But has the Netflix show been bad for the Royal Family? No.
The worst thing that can happen to a monarchy is being ignored. It then becomes irrelevant. The late Queen knew this. Fifty per cent of her job, she once told me, was being seen.
With its awards and record audience figures, The Crown has ensured that its vision of our monarchy has certainly been seen, throughout the world.
If Buckingham Palace kept a balance sheet, the six seasons of The Crown would have to be marked as a strong eight. That’s a big hit, in showbusiness and royal terms.
There have been errors, some absurd, others laughable. But has the show told the truth, the only real purpose of art?
Yes. Shakespeare’s history plays are littered with historical mistakes, but would anyone seriously dispute that they reveal enduring truths about great events and those who shaped them?
Guided by distinguished royal historian Robert Lacey, The Crown has chronicled seven decades of history with a light touch and an eye for telling detail, with brilliant portrayals like Elizabeth Debicki’s Princess Diana being acutely observed and deeply sympathetic.
The first two seasons, starring the enchanting Claire Foy, above, as the young Elizabeth ascending the throne at the age of 26 and quickly mastering the arts of being a monarch, had the courtiers hugging themselves with glee at such a glossy free ad for an ancient institution.
I am sorry that The Crown did not stop at the end of Season 5, as was originally planned.
Season 6 is a season too far for me. I shall never watch the fourth episode, depicting the aftermath Diana’s death in Paris.
Those events remain too raw. Diana and Dodi will always be in my thoughts. I stand with those who mourn them still.
Peter Morgan, who created The Crown, chooses to end his series by looking towards the present day, with the courtship of Kate Middleton by Prince William, Prince Harry’s Nazi-uniform disgrace and Prince Charles finally finding his own fulfilment by marrying Camilla.
Morgan is a gifted writer. His play The Audience and film The Queen were showered with awards. Both depicted the late Queen in a positive, perhaps even flattering light.
Morgan won’t be in this New Year’s Honours list but is already a CBE. It’s better than even-money that, after a decent interval, a knighthood awaits and maybe King Charles will invest him.
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