With Season 5 ofThe Crownmaking waves, many viewers are watching the series from the beginning again.The Crownis an impeccably made show: full of drama, intrigue, and just enough reality to prompt the occasionalresponse from politicians and royalsthemselves.
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Whether viewers are watching from the beginning in preparation for thenew season in November 2022or new viewers are on a binge-watching mission to enjoy the Charles and Diana drama in Season 5, the following quotes will remind them why so many people love it.
8"We’re all dying. That’s what defines the condition of living." - Winston Churchill
Kicking off with a cheerful entry, this comes from Episode 1 of Season 1, ‘Wolferton Splash.’ Early on, the show establishes the relationship between Churchill and Queen Elizabeth II, with Churchill taking almost afatherly interestin her when he learns of King George’s terminal illness.
In an episode focused on the inevitability of death, Churchill’s quote sums things up quite nicely. As the King grapples with his terminal illness and the enormous burden he will be leaving for his daughter, Churchill is presented as a stable presence for the soon-to-be Queen.
7"What kind of marriage is this? What kind of family?" - Prince Phillip
Prince Phillip’s difficulty settling into married life is a major plot point in Season 1. Phillip’s values are challenged in Episode 3, Season 1, ‘The Windors.’ Phillip wants his wife and children to take on his family name, Mountbatten.
However, this request is denied, and it’s up to Elizabeth to deal with the fallout. In the face of being denied his request for his wife to take his name, Phillip questions what kind of marriage he has: “You’ve taken my career from me. You’ve taken my home. You’ve taken my name. I thought we were in this together.”
6"Self-pity won’t get you very far; you just have to get on with it." - Princess Margaret
The real Princess Margaret was a controversial figure. She loved to have fun and regularly butted up against the boundaries imposed on her by ‘The Firm.’ Unfortunately, she was also known for being brusque, up-front, and, sometimes, outrageously rude.
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In this episode, ‘The Hereditary Principle’ Episode 7, Season 4, Margaret is encouraged to seek therapy as she reaches breaking point. Unfortunately, she’s not an easy patient, given that she doesn’t necessarily agree with the idea of therapy at all. Margaret is excellently portrayed by Helena Bonham-Carter in Season 4, and she manages to nail both Margaret’s occasional acidity, as well as her underlying vulnerability.
5"Unfortunately, the Wales marriage is a rare example of something that is actually worse than the newspapers report." - Princess Anne
In Episode 9 of Season 4, ‘The Avalanche,’ Elizabeth and Phillip have to deal with the terror of potentially losing their son. Once it becomes clear that Charles is safe, Elizabeth turns her attention to his failing marriage.
Wanting to gain a clearer picture, Elizabeth turns to her steadfastly honest daughter, Princess Anne. Anne tells her how it is: the Charles/Diana relationship is actually much worse than people think. Not for the first time, this conversation leaves the Queen wondering just how much she doesn’t know about her own children.
4"Whatever ‘in love’ means." - Prince Charles
Season 4, Episode 3, ‘The Fairytale’, captures a young, naive Diana Spencer as she is thrust into the limelight following her engagement to Prince Charles. It’s a difficult episode to watch for a few reasons. The strain on Diana is obvious right from the start. One of the most painful moments has to be during a television interview when a reporter asks, “are you in love?”
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Charles’s response - “Of course! Whatever ‘in love’ means” - is devastating to watch. Unfortunately, this interview did actually happen. In the documentaryDiana: In Her Own Words, Diana reflects on what she was thinking when she heard the question. “I thought, what a thick question. So I said, ‘Yes, of course we are,’ and Charles turned round and said, ‘Whatever love means.’ And that threw me completely … God, absolutely traumatized me.” WhileThe Crownhas been met with some criticism over the years forexaggerating real events, in this instance, this quote is almost word-for-word accurate.
3"To do nothing is the hardest job of all, and it will take every ounce of energy that you have. To be impartial is not natural, not human." - Queen Mary
‘Act of God’ Episode 4, Season 1 chronicles ‘The Great Smog,’ a real-life event that caused an estimated 4,000 deaths. While Londoners grapple with the freak pollution event and the Prime Minister refuses to act, the young Queen contemplates her own ability to enact change. What is her role, exactly?
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This conversation with Queen Mary is interesting for other reasons, too. Elizabeth asks her grandmother if the smog is an act of God, and this brings up the role of the royal family in relation to religion. “Monarchy is a calling from God,” Mary says, and perhaps more controversially, “Monarchy is God’s sacred mission […] to give ordinary people an ideal to strive towards, an example of nobility and duty to raise them in their wretched lives.” Ouch.
2"There is no possibility of my forgiving you. The question is, how on Earth can you forgive yourself?" - Queen Elizabeth II
The question of forgiveness looms large in the episode ‘Vergangenheit,’ Episode 6, Season 2. Elizabeth looks forward to a visit from the reverend Billy Graham. Meanwhile, the Duke of Windsor requests to meet the young Queen to ask her forgiveness for his own abdication. He wants to return to London, to see friends and to prevent socializing with “people of no consequence” in Paris. Lovely.
Unfortunately, gaining forgiveness from Elizabeth isn’t quite as straightforward as the Duke would like. The conversation between them is tense, to say the least, but Elizabeth holds her own, refusing him permission for employment. It’s a satisfying moment, given the Duke’s obnoxious behavior.
1"I don’t often get into a fight, but when I do, I want to win." - Queen Elizabeth II
In an iconic battle of wills, the Queen comes up against Margaret Thatcher in Episode 8, Season 4, ‘48:1’. The Prime Minister refuses to back sanctions that could bring about the end of Apartheid in South Africa. Fully aware that she is crossing a line, the Queen does what she can to push Thatcher into backing the sanctions in a clash that ends in a dramatic showdown.
The best part of this episode is the back-and-forth between the two women about the wording of the sanction statement: repeatedly, the Prime Minister refuses to sign the paper if it uses the word ‘sanctions,’ which leads the Queen’s team to come up with the word ‘signals’ instead. This appears to placate the Prime Minister, who finally agrees. This political interference is unusual for the Queen and shows her willingness to bend the rules (at least, sometimes).
