When it comes to scandals, the royal family takes the crown. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at the most dramatically impactful liberties, deep cuts, and dramatizations of events in Netflix’s acclaimed period epic.
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00:00It is not easy to express a sense of loss, since the initial shock is often succeeded by a
00:06mixture of other feelings.
00:07Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're looking at the most dramatically impactful liberties,
00:12deep cuts, and dramatizations of events in Netflix's acclaimed period epic.
00:17My name is Michael.
00:19I want you to get out!
00:20I promise you have nothing to fear from me.
00:22There is an armed policeman outside this door.
00:24No, there isn't.
00:2720. Elizabeth rejects a birthday invitation.
00:30Persona non grata.
00:32Not all of the shocks on The Crown are necessarily surprising.
00:35With the end of Charles and Camilla's respective marriages,
00:38the prince plans a party for his mistress' 50th birthday.
00:41Which leads me to my next question. Are you coming?
00:45Can't, I'm afraid. I'm going to be in Derbyshire.
00:48Really, it's all about displaying the genuineness of their relationship to win over the public.
00:53It's what one really values in life.
00:55One's health, one's family, and one's friends.
01:00As essential as the queen's attendance would be,
01:02she politely declines the invitation due to a prior engagement.
01:06It's a matter of principle.
01:08Two perfectly good marriages, two perfectly happy families have been broken up by this.
01:15Love, mummy, love?
01:16I don't want to debate this any longer.
01:18I'm going to be in Derbyshire.
01:20It's obvious that she doesn't want to be seen condoning her son's infamous infidelity.
01:24Charles and Elizabeth's meeting is passive-aggressively tense,
01:27merely confirming the latter's disapproval of Camilla.
01:31Still, it chillingly exposes the conflict between the queen's moral image
01:35and her complicated feelings about Charles' judgement.
01:38After everything with Camilla,
01:40this standoff foreshadows the final season's clash between mother and son.
01:4519. Charles and Diana reunite after her first solo trip.
01:49War.
01:50Princess Di's independent stardom is solidified by a solo trip to New York.
01:54Meanwhile, her husband Charles proposes to Camilla,
01:57who fears their marriage would never be accepted by the public.
02:00Don't you want us to be free to live our life in the open?
02:05I do.
02:11But I want to be humiliated and attacked even less.
02:13Her heartbreak awkwardly becomes the centre of Charles and Diana's argument after they reunite.
02:19When Diana asks why she should care about her husband's mistress,
02:22he simply exclaims,
02:24Because I care about her!
02:25The ensuing rant makes clear where his heart lies.
02:28As degrading as this confrontation is for Diana,
02:31it affirms that his loveless marriage is also tragic for Charles.
02:35Already set a year after Diana's first solo trip in real life,
02:39this scene obviously isn't about accuracy.
02:42It's about expressing how much her fairytale marriage hurt everyone.
02:47Camilla is who I want.
02:49That is where my loyalties lie.
02:51That is who my priority is.
02:53Not the mother of your children.
02:55Don't bring the boys into this.
02:56All right.
02:57Not the woman you married!
02:58I refuse to be blamed any longer for this grotesque misalliance!
03:0218. Fire at Windsor Castle
03:05Annis Horribilis
03:07A few days before the Queen's Ruby Jubilee in 1992,
03:10a fire at Windsor Castle caused tens of millions of pounds worth of damage.
03:14People are just absolutely stunned by what's happening around them.
03:24The Crown not only dramatises this disaster with harrowing production values,
03:28but creatively utilises it in the story.
03:31Princess Margaret even suggests that the disaster could have been arson.
03:35One can imagine multiple suspects,
03:37each with their own perfectly plausible motive to burn the place down.
03:41While it was ultimately attributed to a spotlight sparking onto a curtain,
03:45the fire proved an apt metaphor for tension in the Windsor family.
03:49Queen Elizabeth certainly saw it as a proper punctuation
03:52for what she called an Annis Horribilis,
03:55Latin for horrible year.
03:57To describe it in this way, Annis Horribilis,
04:01people will remark on it.
04:03Not just because of the theatrical deviation into Latin.
04:06What's your point?
04:07After all, 1992 delivered plenty of drama leading up to this devastating symbolic set piece.
04:13Number 17. A question of fidelity.
04:16Assassins
04:17Elizabeth's long-time friendship with Lord Porchester
04:20finally pushes Philip to air his jealousies.
04:23He even stoops to vulgarity when questioning his wife's fidelity.
04:27Porty is like family.
04:29Is he?
04:30Yes. Part of the furniture.
04:34Well, as long as you don't sit on him any time soon.
04:37Later, before the couple leave for Churchill's birthday dinner,
04:40Elizabeth breaks the awkward silence by admitting that a marriage to Porty
04:44would probably be easier.
04:46However, inconveniently, Philip is the only man she's ever loved.
04:50The only person I have ever loved is you.
04:55And can you honestly look me in the eye and say the same?
04:59Her biting but sincere expression finally puts this form of domestic tension to rest.
05:04That is, until the Profumo affair sparks rumours about the company Philip keeps.
05:09He maintains his innocence and love for Elizabeth as history supports.
05:13Either way, she manages her suspicions more gracefully than he had in the past.
05:18No, just come back.
05:19What?
05:20What? Say it.
05:22Say it.
05:24A different man.
05:25Number 16. The terror of the London smog.
05:28Act of God
05:29For the first three episodes, The Crown strictly focuses on the epic drama
05:33within the new monarchs at court.
05:35Then, Act of God follows with a practically apocalyptic dramatisation
05:39of the Great Smog of 1952.
05:42Long queues have formed on main roads and there are reports of motorists
05:46abandoning their vehicles and continuing on foot.
05:49London Airport is expected to be closed.
05:51Five days of visible air pollution cause distress and thousands of deaths across London.
05:56The show not only captures this historic pandemonium,
05:59but skilfully frames it as the first major public crisis under Queen Elizabeth's reign.
06:15It was shocking enough that the show changed narrative direction
06:19to become a more episodic period piece.
06:21And with the effectiveness of the production and Elizabeth's empathy for the people,
06:25audiences could really see the urgency of the Clean Air Act of 1956.
06:31Monarchy is a calling from God.
06:35That is why you're crowned in an abbey, not a government building.
06:39Why you're anointed, not appointed.
06:41It's an archbishop that puts the crown on your head, not a minister or public servant.
06:46Which means that you are answerable to God in your duty.
06:51Not the public.
06:52Number 15. The paparazzi take Diana and Dodie public.
06:56Two photographs.
06:57Diana Spencer's media stardom with the royal family became a curse with her great love post-divorce.
07:03What do you think I like most about you?
07:08My eyes.
07:10No, but I do like your eyes.
07:12She's on a humanitarian mission in Bosnia,
07:15when a press conference is hijacked by questions about Egyptian playboy Dodie Fayed.
07:20Diana, does the Queen know about your new boyfriend?
07:23Gordon, if we could stick to the subject at hand, please.
07:26Are you in love, Diana?
07:27His romance with Diana was formally declared by a photo of them kissing on a yacht.
07:32The show speculates that Dodie's father, Mohammed, tipped off the paparazzi,
07:36having manipulated their relationship to serve his status.
07:39What's more accurate is that Diana was devastated by the press turning on her.
07:43This humiliating conference was just the beginning of a media circus that would be the death of the couple.
07:49At least the show's later liberty of Dodie proposing to Diana,
07:52redeemed the relationship behind the scandal.
07:55And so, I have a question I want to ask you, to which I hope you will indeed tell me yes.
08:02No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
08:10It's definitely a surprise when this episode opens with a different royal family.
08:18In 1917, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family were executed by Bolshevik revolutionaries at Ipatiev House.
08:27As infamous as this tragedy was, the crown dramatizes it with uniquely graphic violence.
08:36The indignity of the Romanovs' death and disrespectful burial represents their humanity on dark terms.
08:42King George V would forever regret not sending forces to rescue his cousin Nicholas.
08:47In 1992, his descendant Elizabeth delivers some closure by persuading Boris Yeltsin to give the Romanovs a proper burial.
08:55Still, the earlier juxtaposition of George's leisure and Nicholas's gruesome demise
09:00offer a sobering reminder of such powerful figures' mortality.
09:04Shut up!
09:10Hurry up, man!
09:13Number 13. Diana's brakes fail. No woman's land.
09:17The crown doesn't like to humour the darkest rumours about the Windsors,
09:21until Princess Diana confirms a few in an interview for Panorama.
09:25Some might view this as you taking revenge on the Prince of Wales.
09:31But I don't speak with bitterness or anger, but sorrow, because our marriage has failed.
09:40Her expose of the royal family's dysfunction was such a historic scandal that she feared for her life.
09:46The show portrays that with Diana driving through an intersection when her car brakes stall.
09:51Oh my god!
10:02She comes to a safe stop, but is overwhelmed by paranoid suspicions of sabotage.
10:08While this scene is supposedly based on a real-life incident,
10:11it bluntly foreshadows Diana's death in a car accident two years later.
10:23Some viewers found this creative liberty to be in bad taste.
10:27In any case, it's a startling metaphor for Diana's tragic state with the Windsors and the public.
10:32Number 12. Charles and Camilla's intimate phone call. The way ahead.
10:37Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles' affair came out in the most embarrassing way in 1993.
10:42But The Crown really captures the revelation as devastating for the royal family.
10:47They're all shown reading the Daily Mirror's published transcript of a leaked phone conversation between Charles and Camilla.
10:58It's a means of building bridges between people of different backgrounds, cultures and generations.
11:05Their love story is formally introduced to the public as steamy banter between the beloved Princess Di's husband and his mistress.
11:12I quite agree. I read it to my private secretary, he thinks I might have gone too far.
11:17I suppose it might be better to leave the audience wanting more.
11:21Yes. I suppose one has to be aware of it in the room.
11:26Lastly dubbed Tampongate, this scandal is obviously a stark departure from the show's mostly elevated dialogue.
11:33Still, it's effectively framed as a key plot point, a violation that cruelly misrepresents the couple to the world.
11:48Moreover, it further humiliates Diana and draws Charles' family from his true love.
11:5411. Charles Tries To Push The Queen Out
11:57Queen Victoria Syndrome
11:59Public polls in 1991 suggest waning faith in Queen Elizabeth due to the longevity of her reign, hence Queen Victoria Syndrome.
12:07I'm sorry to disturb sir, but I thought you should be aware of this.
12:21It's outrageous.
12:22Charles however is generally regarded as a qualified potential king for his progressive image.
12:27He brings that up in conversation with John Major, as well as Edward VII's great but brief reign after Victoria's death.
12:35It's just a poll sir.
12:36True. Not a reassuring one.
12:41Polls come and go.
12:43Dangerous to ignore them.
12:45Equally dangerous to be guided by them.
12:47The new prime minister recognises what the prince is implying,
12:50but he doesn't bend to Charles' increasingly aggressive suggestion that they push his mother to abdicate.
12:56Judge for yourself whether this institution that we all care about so deeply is in safe hands.
13:08This tense meeting sets the tone for a new age of Charles asserting his claim to the throne.
13:13What's more eerie is that this episode came out just two months after Elizabeth's death.
13:1831 years after said meeting.
13:25As a fellow outsider, Prince Philip was always Diana's greatest ally.
13:29However, when she declares that she wants out of the royal family, this changes almost instantly.
13:44I'd find it myself.
13:45I wouldn't do that if I were you.
13:46Why not?
13:47Taken aback by her defiance, he realises they're not as alike as he first thought.
13:51The atmosphere turns ominous as Prince Philip issues a threatening warning.
13:55Let's just say I can't see it ending well for you.
14:00I hope that isn't a threat, sir.
14:02Our foresight makes this moment even more sinister, especially considering the rumours that would later emerge.
14:08So we are both outsiders who married in.
14:11You and I are quite different.
14:15Yes.
14:17I can see that now.
14:19As he leaves, Diana realises she is now more alone than ever and decides that she must raise her shields.
14:25And of course, as we know, this is just the beginning.
14:299. The Queen Unveils Her Political Side
14:3248 to 1
14:33It's practically unheard of for the constitutional monarchy to interfere with politics,
14:38but the Queen vocalises her disapproval when Margaret Thatcher refuses to join the Commonwealth in condemning apartheid.
14:45There are ways of Britain being great again, and that is through a revitalised economy,
14:50not through association with unreliable tribal leaders in eccentric costumes.
14:57But isn't that all I am, Prime Minister?
14:59A tribal leader in eccentric costumes?
15:02Certainly not.
15:03Rumours of a rift between them were already buzzing,
15:06and it doesn't help that Elizabeth decides to fuel the rumour mill,
15:09despite her press secretary's warnings.
15:12And if it were to become public knowledge that there had been an unprecedented rift
15:16between Sovereign and Prime Minister, would that really be so bad?
15:20Well?
15:21Inevitably, the story erupts, leaving the Queen to face public backlash and, of course, Thatcher's wrath.
15:28My fellow Commonwealth leaders, many of whom I consider to be friends,
15:33now feel that I have betrayed them on an issue most important to them.
15:38Well, they need only read the Sunday Times.
15:42It will give them no doubt as to what is going on.
15:47It will give them no doubt as to your position.
15:50Immediate damage control gets underway to rectify this royal faux pas.
15:54But to save face, Michael Shea is dismissed from his post
15:57before he can even utter, I told you so.
16:00Number 8. Lord Mountbatten's death.
16:03Goldstick.
16:04Time to catch some lobster.
16:08The first episode of season 4 briefly addresses the troubles
16:11that afflicted the United Kingdom and Ireland.
16:13We follow the various royals as they enjoy some downtime
16:16during the 1979 August bank holiday weekend.
16:19Dickie embarks on a family fishing trip,
16:22but not before writing a heartfelt letter to his beloved great-nephew.
16:25You're more than a man, more than a prince.
16:29And one day, dear boy, you shall be king.
16:34And now, to the sea.
16:36While the sense of foreboding never disappears,
16:38nothing can quite prepare you for this explosive climax.
16:41One, two, and...
16:51The provisional IRA claimed responsibility for the attack
16:55that claimed the lives of several on board.
16:57Even if you remember that fateful day,
16:59it's no less startling to watch here.
17:01Number 7. The tragic past of Princess Alice.
17:05Bubbykins.
17:06Struggling to bounce back from their panned BBC documentary,
17:09Princess Anne sneakily gets a journalist
17:11to interview her grandmother, Princess Alice.
17:14He uncovers so many unimaginable details about her painful past,
17:18and still, they only just cover the tip of the iceberg.
17:21I was born deaf.
17:24Oh, I'm sorry.
17:26But otherwise perfectly normal.
17:28Well, I thought so.
17:31But obviously others didn't,
17:32because then I was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
17:35She was born deaf, diagnosed with schizophrenia,
17:38and committed to a mental institution,
17:40where she was mistreated by psychoanalysts.
17:43I was treated by Sigmund Freud.
17:52He was not a kind man.
17:54She endured so much, overcame immense obstacles,
17:57and made incredible sacrifices for the good of others.
18:00But instead of business,
18:02Princess Alice dedicated her life to charity work,
18:05public service, and campaigning for social justice,
18:08often at great personal risk.
18:11Her story is as heartbreaking as it is extraordinary,
18:14and it's shocking that this interview is fictional,
18:16because she deserves to have her story known.
18:19Number six, Buckingham Palace has a spy.
18:22Alding.
18:23Speaking of enigmas, what do we make of Mr. Wilson?
18:26One's heard the rumours, of course.
18:27Rumours, ma'am?
18:28Yes, whilst on a trade mission to Moscow,
18:30the KGB got to him. Nonsense, I know.
18:33While suspicions are raised over a potential KGB spy
18:36infiltrating Downing Street,
18:38the real culprit is right under the Queen's nose,
18:40showing her artwork.
18:42Sir Anthony Blunt is revealed to be a part of the Cambridge Five,
18:46a ring of spies who leaked confidential information
18:49to the Soviet Union.
18:50The truth will out.
18:52I'm afraid I can now confirm that the surveyor of the Queen's pictures,
18:56Sir Anthony Blunt,
18:58was the fourth man in the Cambridge spy ring.
19:01Almost unbelievably, security chooses to turn a blind eye
19:05just to save face and protect ties with the US.
19:08While Elizabeth subtly drops hints about his treachery
19:11during their next meeting,
19:13Philip opts for a more blunt approach.
19:15One wrong step, you treacherous snake,
19:20and I will expose you and have you thrown in jail.
19:22But he's stopped in his tracks when Sir Anthony
19:24drops another bombshell revelation.
19:27Imagine how awful it would be, for example,
19:30if those pictures saw the light of day now.
19:33A storm it would create.
19:35Number 5. Camilla and Diana have lunch.
19:38Fairytale.
19:39Very happy to go with the flow.
19:41Well, he'll love that.
19:43He's so fussy and set in his ways,
19:45he'll love it if you adapt to him.
19:46Audiences were surprised to learn that Diana and Camilla
19:49really did meet for lunch,
19:50although reality probably wasn't quite as scandalous
19:53as the Crown's imagining of the event.
19:55Bored and lonely,
19:56Diana takes Camilla up on a lunch date invitation
19:59and the pair meet at a restaurant called Ménage à Trois.
20:02While there, Camilla makes numerous digs at the future princess,
20:05while either choosing to ignore
20:07or being completely oblivious of her increasing irritation.
20:10Darling, you really know nothing, do you?
20:12Diana was well aware of Camilla and Charles' prior relationship,
20:15but at this moment,
20:16she realises that while she might have the ring,
20:19Camilla ain't going anywhere either.
20:22What about hunting?
20:23Not if I can help it.
20:24More of a townie, really.
20:26So you see yourself living more in London than in the country?
20:31Why do you ask?
20:33Just curious.
20:34Number four, the Queen discovers her uncle's dark history,
20:37Vergangenheit.
20:38Years after abdicating the throne,
20:40the Duke of Windsor starts growing wary of non-palace life.
20:44However, his plans to rally support for his restoration
20:47instantly evaporate due to the revelation of the Marburg Files.
20:51In these papers,
20:52you're quoted as saying that the Führer's desire for peace
20:56was in complete agreement with your own point of view.
21:00The documents uncovered his ties with top-ranked Nazis,
21:03as well as a plot to put him back on the throne.
21:05A plan to reinstate the Duke of Windsor as King of England,
21:11effectively betraying and dethroning your dear late father
21:15in return for German forces being given free reign across Europe.
21:20The evidence against him is harrowing,
21:22as Elizabeth learns just how far he was willing to go
21:25to simply wear the crown once again.
21:27And the continued bombing,
21:29that is the continued slaughter of his fellow countrymen
21:33and former subjects would, I quote,
21:36soon make Britain ready for peace.
21:39It's no wonder the royals try to keep this evidence from the public,
21:43as it's too heinous to even imagine that this could have happened.
21:46There is no possibility of my forgiving you.
21:49The question is, how on earth can you forgive yourself?
21:543. The Abavan Disaster
21:56Abavan
21:57This Season 3 episode is dedicated to the real-life tragedy
22:00that wiped out almost an entire generation of Abavan's youth.
22:04Sir?
22:05Jesus Christ.
22:06Sir?
22:08Under the gas, come on, I'm doing it quickly!
22:10On this fateful day in October 1966,
22:13an avalanche of coal waste hurtled into the village,
22:16destroying everything in its path
22:17and taking the lives of 116 children and 28 adults.
22:22Every time the whistle blows it means they think they've heard something.
22:25Another child trapped beneath the wreckage.
22:28The depiction of the funeral is particularly heart-wrenching
22:31and will stay with you long after the end credits roll.
22:34All my trust on thee is stayed,
22:39all my help from thee I pray.
22:45While the village mourns, the government focuses on deflecting blame
22:48and the Queen is nowhere in sight.
22:51In 2002, the Queen reportedly described her delayed response
22:54as her biggest regret.
22:572. The Royal Cousins
22:59The Hereditary Principle
23:00I only ask because I am aware, through professional colleagues,
23:04of the sisters.
23:06This revelation from Season 4 left us scooping our jaws off the ground.
23:10In an episode that puts a spotlight on mental health,
23:13Princess Margaret discovers that cousins she long thought to be dead were alive
23:17and living in a care facility.
23:19They have pictures of the whole family,
23:22which they know is their family.
23:25To make matters worse, we are just as horrified as she is
23:28when the Queen Mother justifies the family's decision
23:30to essentially erase all memory of the pair from public knowledge.
23:34The Hereditary Principle already hangs by such a precarious threat.
23:40Throw in mental illness and it's over.
23:44While many elements of this episode are fabricated,
23:47there is a foundation of truth behind it,
23:49which came as a great shock to many viewers too.
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24:091. The Queen Breaks Her Promise to Princess Margaret
24:13Gloriana
24:14I was prepared to go through it all and support you as a sister
24:19because I'd given you my word.
24:21Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend's whirlwind affair
24:24had its fair share of obstacles in season one.
24:27But it seemed that the dust was finally settling
24:29and with the Queen's blessing, the nuptials could go ahead.
24:32Little did she know, however, that their mother had been conspiring with the government
24:36to make sure that this marriage wouldn't happen.
24:39Elizabeth is backed into a corner,
24:41forced to decide between her promise to her sister and her duty to the church.
24:45I cannot allow you to marry Peter and remain part of this family.
24:53That is my decision.
24:54As Elizabeth breaks the news to her sister,
24:56we can almost feel Margaret's heartbreak, utter devastation
25:00and the agonising pangs of betrayal.
25:03Without him...
25:09I'm nothing.
25:10What do you think were the most resonant moments from The Crown?
25:13Give your decree in the comments.
25:15I believe it was Napoleon who said,
25:17never interrupt your enemy when they're making a mistake.
25:20Do you agree with our picks?
25:21Check out this other recent clip from Ms Mojo
25:24and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.