New drama series The Crown is set to reveal the Duke of Edinburgh’s frustrations about being made to give up his Royal Navy career following The Queen’s accession to the throne in 1953.
The £100 million drama (believed to be the most expensive television series yet produced for Netflix) illuminates the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and will explore for the first time on screen the Prince’s struggle with the expectations placed on him as Prince Consort. Played by Dr Who star Matt Smith, Prince Philip is portrayed as a doting husband and viewers will see the young royals coming to terms with the duties and obligations of roles they were not expecting to inhabit so soon.
Series creator Peter Morgan says that the show will allow viewers to see the ‘building resentment [Philip] has toward [Queen Elizabeth’s] power’ as he struggles to cope with being pushed to relinquish his own goals in favour of standing by her side as her support.
Morgan says, ‘He was forced to give up his career and become, as it were, her consort. And that led to all sorts of tensions, both within himself and within the marriage….Now, Philip, I think, had made the mental calculation that he would enjoy 20 years of married life before this dreadful Crown business would happen… As an ambitious, energetic, very much an alpha personality type, I think he was quite reasonably expecting to have a long, successful career and reach the upper echelon of the Royal Navy. But then King George became sick and died at age 56. This thing happens, bang, sooner than anyone would have expected.’
The production is directed by Stephen Daldry and will start with the couple’s marriage in 1947 before moving through Queen Elizabeth, played by Claire Foy, taking the throne in 1953 following the sudden and unexpected passing of her 56-year-old father, George VI.
The 10-part drama will be released at 8am on Netflix on 4 November and though Morgan claims the royal family are ‘very, very aware’ of the series, Buckingham Palace has declined to comment to news outlets about the programme.
Whether or not Prince Philip was upset about giving up his Naval career is entirely his business.
I wouldn’t give the slightest credence to anything said in this “drama series”, even if it does cost £100 million. Obviously they want to include as much tittle tattle and ‘controversy’ as possible to make it a ‘success’.
Although it is obvious that the Queen and Prince Philip could not expect other than to be in the public eye for the rest of their lives, I should think they get heartily fed up with people like Peter Morgan who thinks he knows far more than he does – and what he doesn’t know he undoubtedly invents.
In November next year, they will have been married for 70 years. That alone speaks volumes about their relationship and they should be allowed to celebrate their wedding anniversary without Morgan’s intrusion.
Does it also go through how they massively supported the Nazi and how ‘His Royal Virus’ would like to die and become a virus to eradicate all excess human population levels by a few billion, or are those details left out?
I doubt if the series will tackle things like eradicating the surplus population or any other conspiracy theories.
You mean like he’s quoted in the London Guardian?
Or his interview in 1987:
“The simple fact is that the human population of the world is consuming natural renewable resources faster than it can regenerate, and the process of exploitation is causing even further damage. If this is already happening with a population of 4 billions, I ask you to imagine what things will be like when the population reached 6 and then 10 billion… All this has been made possible by the industrial revolution and the scientific explosion and it is spread around the world by the new economic religion of development.”
You mean like he’s quoted in the London Guardian?
Or his interview in 1987:
“The simple fact is that the human population of the world is consuming natural renewable resources faster than it can regenerate, and the process of exploitation is causing even further damage. If this is already happening with a population of 4 billions, I ask you to imagine what things will be like when the population reached 6 and then 10 billion… All this has been made possible by the industrial revolution and the scientific explosion and it is spread around the world by the new economic religion of development.”
Your lengthy cut-and-paste quotation by Prince Philip mentions nothing about eradicating anyone. He’s known to have some strange opinions on certain subjects, but he’s never said anything about disposing a few billion people.
The views of the royals against humanity are pretty well known among them, their clubs, and their circles. Here is another good one for you to ignore about the Royal Virus:
Prince Philip, in his Foreword to If I Were an Animal – United Kingdom, Robin Clark Ltd., 1986
I just wonder what it would be like to be reincarnated in an animal whose species had been so reduced in numbers than it was in danger of extinction.
What would be its feelings toward the human species whose population explosion had denied it somewhere to exist… I must confess that I am tempted to ask for reincarnation as a particularly deadly virus.
“The views of the royals against humanity are pretty well known”
Again, you have nothing to back up your claims.
Again, you supply a quote from Prince Philip that doesn’t verify your conspiracy theories.
Quit while you’re ahead, before you embarrass yourself again.
“The views of the royals against humanity are pretty well known”
Again, you have nothing to back up your claims.
Again, you supply a quote from Prince Philip that doesn’t verify your conspiracy theories.
Quit while you’re ahead, before you embarrass yourself again.
Oh really? Please do then explain what the Royal Virus means before perhaps you embarrass yourself as an apologist. Do tell:
“What would be its feelings toward the human species whose population explosion had denied it somewhere to exist… I must confess that I am tempted to ask for reincarnation as a particularly deadly virus.”
Your term, “Royal Virus,” doesn’t mean anything. I don’t know if you lifted it from some website or made it up yourself. But you certainly didn’t hear it from the Duke of Edinburgh.
In the quote you keep referencing, Prince Philip was musing about how an animal might feel about the effects of human activity on the planet and the life that dwells on it.
He never said that he, personally, wanted to become a deadly virus to reduce humanity’s numbers, nor for any other reason.
You failed again, but thanks for playing.
Typical exceptional Brit in denial behavior. His comment is clear. He skipped to the present tense in the first person and stated after reflection that “*I* must confess that *I* am tempted”.
Get over yourself. His many other comments on his views of humanity are made clear to even the most exceptional Royal Virus lovers.
As the Prince himself often says, “bollocks.”
Reread your own quote, which says, “I am tempted to ask for a reincarnation as a deadly virus.”
He never said “I want billions of people to die.”
And for your information, I am not British. You have failed yet again.
As the Prince himself often says, “bollocks.”
Reread your own quote, which says, “I am tempted to ask for a reincarnation as a deadly virus.”
He never said “I want billions of people to die.”
And for your information, I am not British. You have failed yet again.
*gently pats the confused man on the head*
Poor guy. I guess there are many other reasons to want to be a virus other than to “wipe off excess human population levels” per his direct quotes. Perhaps it’s an evolutionary upgrade you and the Prince share then! Well enjoy evolution old chap but I personally don’t care what people who aspire to upgrade into a virus or their ilk think. You’re all a bygone relic and honestly your opinions couldn’t mean any less to me. Thank you for posting though and good luck on evolution
It does not surprise me in the least that Philip was upset to have to give up his naval career. At the time they married and until they were forced to give up life in Malta when the King first became ill, Philip and Elizabeth both thought her father’s reign would last at least through the 1960’s if not into the 1970’s — by which time he would been about 50 and ready to retire from his naval career.
The Queen herself has publicly said that her father died much too young, and her enjoyment at being a navy wife who did her own cooking and cleaning – like the normal housewife she *might* have been if her uncle had not abdicated – is well known. The role reversal would have required less adjustment from her than from Philip, since she was trained for job. Even queens consort had a degree of training for the job through their traditional roles as wives and mothers.
But princes consort don’t get any training at all and role models have been limited — as Philip once said, “Constitutionally, I do not exist.” And because Philip’s uncle, Lord Louis Mountbatten, was regarded with some suspicion by the Palace establishment and by his mother-in-law, he really didn’t get the best treatment from that group during the early days of his wife’s reign.
Previously, when she was Princess Elizabeth, Philip was present for everything – even when his wife was briefed for tasks in which she deputised for the King. But now that she was the sovereign, he often had to leave the room – if he was even let in in the first place; and if Philip wanted to meet up with his wife other than at mealtimes and other “pre-arranged” situations, he had to make an appointment.
So, it all must have been quite a shock notwithstanding they both knew what the public did not – that the King was *not* going to recover from his illness. And given that Philip was and, in many ways, still is a man of his era, it’s not surprising that he would have been upset by the loss of his own career. He was very good at what he did.
Meanwhile, as to the dearth of role models, queens regnant have been rare, and the treatment of their husbands – when they had them – was inconsistent until the present Queen’s accession and subsequent reign firmly established the tradition initiated during the reign of Queen Anne, which was furthered during the reign of Queen Victoria.
Margaret, Maid of Norway (1286-1290), was 17 and unmarried when she died on her way to Scotland, so never even personally ruled there. Jane’s accession in England (1553) was unconstitutional and only lasted 9 days, so also doesn’t really count. Mary I, Queen of England and Ireland (1553-1558) and Mary I, Queen of Scots (1542-1567) both named their husband’s “King” but they weren’t kings, and the label was greatly unpopular (especially in England, where the Spanish future Felipe II was disliked for being foreign). Elizabeth of England and Ireland avoided the question by never marrying. William III, II & I and Mary II were appointed co-sovereigns, thereby also avoiding the question (though William was not popular). George of Denmark was NOT named king, even as consort, and this turned out to be the forerunner of what may now be regarded as settled tradition.
George died halfway through his wife’s reign, however, so left no real legacy for Prince Albert to follow when he married Queen Victoria. Albert also died young but was able to carve out a very particular niche for himself, which greatly endeared him to the public (despite being one o’ them foreigners from Europe). This is the same pattern that Philip eventually followed; making third in a row of solid Prince Consorts to Queens Regnant; and like Albert, he, too, found a niche that has made him very popular with the public.
Additionally, Philip has lived a lot longer than any previous Prince Consort (under any title), which is why we can safely say that the Prince Consort tradition initiated by Prince Consort George (of Denmark)(1702-1708); which Prince Consort Albert (1840-1861) followed, either purposefully or inadvertently, and made into an actual role. Philip eventually figured out on his own that he was the 20th century’s Prince Albert, and once he got used to the idea was able to set about forging a role for himself. And because he has been in that role so long now, we can now safely say that a distinctly British Prince Consort tradition has been firmly, if not constitutionally established; so that when the next queen regnant comes along, *her* husband (or her wife, as the case may be, now that same sex marriage is legal in UK) will have definite role models to follow.
Almost this entire movie is crap. Or is it crappe? The only aspects of this story that are true are the Prince’s disappointment at leaving the RN and the fact it happened so soon. The Queen wasn’t thrilled. She was terrified. She had enjoyed her life as a naval wife and adored him. But everyone in the family knew King George was dying. That was why the Queen and Prince were on a Commonwealth tour the King couldn’t endure. She made him a prince royal on her ascent. But it was a huge adjustment for them both