Although it’s unknown whether Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip are subscribers to Netflix, the pair are allegedly “very, very aware” of the much-hyped series The Crown, said the project’s writer Peter Morgan.
The epic royal drama, which marks Netflix’s first UK production, was inspired by Morgan’s hit play, The Audience, which imagined the Queen’s weekly meetings with the British prime minister of the day. Each season of The Crown is dedicated to a decade in Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, with the first 10-episode installment, directed by Stephen Daldry (The Hours, Billy Elliot), centering on her ascension to the throne while forging a relationship with war-hardened prime minister Winston Churchill.
Morgan, who has extensive experience writing about the royal family (having also written the screenplay for Stephen Frears’ Oscar-winning drama The Queen), joked Netflix is working on getting her endorsement for the show, according to Variety.
“Through untraceable back channels, countless approaches have been made,” he quipped during Netflix’s panel for the show at the Television Critics Association summer press tour.
Still, Morgan says he is happy the royal family has no involvement in the show. “I want my independence, they want theirs,” he said. “I don’t want to be associated with the palace.”
Morgan, however, believes they will come around to liking The Crown, because “a series dealing with this subject with respect is a rare thing”. “These are people who are not used to being taken seriously,” he added.
The 25-year-old queen will be played by Claire Foy, who took the role of another royal – Anne Boleyn – in the BBC’s celebrated version of Hilary Mantel’s novel Wolf Hall. Foy said there was little homework to do, because the queen “doesn’t express herself” publicly. “I just had to imagine what it was like, being a girl who wanted to live in the countryside with her husband and children and dogs and horses. She was a shy, retiring type, very close to her lovely sister, and suddenly she’s given the top job, and she’s the most unlikely person to have it. I think she’s a very good, good person who has given her life for her country, whichever way you look at it.” The young Prince Philip will be played by former Doctor Who Matt Smith.
John Lithgow, playing Churchill, meanwhile admitted to being “very intimidated” as an American actor entering the production. He called Churchill “the ultimate Englishman”.
When asked to address Britain’s recent decision to leave to the European Union, Morgan said the vote was “great box office” for the queen and “desperate box office for democracy and the democratic process”.
“I bet [the queen] would’ve voted Brexit,” he added. “But to her eternal agony or eternal relief, she’s never voted in her life.”
- The Crown premieres on Netflix on 4 November
