With the fourth season of The Crown just released in November 2020 and filming starting this year for the next season (and a new cast), and a new photo of Kristin Stewart as Diana just released, public attention is once again focused on the current members of the British Royal Family. And with that increased attention comes the question: is bringing current royals to life on screen truly successful?
I don’t think that anyone can argue that both sets of actors in The Crown didn’t go above and beyond in preparing for their roles. From finding “hook” words to help them slip into a royal accent or learning how to hold a cigarette holder the correct way, they have done everything possible to become the royals. They have brought them to life for many of us who will never have the chance to see them in person. However, whenever the late Diana, Princess of Wales, is portrayed, things get messy very quickly.
There have been so many issues arising from the fourth season of The Crown, particularly in regards to the Charles/ Diana/ Camilla triangle. There was even a national question in the UK of whether or not there should be a warning at the start of each episode specifying that it is in fact a fictional retelling. Whether or not it is because the actors are so believable in their roles or that people are simply unable to recognise fiction, it has made me think on whether or not the modern royals should be portrayed on screen.
There is no doubt about it: the late Diana, Princess of Wales, stirs strong feelings for many people. Although she had a very complicated and often rocky relationship with the media, she wasn’t as widely loved as she is now before her untimely death in 1997. And any time Diana is broached on screen, any royal who is deemed to have “opposed” her is torn to shreds again.
The fact that the Duchess of Cornwall and the Prince of Wales are once again being harassed about events in their private lives from over 30 years ago is absurd. Although people feel public ownership of the royals, we do not have a role in their private relationships. The Prince and the Duchess have been happily married for 15 years, and the rest of the Royal Family seem to be on board, as well. If this is going to happen every single time one of them is portrayed on film, there isn’t much of a point to it- they are human beings, and deserve to have a loving partner in life like anyone does.
The royals also are now treated differently when it comes to the big and small screens. Most celebrities and personal figures aren’t portrayed on screen until later in life, or more commonly, after their death. However, in the last two decades, that has changed for the British Royal Family.
The Queen in 2006, The King’s Speech in 2010, and The Crown from 2015 to the present- they have all touched on the lives of people who are still living, and very difficult parts of their lives. The Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex have to repeatedly cope with their parents’ difficult relationship over and over again, for the public to continue to “take sides” and wage war. If royal biopics were produced in later years or after their lifetime, royals wouldn’t be forced to weather the hardest parts of their lives repeatedly.
People may make the argument that their privilege means that it is fair to have to deal with this, but I cannot say that I agree. Perhaps the royals on our screens should not be the current royals, but rather those with the distance of the past on their side.
