First Look: Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ Will Tell The Heartbreaking Story Of Young Queen Elizabeth

Netflix kicked off summer TCA press tour with an eclectic lineup of shows. The service that made the phrase “Netflix and chill” part of the vernacular has a lot of compelling shows in store. First up, the new drama The Crown starring Claire Foy and Matt Smith (one of the former Doctors in Doctor Who) as Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Director Peter Morgan stressed the heartbreaking aspect of the story, which depicts Elizabeth meeting Philip and then realizing that her own dream of living in the countryside with her husband, children, and dogs will have to be put aside when she is next in line for the crown.

Morgan said, “Becoming queen at such a young age had a devastating impact — that’s the focus of first season. I think it’s a terrible pressure to be Elizabeth Windsor, a woman and on the other hand, be the queen too. You have to suppress your own opinions and you lose some sense of yourself.”

The story begins before Elizabeth becomes Queen and Morgan elaborated, “I really wanted storyline A to be their marriage and to tell that story, you have to see the beginning of that. She’s crowned in ‘53, her father died in ‘52. There’s an inelegant time jump. I wanted to see her getting married.”

Claire Foy plays Elizabeth and explained, “She slowly realizes and accepts what her job is. People forget that when someone comes to the throne, it’s because someone died and that’s terribly sad for everyone.” 

Smith said he learned a lot about his own country’s history as he researched his role of Prince Philip, “Philip’s story is remarkably interesting, especially his emergence toward joining the royal family. I fell in love with his certainty about life. There was a maverick-ness to him. He was a great family man. When she became Queen, his life changed as much as hers did. He had to walk two steps behind her the rest of his life and he did it with dignity, grace, and wit. I’ve grown really fond of him, of all of them.”

Both Fox and Smith credited the show’s research team for finding video and audio they never could have found on their own, which helped them deliver authentic performances.

John Lithgow plays Winston Churchill in the series and yes, he was intimidated by the thought of playing such an iconic historical figure. Peter Morgan thinks having a non-Brit play the role gives it an outsider perspective, which is a positive. About playing Churchill, Lithgow was eloquent, “The hardest thing was getting over the fear. I was very intimidated by the entire prospect of playing Churchill — being an American playing the ultimate Englishman. The entire challenge is forgetting the real Churchill at some point and making viewers forget him, and making him authentic. He was an extremely public figure. Everyone heard his speeches. He’s extremely different from the public, stentorian Churchill. I found one long video of him having lunch with soldiers in a hangar — you just see his physical behavior. He’s very animated and excited. He ate like a pig, smoked a cigar. For an actor, it’s fascinating to make my own narrative based on what I’ve learned. I’m 14 inches taller than he is so I just thought small.” 

And what about the real Royal family? How concerned are the filmmakers about their reaction? Peter Morgan answered respectfully, “The royals are aware of the show. There are countless ways to protect both sides. I don’t want to be affiliated in any way with the palace. I think they don’t like not having control. They understand dealing with this subject matter with some degree of respect and scrutiny is a rare thing. These are not people who are used to being taken seriously.” 

[The Crown premieres on Netflix November 4th]

[Photos: Netflix]