In a New Season of ‘The Crown,’ the Monarchy Is at a Low Point

It’s 1991 in Britain. Buckingham Palace is where Queen Elizabeth II, now 65 years old, settles into her 39th anniversary on the throne. No. No. 10 Downing Street is now empty. Margaret Thatcher was brutally deposed by her own party members a year ago. John Major, her replacement as prime minister and dully ineffectual, has failed to restore the economy’s sclerotic state, which has fallen into recession. It’s an unsettling, boring time.

As “The Crown” begins its fifth season, this is where we are. The new episodes of “The Crown” have already provoked angry complaints by critics who claim they distort history by inventing conversations and motivations. It is incorrect to suggest that Prince Charles (played in the first episode) tried to persuade Jonny Lee Miller, the prime minister, to make his mother abdicate so that he could take her place.

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Major, now 79, was sparked into rare public outrage and issued a statement condemning the suggestion that such a conversation could have taken place. The show’s Netflix marketing calls it a “fictional dramatization.”

However, the episodes do not contain any disclaimers.

Tony Blair, a former prime minister who succeeded Major in 1997 has denounced a scene in which he was asked to help Charles, now divorced, to get past his parents’ objections to marrying Camilla Parker Bowles. “It shouldn’t surprise that this is complete and utter rubbish,” said a spokesperson for Blair to The Daily Telegraph.

On Wednesday, the season will begin streaming. Viewers can decide for themselves what is true and what feels absurd, and how willing they are to suspend disbelief. (For example, Elizabeth Debicki, Princess of Wales, isn’t as persuasive as Diana? Does it matter that she stands at 6 feet 2 above everyone else onscreen? Discuss.)

There is no disputing the fact that the early 1990s in Britain were a difficult time for the monarchy. The days of deference were gone. The Windsors could no longer rely on the goodwill of the tabloid media. They were treated — often with Diana’s covert assistance as she cannily promoted herself — as actors in a royal soap opera. The royal family was forced to argue for its relevance.

Elizabeth, who would reign for the rest of her life into the 21st Century, would be wildly popular. She was a towering, beloved figure, who served as a link to an era of duty, stoicism, and represented Britain’s best views of itself. In 1991, however, Elizabeth’s values which would make her so beloved seemed outdated and stodgy. A Gallup poll from three years ago found that 59 percent believed Elizabeth should be given the throne to Charles.

In a humorous montage, Season 5’s first episode notes that being queen was boring in a way most of Elizabeth’s subjects couldn’t appreciate because they didn’t see the hard work behind the finery. She spent a lot of her time on worthwhile but tedious and paint-drying boring activities. (“The Crown”) She addresses the Milk Marketing Board about its new “state of the art” dairy complex.