Entertainment

Queen Elizabeth May Be A Fan Of 'The Crown'

by Mary Kate McGrath

It must be a truly strange experience to watch a biopic about yourself, and when the biopic is a well-acted and detailed period piece like The Crown, it must be even weirder. Turns out, the uncanny experience of watching your life on television might not phase the royal family, and Queen Elizabeth is reportedly among The Crown's many fans. According to the Daily Express, a "senior royal source" claims that the monarch has watched the show, and enjoyed it, after having reportedly been recommended it by Prince Edward and his wife Sophie. Who would've thought that the Queen was possibly an avid Netflix user?

While The Crown is historical, the people it follows are for the most part still alive, and can criticize or point out inaccuracies. As such, making the show was a risky venture, considering its intimate portrayal of the Queen's relationship with Prince Philip, her trials of learning to represent a country, and Princess Margaret's affair with a divorced man. Since the series premiered on the streaming platform, it has risked the IRL Queen's disapproval, but if the report is true, then the show creators can rest easy.

“It has been a longstanding arrangement that [Prince Edward and Sophie] drive to Windsor at the weekend to join the Queen for an informal supper while watching TV or a film," the source told The Daily Express, as reported by Vanity Fair. "They have a Netflix account and urged her to watch it with them. Happily, she really liked it, although obviously there were some depictions of events that she found too heavily dramatized.” (Bustle has reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment, but hasn't heard back at this time.)

The article claims that watching the show became a regular Saturday night practice for the Queen and family, and that she finished the whole series. What's more, if the report is true, then the Queen, Prince Edward, and Sophie, aren't the only royals enjoying the show. Princess Eugenie is also a watcher, and reportedly gushed about the show at a party. "The music is wonderful; the story is beautiful and you feel very proud to watch it," she allegedly told guests, according to the Daily Express.

The queen's granddaughter, Zara Tindall, and her husband Mike, are also among the show's possible disciples. Mike Tindall told the publication that the two are "addicted" to the series. “She’s brilliant, the one who plays the Queen," he told the magazine. "I think it’s a great show in terms of how they delivered it.”

Whether it's for the uncanny experience of seeing her life on the big screen or to point out where the series took liberties, the Queen is reportedly an actual fan of The Crown. Fortunately, a second season is in the works, and Claire Foy and Matt Smith will return to play Elizabeth and Philip. According to Vanity Fair, the show will cover the period from 1955 to 1964 in this installment. Only time will tell if this next chapter will get royal approval as well.