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

Even her appearance, later to be comforting in its familiarity and as much part of the national furniture as those pound notes that featured her image, seemed to suddenly shriek “irrelevant.” She had given way to matronly clothes, sensible shoes and quaint hats, with an immutable, immovable grey coiffure.

Accused in “The Crown” of suffering from “Queen Victoria Syndrome” — clinging to the throne past her sell-by date — Elizabeth (Imelda Staunton) declares that she takes the comparison to her great-great-grandmother as a compliment. She says, “Attributes people use for her — constancy. stability. calm. duty — I would love to have described me.”

As viewers will see, there is more to this season than just the surface calm. Already the seeds of discordance and trouble were being planted. They were about to explode out of control.

Elizabeth was married to Prince Philip for 44 years. This marriage would last until Philip’s death in 2021. There were rumors that Philip had been unfaithful at times, as is the norm for upper-class men his age — in his case fuelled by his feeling of ineptitude at being constitutionally inferior to his wife. (The series also criticized his “friendship” with Countess Mountbatten, as he refers to it, a young, beautiful aristocrat who he introduces him to carriage racing.

Charles, the Prince Of Wales, was the Windsors’ oldest child. He carried a constant air of Hamlet-like sadness with him. His greatest asset was Diana, his glamorous wife. Her star-like presence infused the monarchy with excitement and sex appeal, as well as a feeling of connection to ordinary people through her charity work.

Charles could not stand Diana. Or that Charles’s long-term affair with Camilla (then married to her longtime husband) was about to come out in embarrassing ways. After Diana’s death, Charles would marry and they became the queen and king consort.

 Too bad Diana was so unhappy. She was an unstable character in a doomed union and used the tabloids as a platform to claim that her husband’s infidelity, general contempt made her more sinful than she sinned (despite having many affairs). She was also ready to secretly collaborate with Andrew Morton (a tabloid reporter) to expose the terrible marriage between Wales and Wales.

In 1992, his book “Diana: Her True Story” was published.

It contained shocking stories about mental illness, suicide attempts, and adultery. It provoked anger at Parliament and consternation at The Palace. The couple also decided to end their marriage. Charles quickly teamed up with Jonathan Dimbleby, a biographer, to try and win back public support.

The queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, an accomplished equestrian and tireless patron of many charities was having an affair. She divorced her husband in 1992 and married Cmdr several months later. Timothy Laurence was her lover and former equerry of the queen.

Prince Andrew, the third child, was ebullient and had served with distinction during the Falklands War. He married Sarah Ferguson, a fun-loving redhead, to bring some joy to his family. Fergie, like Diana, was unhappy with the limitations of being a royal spouse. She also had a series of affairs. (Was any of those people faithful to their spouses? Andrew and she also separated in 1992 after photos of her with a boyfriend were published by a tabloid. (The second set of photos would follow, this time with a different boyfriend.)

It happened that 1992 was the year Windsor Castle, which dates back to the 11th Century and is one of the oldest occupied castles in the globe, burst into flames. The fire destroyed 115 rooms including nine staterooms and cost over 35 million pounds. Most of the money was raised by the crown through charging admission at Buckingham Palace to repair.

Queen Elizabeth was not known for complaining or making a fuss. It was therefore shocking that Queen Elizabeth, 40 years old, opened a small window into her dark and regal mood in a well-known speech at London’s Guildhall on 22nd December 1992.

One of her residences was destroyed, three of her children divorced or separated, her popularity was low, and her family seemed to be slipping into insignificance.

 It is a sign of her discomfort with emotional self-disclosure, that the queen used a type of double negative and then a Latin phrase to sum up her mental state.

“1992 is not a year on which I will look back with undiluted enjoyment,” she stated in the speech. It has been an ‘annus horribles according to one of my most sympathetic correspondents.

She expressed sadness at the harsh comments made about her family and monarchy and begged the audience to not jump to immediate opprobrium.

She said, “I often wonder how future generations will view the events of this turbulent year.” She could not have been thinking of “The Crown” when she said: “I dare to say that history will take a slightly more moderate view than some contemporary commentators.”