3 Reasons to Watch The Crown in 2018

In the modern world, the idea of monarchy is becoming more and more absurd.

18:42 29 December 2017

In countries that run according to democratic principles, surely there’s no place for people who are bestowed a title at birth. In the UK, while there are still millions who love the Royal Family, the numbers of those in favour of its abolition are growing.

 

Public figures like Morrissey have been calling for the end of the monarchy for decades. For some, it’s difficult to argue. They're a burden on the taxpayer, and they don’t seem to do anything anymore. There are many arguments to the contrary, of course, and the debate won’t end anytime soon.

 

All of this makes the recent release of the second season of Netflix’s The Crown all the more relevant. The first season was released in 2016 to critical acclaim, and the second season is just as brilliant (if not more).

 

If you're on holiday abroad, make sure to find out how to unblock Netflix anywhere, so that you don’t miss out.

 

Here are just 3 reasons to watch The Crown in 2018.

 

1. The Queen in context

 

For those of us younger than the Queen herself – and that should be all of us – we have not had the chance to follow the Queen along her journey. It is easy to look at her and see an old lady in her nineties living in a complete bubble.

 

But this is not the case. The Crown gives Queen Elizabeth II more context. It shows us that she has had to face the descent of the Royal Family from leaders to figureheads. She is far from oblivious to the massive change in her role, and has had to weather many storms for the sake of her family.

 

This is no more evident than in the season 2 episode “Marionettes,” in which an op-ed by the relatively unknown Lord Altrincham forces her to reevaluate the way she relates to the “common” people. It shows how his comments hurt her to the core, but also that she takes his words and puts them to good use.

 

2. Upheaval in the Royal Family

 

The Crown is particularly relevant today because there is a lot of upheaval about to happen in the Royal Family. To begin with, Prince Harry’s engagement to Meghan Markle means there will soon be a person of colour in the family. Some diversity may be long overdue, and how the family responds will play a big part in their future relevance. There has already been at least one snafu.

 

Secondly, the Queen is in her nineties, and the terrible day may soon arrive when her successor needs to take her place. That will certainly be cause for a huge change in the power structures and the purpose of the family.

 

Watching The Crown will help you understand exactly how these changes fit into the Royal Family’s history and how they will affect the country.

 

3. Empathy for the untouchables

 

Finally, an important part of The Crown is that it makes it easier to empathise with people who are usually thought of as untouchable. It is difficult for most of us to relate to those who have grown up with a silver spoon and have little in common with the “common” people. It’s all too easy to rail against them when they do something that makes us angry.

 

The Crown shows us a family no better or worse than us. They simply have very different challenges, which are as real as our own. Whether you like them or not, or believe that the monarchy should be abolished, empathy is important and will never go amiss.