Watch A Trailer For Netflix's Queen Elizabeth II Series, The Crown

[Primetimer]

There's a new QE2. Say HELLEEEEEEEEEEW!

Read the story

[tita]

Oooh, that clip set my heart a-flutter! The cast, the costumes, the styling, the sets -- I am here for all of it.

[Carolina Girl]

Getting a Netflix subscription if only for the pleasure of watching this!

[cardigirl]

Sure hope this is good. I love Claire in Wolf Hall, and I loved Matt Smith as the Doctor. Fingers crossed it's not Downton Abbyfied.

Edited January 6, 2016 by cardigirl

[Kimmykun]

The use of the TRON: Legacy soundtrack is hilarious to me.

That said, I'm looking forward to this.

[Clifford Alvarez]

Yay! Stuffy British folk in lovely costumes, talking about things I vaguely understand. I don't know why I love it, but I do. Can't wait!

[Eyes High]

Claire Foy in a Peter Morgan-written series? Here for it.

[teddysmom]

Does the Royal family trot out "this is a private matter" whenever they need it to suit their purpose?

 

That line was used repeatedly in The Queen, as her excuse to not make a public statement and fight Charles' and Tony Blair on the public funeral.   Yes, I've watched The Queen WAY too much. 

 

TBS, this looks amazing.  I couldn't imagine John Lithgow as Churchill but it looks like he's nailing it.   The whole cast is bonkers fantastic. 

 

Question - I keep hearing that the Queen or King's duty is to serve the country, since they aren't officially a governing official.  What exactly does that entail?  I've heard the Queen is rarely seen in public, is that due to her age?   Is it the younger Royals that represent at the charities they support? 

[Kierstyn]

teddysmom - not sure what you mean by the Queen is not seen in public. Last year she had over 350 public appearances. She does not travel internationally very much anymore, the last time (if I remember correctly) was last year to France, for the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII in Europe... which was fitting for a last trip, as both she and her husband served/volunteered during that war. She does have a lot of the other royals perform duties abroad. But she is out in public ALL the time... and so are a number of the other fulltime royals in the UK, like a few of her cousins, her children, daughter-in-law Sophie, and now her grand-children (who are not quite full-timers yet, but who are being groomed, certainly). When there is talk about the royals having a duty to serve the country, these days it seems best to see it as a image of the nation's morale, or perhaps as a role model. They give their time to charities, pick causes (like Princess Diana famously did with land mine awareness, Prince Charles has done with environmental issues and sustainability, and Queen Elizabeth has done with the health and continuing relationships within the Commonwealth). They serve on boards of organizations, and bring attention to those causes by their presence. They even fundraise for their charities. And example of what I means as image of morale is found in the time of the current Queen's parents: they made a point of continuing to reside inside of London, during the blitz, even having their personal residence hit, to show solidarity with what the people of their nation were experiencing. And as for the Queen herself, she is the official head of the state religion, and takes those duties seriously.

As for myself, of COURSE I will be watching this series - it is completely up my alley. The reproductions of the jewels looked smashing - particularly the Grand Duchess Vladimir tiara! I am a little worried about the dynamic they are showing of QE2 and Prince Philip... looks like they are really amping up the drama/conflict between them in a way that does not appear to reflect reality... I can see myself getting irked by that. But other than that, this looks great. The lady they got to portray Wallis had the hair and head tilt down like a champ! Can't wait to find out the release date. Can you say binge?

[Nancybeth]

Ooh, super excited about this one!  QEII is a fascinating figure...she was so young when she became Queen, and she and her mother both felt that King Edward VIII's abdication and unexpectedly having to step into the role of King led to her father's death at a rather young age.  Also looks like it will get into Princess Margaret's romance with Peter Townsend, which is an interesting story as well. 

 

Does the Royal family trot out "this is a private matter" whenever they need it to suit their purpose?

 

That line was used repeatedly in The Queen, as her excuse to not make a public statement and fight Charles' and Tony Blair on the public funeral.   Yes, I've watched The Queen WAY too much. 

 

TBS, this looks amazing.  I couldn't imagine John Lithgow as Churchill but it looks like he's nailing it.   The whole cast is bonkers fantastic. 

 

Question - I keep hearing that the Queen or King's duty is to serve the country, since they aren't officially a governing official.  What exactly does that entail?  I've heard the Queen is rarely seen in public, is that due to her age?   Is it the younger Royals that represent at the charities they support? 

I can't say as I've heard that she's rarely seen in public.  The Queen undertook 341 engagements last year, including 35 abroad...not too shabby for an 89-year-old lady!  Her 95-year-old husband had 250 engagements.    William, Kate and Harry only did 218 engagements combined.  But yes, the Queen's children take on more engagements than she does now.

 

An interesting chart:

 

(Jinx, Kierstyn!)

Edited January 7, 2016 by Nancybeth

[Kierstyn]

oy - couple of typos in there, sorry! Kind George VI and Queen Mary didn't "have their residence hit"... that makes it sound like it was on purpose. They lived through a bombing of their home is what I meant.

[teddysmom]

teddysmom - not sure what you mean by the Queen is not seen in public. Last year she had over 350 public appearances. She does not travel internationally very much anymore, the last time (if I remember correctly) was last year to France, for the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII in Europe... which was fitting for a last trip, as both she and her husband served/volunteered during that war. She does have a lot of the other royals perform duties abroad. But she is out in public ALL the time... and so are a number of the other fulltime royals in the UK, like a few of her cousins, her children, daughter-in-law Sophie, and now her grand-children (who are not quite full-timers yet, but who are being groomed, certainly). When there is talk about the royals having a duty to serve the country, these days it seems best to see it as a image of the nation's morale, or perhaps as a role model. They give their time to charities, pick causes (like Princess Diana famously did with land mine awareness, Prince Charles has done with environmental issues and sustainability, and Queen Elizabeth has done with the health and continuing relationships within the Commonwealth). They serve on boards of organizations, and bring attention to those causes by their presence. They even fundraise for their charities. And example of what I means as image of morale is found in the time of the current Queen's parents: they made a point of continuing to reside inside of London, during the blitz, even having their personal residence hit, to show solidarity with what the people of their nation were experiencing. And as for the Queen herself, she is the official head of the state religion, and takes those duties seriously.

 

Maybe I'm confusing reality with something said in the movie.  And they might have been talking about just being out in the public, not at an event. I think it was about her going out among the crowd in front of the Palace the week after Diana died.  

[Nancybeth]

Yeah, I would say her engagements are pretty tightly controlled, even when she's doing a walkabout, and I don't think she ever goes out in public just to, you know, hang. I mean, we see Kate shopping sometimes and occasionally out at the park with kids, but I don't think QEII has EVER been photographed just out amongst the people.

[Kierstyn]

Nice chart, Nancybeth! And good point - I want to see the treatment of the the Princess Margaret/Peter townsend situation as well! That should be juicy...

And teddysmom - you are right that she just doesn't go out and "hang." I would imagine there are considerable security concerns with that, and with hundreds of engagements a year, I doubt there would be time to do so. But that said, there are a number of chances for regular folks to meet or get a handshake or a few words in. Many events conclude with her doing a bit of meet-and-greet. Granted, it tends to be just a few front row people on the way from the event to her transportation.... but she is out in public.

[VCRTracking]

Watching the trailer and The Queen again recently I checked and yep, the same actor who played Prince Charles in The Queen, Alex Jennings, plays the Duke of Windsor in The Crown miniseries. So he has played HM's son and her uncle!

[WatchrTina]

Great chart Nancybeth.  It led me to Google because I couldn't recall who the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Princess Alexandra were.  I didn't recollect that the Queen has first cousins who were also born princes and princesses at birth because they were grand-children of the monarch, descended through the male line (King George VI's younger brothers).  The Duke of Gloucester is Prince Richard, grandson of George V.

Now I recollect that one of the reasons Princess Alexandra and the Duke & Duchess or Gloucester were pressed into "royal" service is because the Queen only had one sibling to help with all her public duties so her cousins were pressed into service.  It seems likely that Princess Eugenie and Beatrice of York (first cousins to Princes William and Harry) will be similarly expected to fulfill public duties while the children of Anne, Princess Royal and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex won't have the same royal obligations.

Edited November 6, 2016 by WatchrTina

[Badger]

Actually, no,  Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will not be undertaking royal duties much to the consternation of their father, The Duke of York.  They have their patronages and charities and both have had jobs, although Beatrice is not working right now.  She broke up with her long time boyfriend not too long ago.  Eugenie is expected to be engaged to her boyfriend in the not too distant future.