BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. _ When a princess is crowned the queen in fairy tales, it's "happily ever after" and galloping off in the sunset. Not so in real life. When Elizabeth II of England became queen at 27, it was a seismic shock. How inheriting the throne affected her and her loved ones is the story that Netflix will begin streaming Friday with "The Crown."
Peter Morgan, who created and co-wrote the series, also wrote the film "The Queen," which starred Helen Mirren as an older Elizabeth. This time Claire Foy plays the rather shy young woman who became Queen Elizabeth II and remains the longest reigning British monarch.
"Our story in 'The Crown' series starts with her assuming, quite reasonably, that she has a long time before her father will die," says Morgan.
"George VI (her father) died at age 56, and I think the Windsors have a tradition of living a long time. I think she could quite reasonably have expected 20, maybe 30 years, as a young woman married to a young naval officer, and ... for Prince Philip to have the career, and for them to live somewhat out of the public eye in Malta. And that story of the crown landing in her lap or on her head way sooner than she ever imagined, is the essential narrative of the first season," he says.
Her new royal status had a terrible impact on her, Morgan says. "And on all her relationships _ with her husband, with her sister, with her mother, so just what a devastating impact it has. We all imagine it's a fairy tale. It's anything but," he says.
Foy ("Wolfe Hall," "Upstairs, Downstairs") says she sees the young queen as conflicted and confused. "The right thing and the thing that you want to do are two very, very different things, I think, for her," says Foy. "And her instinct is very much at the beginning (about) family and her love and her husband and her children, and I think she's realizing that that's not necessarily what her job is," she says.
"And the acceptance of that job, it's a very difficult thing to have to deal with while also grieving for the loss of your father, which, I think, people forget when someone comes to the throne, it's because a family member has died. And that's a terribly sad thing for her and for everyone, I think."
Being a woman and a queen led to conflict, says Morgan. "How many times you have to suppress your own opinions in order to have the opinions demanded of the crown, and you lose some sense of yourself. I think it must be an extraordinarily difficult thing to live with."
Are the real Royals aware that Morgan and the others are tinkering with their lives? They're aware, says Morgan, but have not been consulted.
"Through untraceable back channels, countless approaches have been made," he says. "And in a way, that protects both sides. I want my independence, and I'm sure they want their independence. I don't want to be in any way affiliated with the palace. There is a sense that they are both very, very nervous and very, very excited. I think they don't like not having control, but I think they also understand that dealing with this subject matter with some degree of respect, even objective scrutiny is a rare thing.
"These are people who are used to slander, cartoons, satire. These are not people who are used to being taken seriously. And whilst that might be a terrifying prospect, I think it is also the only worthwhile way of looking at our recent history."
Though Elizabeth became queen in 1953, Morgan says he wanted to start the story with her wedding to the tall, handsome Duke of Edinburgh, who became Prince Philip. Her father had assumed the throne only after his brother, Edward VIII (and rightful heir), had abdicated after falling in love with a divorced American � a no-no in royal protocol.
"I wanted to show them getting married, because that takes us all the way through not just her reign, but this remarkable marriage. This is a couple for whom divorce was simply not an option. Whereas, it was an option for absolutely everybody in the'50s and the change in morality. But because of her uncle, and everything that had happened with the uncle, imagine being a couple for whom divorce is not an option."
Foy says she had difficulty researching the personal side of the Queen, who rarely speaks in public about herself. "Emotionally, I just sort of had to imagine, I suppose, imagine what it's like being a girl who wanted to live in the countryside with her husband and have horses and dogs and children, and who was a shy, retiring sort of type.
"(She was) very close to her lovely sister who was sort of the opposite, vivacious and full of energy. And suddenly, she's given the top job in a weird way, and she's the most unlikely person to have it, and what that means dynamically in the family and in a marriage and all those sorts of things. But essentially, I just think she's a very, very, very good, good, good person who has given her life for her country, whichever way you look at it, and has done the most incredible job."
'BUFFY' AND 'KOLCHAK' INSPIRE LAUGHS
It's hard to imagine a "horror comedy," but IFC will creep you out on Wednesday with its new "Stan Against Evil," created by comedian Dana Gould. "The premise is what if my dad was Buffy the Vampire Slayer? The original premise was what if my dad was Kolchak: The Night Stalker? Because that's more my generation," he says.
"This show is informed by those early '70s drive-in horror movies. You know, the title font is, 'The Last House on the Left.' And those early '70s TV movies, 'When Michael Calls,' 'Trilogy of Terror,' 'Let's Scare Jessica to Death,' there's a very weird, sort of, timeless '70s gothic sensibility ... to the show. And, then, in the middle of it _ and this was always the premise of where the comedy would come from _ you take a character that doesn't belong in that show, and you drop (him) into the middle of the show. And that's where the comedy comes from. What if Gillian Anderson had to work with Carroll O'Connor from 'All in the Family,' but everybody else had to play it straight? That's where the comedy comes from."
CLASSIC DOCUMENTARIES AIR IN NOVEMBER
There's no lying in documentary films � at least there's not supposed to be. Turner Classic Movies will set aside its fictional flicks on Mondays and Wednesdays throughout November with a collection of top-notch documentary films beginning Wednesday at 8 ET. Among the 53 classic documentaries are "Woodstock," "Native Land," "Best Boy," "Hoop Dreams," "Bombay Beach."
THE USO IS FEATURED ON PBS
Just in time for Veterans' Day, PBS is offering the story of the history and mission of the USO in "USO � for the Troops," airing next Monday (check local listings). The USO was established by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1941 and is a co-mixture of six different groups into one United Service Organizations. The documentary is told against the backdrop of a recent USO tour that took the performers to seven countries in eight days � hardly enough time to slap on their tap shoes. The documentary is being narrated by David Strathairn. On Nov. 9 the network will feature "Military Medicine: Beyond the Battlefield," a look at the advances in science, technology, and medicine and how they impact our wounded warriors.
