LOS ANGELES (AP) – In “Crown”, a dishy naval officer captures the heart of a future queen. But he gets upset playing the second royal lute and crosses the boundaries of decor and, perhaps, fidelity. He finally finds his way as a trusted partner and patriarch of the family.
How does the portrayal of the Netflix drama of Prince Philip, who died on Friday at the age of 99, compare with the man himself and the life he lived with Queen Elizabeth II of Britain?
Prince Philip lived in the shadow of his wife and the same is true for 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 successively by Matt Smith and Tobias Menzies, with Jonathan Pryce in the wings).
Peter Morgan, the creator of the series that was on hiatus before its fifth and penultimate season in 2022, said that “The Crown” is the product of historical research and imagination and includes scenes that should not be taken for granted.
For example, except that the parties involved do not know whether Philip was as rigid in his approach to Charles, the father’s son, as he was sensitive to Anne’s daughter, as the “Crown” puts it. Or what to do with the delicate clues to Philip’s drama of marital infidelity.
So far, the series has brought Philip to middle age, covering only half of the royal family’s nearly 100 years. Also, the absence from the “Crown” is Philip’s unforgiving pleasure in humiliating those who look at women and men of color.
But there are aspects of the life of the prince born in Greece that justify the comparison with the fictional version, which the “Crown” describes in a mostly flattering light: a bold and restless spirit, bound to the end by duty and devotion to the queen and country.
INTERIOR STRIPES
“Crown”: Reluctant to teach the traditional male privilege, Philip 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 military service for the role of consort. Disputes ensue with Elizabeth, including his reluctance to kneel before her during her coronation.
They find a balance, with Philip half worthy of an affectionate marriage.
In reality: When Philip lost his offer to use Mountbatten as a family name, according to Gyles Brandreth, “Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Royal Marriage,” he complained, “I’m nothing but a bloody amoeba.” a man forbidden to give his children his 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.
Under protest or not, Philip knelt before the newly crowned queen in 1952 and pledged to become “his man of life, a member and earthly worship.”
On the 50th anniversary of their wedding, Elizabeth called him “my strength and stay.”
ACTION MAN
“Crown”: In 1969, Philip is immersed in the TV coverage of the first landing of the month and fails in his life in comparison. After royal prosaic engagements at dental and textile facilities, the trained flyer has the opportunity to take command of a private jet.
He pushes the plane to the edge of space, and as the pilot protests that the trembling plane is at its limit, Philip replies, “Maybe. But look, we lived too. Just for a minute. ”
Meeting with American astronauts when he visits England as part of the victory tour, Philip tells them his position and marriage kept him from “the things I would have wanted, as a man, as an adventurer.”
In reality: during World War II, Philip saw action while serving on ships and destroyers, was decorated and, at the age of 21, obtained the rank of first lieutenant in the Royal Navy.
While fulfilling a full program of royal duties and leading hundreds of charities, he learned to fly in the 1950s and was an avid polo and yacht player, as well as a painter and art collector. Driven at the age of 97, he overturned his Land Rover in an accident.
MAN OF FAITH
“Crown”: Philip is asked to allow the creation of a spiritual refuge on the grounds of Windsor Castle for clergymen who need inspiration in the middle of life. He ridicules the plan as “hot air”, but agrees and ends up finding solace in his version of the men’s therapy group.
“How is your faith?” “”, He remembers his mother asking him anxiously, then he tells the assembly and her dean: “I’m here to admit to you that I lost her … I came to say” Help. ‘”
In reality: Robin Woods, the then dean of Windsor, proposed the founding of St. George’s House in 1966, and Philip became a co-founder and fundraiser, according to a book accompanying historian Robert Lacey’s “Crown.” The center promotes discussions on contemporary issues, says its website.
Woods and Philip were lifelong friends, and the prince criticized his sermons at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor. Philip’s funeral will be held there on April 17.
Baptized in 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 a religious shrine in Greece. Leaders of several faiths in Britain say they have been deeply interested in spiritual matters.
His coat of arms bears the motto “God is my helper.”
ON THE DIANA TEAM
“Crown”: When Diana Spencer is introduced to a family reunion at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, she and Philip get engaged on a day of deer hunting and he supports her marriage to Charles.
The relationship becomes bitter, and Diana tells Philip that she intends to break up with Charles and the royal family, whom she considers indifferent. Philip warns her against the step and misses her in perspective: everyone is a stranger except the queen, “the only person, the only person who matters,” he says.
In reality: in the letters between Diana and Philip that came out, Philip supports Diana and criticizes his son’s extramarital affair with his now wife Camilla.
But after Diana’s candid interview on TV and a revealing biography, Philip’s tone would have become more severe and he wrote that he had to “fit in” or leave the family.