LOS ANGELES (AP) – In “The Crown”, a mischievous naval officer conquers the heart of a future queen. But he shudders when playing royal second fiddle, crossing the boundaries of decorum and perhaps of fidelity. He eventually finds his way as a trusted partner and family patriarch.
How does the Netflix dramas portrayal of Prince Philip, who died Friday at the age of 99, relate to the man himself and the life he lived with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II?
Prince Philip lived in the shadow of his wife, and the same is true of Philip in ‘The Crown’, as the title makes clear. But some episodes take a more complete measure of the man, or at least the character (played sequentially by Matt Smith and Tobias Menzies, with Jonathan Pryce in the wings).
Peter Morgan, the series creator who is on hiatus before the fifth and penultimate season arrives in 2022, has said that “The Crown” is the product of historical research and imagination, and contains scenes that should not be taken as fact.
Aside from a tell-all of the parties involved, we don’t know, for example, if Philip was as rigid in his approach to raising son Charles as he was sensitive to daughter Anne, as ‘The Crown’ says. Or what about the graceful hints of marital infidelity from the drama by Philip.
The series has so far brought Philip into middle age, covering only half of the true royal family’s nearly 100 years. Also absent from “The Crown” is Philips’ unapologetic penchant for demeaning one-liners about women and people of color.
But there are aspects of the Greek-born prince’s life that warrant comparison to the fictional version, which portrays ‘The Crown’ in a mostly flattering light: a bold and restless mind, one bound to the end by duty and dedication to queen and country. .
DOMESTIC STRIFE
“The Crown”: Philip does not want to give up traditional male privilege and wants their children to bear his last name (Mountbatten), not hers (Windsor). The answer is no.
When the death of Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, brings her to the throne, Philip leaves the military for the role of consort. Quarrels with Elizabeth ensue, including his reluctance to kneel before her during her coronation.
They strike a balance, with Philip a worthy half of a loving marriage.
In reality, when Philip lost his attempt to use Mountbatten as a family name, according to Gyles Brandreth’s ‘Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Royal Marriage’, Philip complained, ‘I am nothing but a bloody amoeba’, his children’s name.
Eight years later, it was decided that the couple’s descendants would use a hyphenated surname – as in Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, the son of Harry and Meghan.
In protest or not, Philip knelt before the newly crowned queen in 1952 and vowed to become her “liege of life and limbs and of earthly worship.”
On their 50th wedding anniversary, Elizabeth called him “my strength and stay.”
MAN OF ACTION
“The Crown”: In 1969 Philip is immersed in TV coverage of the first moon landing and forgives his life in comparison. After prosaic royal assignments at dental and textile facilities, the trained aviator has the option to take control of a private jet.
He pushes the plane to the edge of space, and while the pilot protests that the vibrating plane is reaching its limit, Philip replies, “Maybe. But look, we have also lived. Just a minute. “
Meeting the American astronauts when they visit England as part of a victory lap, Philip tells them that his position and marriage have kept him from “the things I would have liked, as a man, as an adventurer.”
In reality, during World War II, Philip came into action while serving on battleships and destroyers, received an award, and at the age of 21 reached the rank of First Lieutenant in the Royal Navy.
Fulfilling a full schedule of royal duties and running hundreds of charities, he learned to fly in the 1950s and was an avid polo player and sailor as well as a painter and art collector. Still driving on 97, he had his Land Rover turn over in a crash.
MAN OF FAITH
“The Crown”: Philip is asked to create a spiritual retreat on the grounds of Windsor Castle for clergy in need of midlife inspiration. He ridicules the plan as “hot air,” but agrees and eventually finds solace in a men’s therapy group version.
″ “How is your faith?” ‘He remembers his mother asking him concerned, then saying to the meeting and the dean,’ I’m here to admit that I’ve lost it … I’ve come to say, ‘Help. ”
In reality, Robin Woods, then Dean of Windsor, proposed establishing St. George’s House in 1966, and Philip became the co-founder and enthusiastic fundraiser, according to an accompanying book to historian Robert Lacey, “The Crown.” The center fosters discussion of contemporary issues, the website says.
Woods and Philip were lifelong friends, and the prince criticized his sermons at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor. Philips’ funeral will take place there on April 17.
Baptized into the Greek Orthodox Church – although a practicing Anglican, married to the Supreme Governor of the Church of England – Philip was a visitor to Mount Athos, a monastic community and religious shrine in Greece. Leaders of various religions in Britain say he had a deep interest in spiritual matters.
His weapon bears the motto, “God is my help.”
ON TEAM DIANA
“The Crown”: When Diana Spencer is introduced at a family gathering at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, she and Philip bond during a day’s hen hunt and he supports her marriage to Charles.
The relationship turns bitter and Diana tells Philip she is considering breaking up with Charles and the royal family she finds indifferent. Philip warns her against the move and criticizes her perspective: Everyone is an outsider, except for the Queen, the “only person, the only person who matters,” he says.
In reality, in letters between Diana and Philip that have allegedly been leaked, Philip supports Diana and criticizes his son’s extramarital affair with now-wife Camilla.
But after Diana’s candid TV interview and a revealing biography, Philip’s tone reportedly got tougher, writing that she should “fit in” or leave the family.