As the third season ofThe Crownkicked off on Netflix on Sunday, the perennial question of how much of it is true raged among royal fans — and historians — once again.
Robert Lacey, whose bookThe Crown: The Official Companion Vol. IIis out this week, uses his insight and expertise to explain some of the deliberate anomalies.
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Did Princess Margaret really go to her father’s private secretary Sir Alan “Tommy” Lascelles and ask to take her sister’s place as Queen?
“No. It was imagined,” Lacey tells PEOPLE. “But it stems from an implicit situation and tension between the two princesses. There was very little sense of Margaret being brought up as her sister’s deputy, which she was until Charles was born. There were definitely times as Margaret came of age when her parents just pushed her away from any thought of serious responsibility. In the end, in as much as Margaret became a successful partner to her sister, it was in areas like the arts, and ballet and opera — which accorded with her natural tastes.”
Intriguingly, it mirrors what has been said ofPrince Harryoffering to take over ifPrince Williamdidn’t want to be King when they were young.
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“Royal rivalry provides a very rich theme whichThe Crowndoesn’t have to invent,” Lacey says. “When it came to Elizabeth and Margaret, the Queen’s pain about Margaret was always subdued. I’m not aware of her confiding to friends any negative remarks about Margaret. It was always couched in terms of ‘what shall we do about Margaret?’ And Margaret kept a supportive public stance of great loyalty to her sister. It is partly to do with the fact that the Queen Mother lived on.”
Did Princess Margaret win over the bailout for the U.K. from President Lyndon B. Johnson in Nov. 1965?
Netflix
Margaret, who was on a tour in the U.S. with husband Lord Snowdon, was seen enjoying a raucous party with the president in the show’s second episode.
Was Prince Charles sent to exile on a naval excursion to test his relationship with Camilla?
Serge Lemoine/Getty
Charles, who was in love with the then-Camilla Shand, did indeed go away to sea. Camilla then married her other suitor, boyfriend Andrew Parker Bowles.The Crownsets it up with Louis Mountbatten intervening and getting Charles posted abroad for several months.
“It may be that Mountbatten was involved in something like that but certainly not true that he colluded with the Queen Mother. They loathed each other!” Lacey reveals.
“But it is possible that Mountbatten — and the papers that might confirm that are still not public — acted on family concerns and he would have been the channel to accomplish that,” Lacey continues. “Or it may simply have been that Mountbatten, off his own bat, thought the relationship should be tested in the naval way with a period abroad.”
Did Prince Charles Tell His Uncle David — the former King Edward VIII, and the most recent Prince of Wales — that Camilla Was “the One?”
“That is dramatic license,” says Lacey. “But we know that Charles had a fascination and interest in the obvious example of the previous Prince of Wales.”
Joining Charles’ relationship with Camilla alongside Edward VIII’s with divorcee Wallis Simpson, it was to remind viewers that “love can almost bring down the monarchy.” Lacey adds, “There is something poetic about the fate of these two Princes of Wales and they both had destinies they didn’t expect.”
“When it came to Charles’ Investiture [in episode six], you see there is a definite sense of rivalry with his uncle David.”
Did the Queen visit the ailing Winston Churchill in bed and kiss him on the head?
Queen Elizabeth and Winston Churchill.Central Press/Getty
“That is imagined,” says Lacey. “It is intended to show how close the Queen was to Churchill. He was like the father figure she never had as her father died young. If she had a father figure who mentored her as Queen in the political role and constitutional role in particular it was Churchill. And she established these weekly audiences that have come to mean so much to her.”
Was Princess Anne confronted about her romance with Camilla’s future husband?
In episode nine, a committee of senior members of the family ask Princess Anne about her dalliance with Andrew Parker Bowles (who would go on to marry Charles’ love, Camilla). She arrives in her car (somewhat surprisingly) singing along to David Bowie’s “Starman” playing on her car radio.
“That formalizes what might have happened,” says Lacey. “All through this, none of this is done casually. There is a large research team and go through all the facts and whether to depart from history and what the reasons for doing so might be.”
Did Prince Philip rediscover his religion amid the moon landings?
Courtesy Des Willie/Netflix
Did Queen Elizabeth’s uncle, the Duke of Windsor, apologize for abdicating on his deathbed?
The Duke and Duchess of Winsdor.AP/REX/Shutterstock
The Crownshows a scene ofQueen Elizabethmaking a last-minute visit to see her uncle — who abdicated the throne to be with his American love, Wallis Simpson — as he was close to death in Paris. During the exchange, he apologized for giving up the crown and gave her a stack of letters fromPrince Charlesopening up about his love for Camilla.
In an excerpt of Hugo Vicker’s new book published inThe Times,the historian says that the Queen did see her uncle in 1972, 10 days before he died — however, the visit was long planned and he called the fabricated apology “absurd.” As for the letters from Charles? Another dramatic addition, as they did not exist.
Did Princess Margaret’s affair with a younger man lead to her separation?
Roddy Llewellyn and Princess Margaret.Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty
Princess Margaret escaped to the island of Mustique, where a romance with Roddy Llewellyn, a gardener-turned-unsuccessful pop star 17 years her junior, blossomed. The two had met at the country home of Colin Tennant, whose wife was a good friend and longtime lady-in-waiting to Margaret, in 1973.
Did the Queen have an affair with her horse racing manager?
Roger Jackson/Central Press/Getty Images
It’s true that Anthony Blunt, surveyor of the Queen’s pictures, was revealed as a spy in 1964 — however, the portrayal of Blunt blackmailingPrince Philipwith secret sketches that would link him to the Profumo political scandal is “ludicrous,” according to Vickers.
Michael Stroud/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty
Did Prince Philip’s mother stay at Buckingham Palace?
Princess Alice did come to live at Buckingham Palace in 1967, but her stay was not like it was portrayed inThe Crown, according to Vickers. She stayed in a spacious first floor bedroom of the palace, not a small place in the attic as seen in the Netflix show.
source: people.com
