Why Carrie Bickmore has been binge-watching the royals

I KNOW I’m late to the party—Mum life/work life/no life means I’ll always be late—but how good is The Crown?, writes Carrie Bickmore.

Carrie Bickmore divulges her latest Netflix obsession in her latest column for Stellar.

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I’M currently in a Netflix funk. You know that space when you’ve finished a series you’ve binged on for weeks but you’re not quite far enough into your new show to be excited about it yet?

My last indulgence was The Crown. I know, I’m late to the party! Mum life/work life/no life means I’ll always be late, but how good is The Crown?

I went in with high expectations given it’s the most expensive show ever made (about $160 million) and it didn’t disappoint. It wasn’t fast-paced, seat-of-your-pants House Of Cards or Breaking Bad type viewing, but for someone who’s never really had a fascination with the royal family, it was a reminder why they’ve dominated the tabloids for decades.

Claire Foy as the Queen in The Crown ‘doesn’t disappoint’. Picture: Netflix

The series covers the death of King George VI and how his unprepared daughter Elizabeth became Queen at just 26. It details the lonely and relentless duty required to wear the crown, the six-month long trips around the world without her young kids, and regularly hints at her husband Philip’s alleged philandering ways.

I was so captivated by The Crown that I backed it up with the 2006 movie The Queen (once again late to the party!), which portrays an older Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren) as monarch, but also as a grandmother in the wake of Princess Diana’s death.

‘Like most, I remember where I was when I heard the news of Diana’s death’, pictured here after her marriage to Prince Charles. Picture: Keystone

Like most, I remember where I was when I heard the news of Diana’s death. I was in my final year of school and on my way to a dance concert. I remember appreciating the enormity of what had happened but, still a teenager, not totally connecting with it.

Now as a mum, I have a different appreciation for Diana’s death. Her sons William and Harry lost their mother at just 15 and 12 in the most shocking of ways and have endured a lifetime of intrusive attention. You have to marvel at the balanced and charming men they seem to have become.

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Sure, Harry’s had his wild moments, but what young man hasn’t? He’s had the perks of being a royal without too much responsibility, while William bears the burden of his future reign. William’s done all the “right things” – found a nice wife and had a couple of possible heirs, to ensure the crown continues to be passed on down traditional lines.

Yet it delights me a little that lately they seem to be morphing into each other. Harry is dating Meghan Markle and apparently settling down.

Meanwhile, William is downing Jägerbombs with a bunch of ladies and dad dancing in the Swiss Alps.

William was nursing a hangover, while brother Harry was planting a tree at one of his grandma’s conservation projects in the north-east of London.

True story.

The only royal who is yet to spark my interest is Prince Charles, which is a bummer since he’s the one who’s going to be king!

Don’t worry, I won’t go into the republican versus monarchy debate. I’ll leave that to my mate with the red bandana. But, if we’re stuck with this crew, can we see if we can skip Charles and have Wills and Harry head up the monarchy together?

The Hemsworths of Buckingham Palace, if you will. What a TV show that would make!

Carrie co-hosts The Project, 6.30pm weeknights, on Network Ten.

Originally published as Why Carrie Bickmore has been binge-watching the royals