Kerry Parnell: Of course Meghan is bingeing on The Crown
The Duchess of Sussex must be counting down the days to the next season of The Crown, Kerry Parnell writes, who bets the bulk of Meghan’s back-knowledge of the royal family she married into came from the Netflix series. Here’s why.
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I bet Meghan’s counting down the days to The Crown. Can you imagine: I’d put cash on the bulk of her back-knowledge of the family she married into came from the Netflix series. It’s like the ultimate CliffsNotes.
The preview to season four dropped recently and it looks like it’s going to be a belter. The series, which airs in November, picks up in 1979, featuring Diana in the form of actor Emma Corrin and Margaret Thatcher, no doubt brilliantly portrayed by Gillian Anderson.
We’re going to see Diana go from shy nursery school teacher to the most well-known woman in the world, including the royal wedding to end all royal weddings, with her giant Emanuel froth-ball of a frock. We’ll also see the couple’s 1983 tour of Australia, where Diana Mania first emerged — and she realised Charles didn’t like it.
“I learned how to be royal in one week,” she later said.
Even then, as a new mum, her smiles masked her unhappiness.
“I realised the sense of duty, the level of intensity of interest, and the demanding role I now found myself in,” she said.
So yes, there’s much here for Meghan to mull.
To be honest, I bet most of the Royal Family sneakily watch The Crown, whether they admit it or not. It is reported the Queen, who is a fan of Downton Abbey, has seen it and daughter-in-law Camilla has been outed as a fan.
Her nephew Ben Elliot told Vanity Fair his aunt watches it, but wasn’t looking forward to “the bits that come”. Quite.
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Eugenie says she’s seen “a couple of episodes”, which is surely code for saying she’s binged on all three series like everyone else.
“It is filmed beautifully. The music is wonderful, the story is beautiful, you feel very proud to watch it. I can’t speak for everyone but that’s how I felt when I watched it,” she told Hello magazine.
William told actor Olivia Colman he doesn’t watch it, but do you honestly think Catherine could resist? Unlikely.
Even Anne says she’s seen it, although she took umbrage with Erin Doherty, who portrays the young Princess Royal moaning about the length of time it takes to do her hair.
“It takes me 10 or 15 minutes. I do it myself,” she said dismissively.
One family member who definitely doesn’t tune in is Prince Philip. Matt Smith, who played him in the first two seasons said a friend asked the Duke of Edinburgh if he’d watched it.
“He turned around to him and went, ‘Don’t be ridiculous’,” Smith told the Observer. Marvellous.
And as for Harry and Meghan, they are probably using the prince’s new Netflix connections to wheedle a preview, especially after creator Peter Morgan hinted the Sussex’s story might appear as a metaphor in some of the scenes.
“To be a dramatist, I think you need perspective and you need to also allow for the opportunity for metaphor,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
“There have been plenty of opportunities in the past where there have been marital complications. There’ve been wives that have been married into the Royal Family that have felt unwelcome and that they don’t fit in.”
They also made very dramatic exits. To be continued …