeah, was speaking to my partner about Charles and Diana. He was of the opinion Charles came across quite well, he had genuine love for Camilla, spoke a lot of sense re: reforming the monarchy while Diana came across as a nut job. OTOH, I felt sorry for Diana. Charles was (mostly) happy albeit quite a cold person and Diana was incredibly lonely, no friends, manipulated, ignored.

I didn't realise exactly how big of a scumbag Martin Bashir is.
 
From what I remember of the book and the interview, Diana's affairs weren't mentioned in the book, but in the interview she admits to have been in love with and let down by James Hewitt. She also doubted Charles' suitability to be King. I remember watching it at the time & shouting at Martin Bashir "ask about Will Carling", but unfortunately he didn't. At the time Will Carling had recently broken up with his new wife after rumours of an affair with Diana after they had met at their gym.
 
Alexaj said:
Yeah, was speaking to my partner about Charles and Diana. He was of the opinion Charles came across quite well, he had genuine love for Camilla, spoke a lot of sense re: reforming the monarchy while Diana came across as a nut job. OTOH, I felt sorry for Diana. Charles was (mostly) happy albeit quite a cold person and Diana was incredibly lonely, no friends, manipulated, ignored.

I didn't realise exactly how big of a scumbag Martin Bashir is.
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When I saw Diana talking in that interview about being so alone and left to get on with things, she really, really reminded me of a friend of mine with a personality disorder. Massive complex about being left alone and abandoned, which I feel Di may have had due to her childhood. I am no fan of Charles but it must have been difficult on his side too to cope with that.
 
Mr Krabs said:
When I saw Diana talking in that interview about being so alone and left to get on with things, she really, really reminded me of a friend of mine with a personality disorder. Massive complex about being left alone and abandoned, which I feel Di may have had due to her childhood. I am no fan of Charles but it must have been difficult on his side too to cope with that.
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That's my take too. I was around in the 80s/90s when this was all playing out and they didnt touch on Diana being mentally unstable much at all. As somebody mentioned upthread where was the relationship with Oliver Hoare? She would make silent phone calls to him in the middle of the night, verging on stalking him. Didnt she also have a relationship with Imran Khan? She threw herself down the stairs and did a whole manner of things to get people to pay attention. She was desperate to be loved and looked after, that's why she married a man older than her.

They also didnt mention the lengths to which Bashir went to get that that interview. The faking of an invoice for an abortion for the nanny to try and make Diana believe that Charles had slept with her. They played into Diana's naivety and instability and none of that was really mentioned.

The romance with Dodi was just that, a summer fling, but Mohammed saw it as his chance to get more involved with the RF. His son would be forever entwined with them and he must have rubbed his hands together knowing that he would go down in history as losing his son alongside Diana. Though I am not diminishing the pain of him losing his son, but he played it up by have a memorial to them in Harrods etc and basked in the attention.

It feels like it changed when the writer of Downton stepped down and they got new writers in. It all felt very mooted and as though they were just trying to get through it because they wouldn't, or were told they couldn't, really dig much deeper.
 
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