This may be a question on everyone’s mind, especially since Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip just celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. The answer is that it was definitely possible, and Queen Elizabeth herself admitted that it was possible. With that being said, neither royal has confirmed the infidelity, although the Queen stated that it’s entirely possible he cheated.
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Yes! He did hate his portrait and stated that it made him look “filthy” and “malignant.” Not only did he reject the portrait, he refused to ever let it hang while he was alive. After his death, it was designated to hang in the Houses of Parliament, but Lady Churchill had it destroyed in the middle of the night for her husband. The painter, Sutherland, condemned it as vandalism. Thankfully, he held onto some preparatory sketches, which are held by the National Portrait Gallery in London.
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Before the coronation, Queen Elizabeth and Philip have a conversation about kneeling. He wanted an exception, to which she explicitly said, “No.” In reality, Prince Philip was already a member of the Greek Royal Family before the couple married, meaning that he would have understood what was expected of him. There is no indication that he would have an issue kneeling at the coronation.
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Yes, technically, but the show took some liberties with his lung cancer. King George wasn’t diagnosed with lung cancer until 1951, 4 years after the scene in The Crown. It’s also accurate that he had an operation in Buckingham Palace instead of a hospital, and only his wife was waiting for the news rather than the whole family.
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In the series, Queen Elizabeth calls the Duke of Windsor to ask whether she should support her sister in marrying Peter Townsend since he walked away from the crown for love. Actually, this probably never happened for a huge reason: the royal family didn’t like the Duke. He gave them nicknames which many of them didn’t like – specifically George VI’s wife, Elizabeth. He called her Cookie because she was “fat and common,” but it could also refer to the rumor that she’s an illegitimate daughter of a cook. So, it is incredibly unlikely she would have contacted the Duke for advice.
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Of course, they did. The pair aren’t unlike any other couple in the world. There are disagreements, and sometimes they can get public. It’s factually correct that journalists in Australia caught them fighting. Just like the show, the Queen threw a tennis racket and tennis shoes at him. Once approached, the journalists did destroy the footage on request.
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Early in their relationship, the couple did have a rough time – particularly Prince Philip. To marry Elizabeth, he had to give up his claims to the thrones of Greece and Denmark. Additionally, he had to give up his career and even his last name, Mountbatten. The family decided to take the Queen’s last name, Windsor, which attributed to Prince Philip’s identity and masculinity issues.
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The relationship between Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend is actually pretty spot on. When the family visited South Africa, Peter Townsend followed along, which is where the couple started to grow feelings. Soon after King George’s death, Princess Margaret had her own apartment where Townsend was comptroller. This was where they began their affair, but it didn’t become public until much later. Rumors didn’t even begin until after the coronation.
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In reality, Venetia Scott never existed, so she couldn’t have died in the London Fog. With that said, Winston Churchill did have a similar relationship with his secretaries, which included telling them to read notes and memos through the bathroom door. However, the London Fog was a real thing, and it did claim the lives of at least 12,000 people. Churchill took the event seriously, and it was what spurred him to start fighting for environmental reform.
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The Crown shows a lot of animosity toward Winston Churchill and Queen Elizabeth, but this is mostly inaccurate. Churchill did suffer strokes due to the stress of his role, but Queen Elizabeth remarked that he was the best Prime Minister she’d ever had. The pair got along well, and when he died in 1965, the Queen declared a state funeral, which was the first to happen to a non-royal-family member since 1935.
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It’s very well known that King George had an anger issue. The show displays this well, especially in the first season when he displays an inordinate amount of anger when his assistant couldn’t put his collar on quickly enough. It’s also recorded that he cursed quite a bit, but he didn’t have the fondness for crude jokes that the show suggests.
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During her wedding, The Crown shows a young Queen Elizabeth stumbling through her vows, but this is entirely fictitious. The reality is that Queen Elizabeth handled herself very well. She actually got a letter from her father, commending for how well she carried herself and how calmly she spoke during the wedding. Talk about a classy lady.
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When Elizabeth wed Philip, the show features an elegant wedding with massive flower displays. The wedding actually only had two flower displays due to a lack of money. Several other things were restricted because of WWII including food, clothes, soap, and fuel. Even though it ended in 1945, rationing in the United Kingdom continued until after the war, and everyone was required to use coupons to purchase goods. The Crown accurately displays the fact that Queen Elizabeth’s dress was purchased using clothing coupons she’d saved up.
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This one is a bit of a mixed bag. Medical records show that JFK had a host of medical issues and that he took a variety of different drugs to combat it. He’d take painkillers, which would make him groggy, and then Ritalin to become a little more alert. However, there’s no record that Dr. Jacobson, aka “Dr. Feelgood,” gave either JFK or Jackie a cocktail of medicines.
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In The Crown, Edward VIII is displayed as a Nazi sympathizer. Did the royal family really have a member that agreed with Hitler? The answer is pretty convoluted. There were telegrams that made it seem the Duke of Windsor supported Hitler by saying that he was “A firm supporter of a peaceful compromise with Germany” and that if he had remained on the throne “war could have been avoided.” There was also a plot to re-install the duke as King, although this obviously didn’t come to pass. Edward claimed it was all a complete fabrication, and Churchill said that it was all propaganda. In the end, propaganda is how it went down in history.
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Yes! As weird as it may be, Prince Charles did date Diana’s older sister. Lady Sarah Spencer was courted by Prince Charles five years after his relationship with Camilla. Sarah received several invitations to Windsor and Balmoral. While the relationship didn’t seem passionate, she was at least being considered for princess.
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As unbelievable as this sounds, in response to a question at a press event regarding the couple’s engagement and whether they were in love, the prince responded with “Whatever in Love Means.” You can still find footage of this encounter today.
This is true. In fact, it’s been revealed that Diana and Prince Charles met each other only about 12 times before they walked down the aisle. This also includes official events. It’s easy to see how their marriage was doomed from the start!
Yes, there is actually a real bracelet transcribed with “G” and “F”. However, the details around this bracelet have been blurred a bit through the show’s interpretation. According to royal biographer Penny Juror The Prince of Whales actually gave Camilla this bracelet before their wedding, and gave other women that he was close with jewelry before the wedding as a way of thanking them for their time before settling down with Diana. This doesn’t however explain the matching cufflinks that he wore on the honeymoon, also engraved with “G” and “F”.
There’s no doubt that Princess Diana had a wonderfully magnetic personality. During season 4 of The Crown, it’s shown that Diana wins over the royals by passing their social “test” at Balmoral. This portrayal is 100% true. Diana’s first visit at Balmoral was all the family needed to advise Prince Charles to take her hand in marriage.
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This is true, Anne had a notable disdain for Princess Diana. Their relationship didn’t start off all that bad, but once Diana gained the eye of the public, jealousy soon ensued. In the documentary The Real Princess Anne, it was revealed that she thought that Diana diminished the stature of the crown.
Yes, actress Emma Corrin asked the writers to include this incredibly personal aspect of Diana’s experience to show an honest portrayal of the disease. In interviews, Diana actually told the public that her struggle with Bulimia started right after her marriage by saying “My husband put his hand on my waistline and said, ‘Oh a bit chubby here aren’t we?’ and that triggered off something in me.”
Ok, so Michael Fagan really did break into Buckingham Palace, but there was no grand conversation about Margaret Thatcher and the state of the country. In fact, Michael Fagan hilariously told a British newspaper in 2012 that the queen immediately “went past me and ran out of the room, her little bare feet running across the floor.” He also attributed his stunt to coming off a two-year magic mushroom high… far from a political agenda.
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Diana was really into roller skating, and loved pop music, so we would all like to think that Diana really did boogie through the halls of the palace. However, the details may be a little skewed on this one. If she did ride through the house, it would have probably been on a bike based on reports of the time.
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The Prince and Princess’s tour through Australia was a major turning point in the two’s journey together. Diana revealed in an interview with BBC One that the pressure from the media on their relationship was causing a lot of stress on the new couple. While they were very much in love, Diana was aware of the media's preference for her over Prince Charles. Royal insiders say that Diana secretly enjoyed that her popularity with the press annoyed her husband.
Yes, Narissa and Catherine Bowes-Lyon were actually cousins of the queen and they were found living hidden away in a mental institution. During season 4 of The Crown Princess Margaret discovers the two sisters, and the cover-up surrounding their mental health. However, it was the media who really made the discovery after Narissa’s death.
The show frames these two powerful women’s relationship in a dramatic way, showing disdain and tension. Although they both held conflicting views on policy, they both had a mutual respect as women in leadership. Newspaper articles claimed the queen thought the prime minister was uncaring, confrontational, and socially divisive. However, the two were able to have an amicable conversation about the incorrect opinions presented by the press.
Yes, Diana and ballet star Wayne Sleep did do a number to “Uptown Girl” for on stage at the Royal Opera House. While the crowd was absolutely delighted, the Prince of Whales wasn’t so much impressed. In fact, he was displeased with Diana because she pushed the boundaries of royal propriety.
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Yes, Diana and ballet star Wayne Sleep did do a number to “Uptown Girl” for on stage at the Royal Opera House. While the crowd was absolutely delighted, the Prince of Whales wasn’t so much impressed. In fact, he was displeased with Diana because she pushed the boundaries of royal propriety.
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In 1997, Princess Diana vacationed in St. Tropez, and there were definitely paparazzi aplenty on hand to document her every move. It is true that a now-famous photo of Diana in a bathing suit pushed Camilla's 50th birthday celebration off the front page of newspapers.
However, in The Crown, this photo is part of Diana's plot to stick it to her ex and his "new" gal. In real life, it's much more unclear how planned this was. Diana was known to be media-savvy, but there's no evidence she took the photo with the intention of hurting Camilla.
In the opening of season six of The Crown, we see the Queen decline Prince Charles' invitation to Camilla's 50th birthday party. In fact, the only family member that ultimately shows up is Princess Margaret.
However, in real life, while the party was a bit of a scandal (Charles had only divorced Diana a year prior), there's no indication that Princess Margaret attended the celebration or that he begged his mother to attend.
In Season 6, Episode 3, we see Dodi Fayed propose to Princess Diana with a ring she had picked out from a jewelry store. However, this is one scene that seems to be purely fictitious.
While it's true that he had purchased the ring she had her eye on, it was found in his apartment after their deaths. While he may have been planning to propose, there's no evidence that he actually popped the question.
In one episode of season six, we see Dodi Fayed's fiancee, Kelly Fisher, led onto a smaller boat and not his primary yacht. Within the context of the show, this is to prevent her from ever crossing paths with Princess Diana, who is aboard the yacht.
This is one scene in the show that is very much accurate. Phone transcripts between Fayed and Fisher were released publicly, which made it clear that Fisher knew exactly what was going on and was very displeased with the entire situation.
As bizarre as it might seem, Prince William was actually considered a teen heartthrob in Canada. Despite the fact that Canada is no longer a British colony and that he had just lost his mother, fans did actually mob the young price upon arrival into the country.
While the specifics of this scene might have been fictionalized to some extent, this is one event in the lives of the British Royals that the show portrayed truthfully.
On the show, Diana takes a trip to Bosnia to help raise awareness about the dangers of undetonated land mines. However, during a press conference, the journalists seemed more interested in asking questions about her new, controversial relationship with Dodi Fayed.
While the press was definitely obsessed with the pair's relationship, the show gets the timeline wrong. The press conference actually went as planned; it wasn't until the next day that photos of them kissing surfaced, and journalists started invading their privacy.
Of all the ways The Crown stretches the truth about the royal family, this one has to be the least believable of all. In season 6, episode 8, we see Diana selling copies of The Big Issue, a real newspaper that supports the homeless. One of the copies she sells just so happens to go to a teenage Kate Middleton.
However, this is completely fictional. There is no evidence that Diana and Kate ever met or that Diana ever sold copies of The Big Issue.
This is one aspect of Diana's life that the show, unfortunately, portrays pretty accurately. In episode 3 of season 6, we see Diana's driver, Henri Paul, leaving a bar to pick her up, implying that he had been drinking. This was sadly true in real life too.
During the investigation of the crash, it was found that Paul's blood alcohol content was three times higher than the legal French limit. Additionally, investigators discovered medications in his blood that could have made his inebriation even worse.
On the show, after Diana's death, Prince William goes for a walk and doesn't return home for more than half a day. This inevitably leads to people panicking and sending a search party out after him.
However, this seems to be entirely fictional. While it's true that William found solace in the Scottish highlands after his mother's death, there are no reports of him ever going missing during this time.
In real life, as on the show, the Queen was indeed reluctant to speak publicly about Diana's death. While she initially refused to do so, mounting public pressure eventually forced her hand.
The Queen eventually addressed mourners from Buckingham Palace, and the show pulled several direct quotes from the Queen's real speech about Diana's death.
