Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret: She was a fireball in season 1 and she’s back with more spunk this season, though ever-so-slightly more restrained. The right kind of sass to foil the calm that surrounds members of the royal family, Vanessa Kirby makes the Queen’s younger sister, Princess Margaret, stand out with grace, poise and a whole lot of sexiness. Her body language and eyes did the talking and often overshadowed Claire Foy’s stellar Queen act.
The truth bombs: The Crown does not shy away from controversy. From Lord Mountbatten’s very casual remark to the Queen about Lady Mountbatten’s indiscretions in India with Nehru to British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan being cuckolded to nonchalantly showing Antony Armstrong-Jones, Princess Margaret’s betrothed, as swinging both ways in the bedroom, to problems in the royal marriage, The Crown bares it all. If nothing, this should be reason enough to give The Crown a go!
PS: If these truth bombs persist, one cannot help but wonder how Princess Diana’s story will be told!
The supporting cast: The lead actors (including Matt Smith as Prince Philip) are superb but what really makes the show is the amazing supporting cast. John Lithgow as Winston Churchill, Victoria Hamilton as the Queen Mother or Matthew Goode as Tony Armstrong are just perfect for their roles and essay them with absolute brilliance! The casting team of The Crown deserves a bow!
The hottie: Matthew Goode plays the avant-garde photographer Antony ‘Tony’ Armstrong-Jones who Princess Margaret starts dating on the rebound. But she is not the only one — with his piercing eyes and badboy good looks, he is the man-crush we cannot resist. Oh, and it does help that he has quite a few shirtless sexy scenes! *wink*
The history lessons: The Crown takes us back to World War II and its aftermath. From the Profumo affair that rocked British high society to the Suez Crisis of 1956 and the discovery of top-secret papers by historians linking former king Edward VIII to Hitler, The Crown takes those boring pages from our history books and makes them gripping. Not to mention, the insider stories not told in our history books too!
Jackie Kennedy vs Elizabeth: Two powerhouse women. Two outstanding achievers. Sparks were bound to fly when they met. The entire episode with Jacqueline Kennedy and Queen Elizabeth is fraught with tension. The Queen is miffed to find everyone — her straight-laced butlers, her refined ministers, even her own husband — are all fawning over the American First Lady. But the two women meet, and the dynamics shift. And then they shift again. Jackie’s meeting with the Queen over tea to apologise and the Queen’s reaction is one of the best scenes this season.
Girl to woman: In Season 2, we meet a queen who has stepped into womanhood and is worried about being “middle-aged”, even as she wants more children, wants her prime ministers to at least last their terms and wants a more active role in diplomacy.
Marital troubles: The candour with which The Crown shows the bumps and warts that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh tackle to keep their marriage from crumbling under the weight of the crown will often leave you open-mouthed. And here we are, tying ourselves in knots over a film’s supposed portrayal of a fictitious princess!
Young prince charles: Billy Jenkins as the little heir apparent is a cuteheart. He might have a very little role but he totally stole the show at The Crown’s London premiere. Watch it on YouTube!
The last episode: He is “in, not out”. And he knows “she” is his job. That last scene where the Queen is pregnant with their fourth child and accuses Prince Philip of adultery and he tells her he loves her left us with a lump in our throat.
Sulogna Ghosh
