Queen Victoria Syndrome

Prince Charles (Dominic West) was made 10 times more attractive (physically and otherwise) than in real life, without any resemblance and needlessly romanticized. Diana was made 10 times less attractive than she used to be, downright a caricature of a vacuous anorexic (Elizabeth Debicki). That was downright offensive to viewers. Quite a letdown after the great portrayal of Charles and Diana from the previous season. Enough to ruin my experience completely and drop the episode before it ended. It looks like the creators have tried hard to curry favor with the Palace. John Mayor (Jonny Lee Miller) and Princess Margret (Lesley Manville) were good. Camilla, just like in the previous season when she was prettier than Diana (really?) was ridiculously embellished compared to the real character (Olivia Williams.) Imelda Staunton likable as Queen Elizabeth II but Jonathan Pryce terrible as Prince Philip. Overall, after all this wait, a great disappointment.

Having now seen creator Peter Morgan's intentions for the beginning of the 5th series of this critically acclaimed show, it pains me to say this but I honestly don't see why "The Crown" rushed through the 1980s (arguably one of the most interesting decades in recent British & royal history) & skipped over so many iconic events it should've featured in S4, leaving that nation defining decade frustratingly underdeveloped... With hindsight, I'd argue that the previous season should've covered a span of 5 / 6 years & then this follow-up would've likely been beneficial, had it instead fleshed out Margaret Thatcher's later tenure & told the story of our cultural, political & societal evolution in far greater detail.

I say this because I'm seriously confounded how the writers & producers opted to omit all of that interesting inspiration (from historical fact) in order to prioritise speedily leaping to this section of the late monarch's era... When it does very little to justify why this warranted the rush, since it's off to such a tediously slow start here. Hardly seems comparably engaging & therefore, to me, feels sadly disappointing.

Moreover, I've reservations as to the quality of the re-casting; from his introduction, Dominic West oddly doesn't seem to be able to decide whether he wants to try doing the recognisable Prince Charles voice or not (flitting in & out of it between scenes) & Jonathan Pryce isn't even bothering to attempt Prince Philip either.

Of course, the cinematography's gorgeous & production values are mightily impressive (at times, resembling a Bond flick, aesthetically) but it doesn't have the same focus that the earlier seasons did & that abundance of style seems to compensate for a noticeable dip in substance. Whether this is because the crew has lost its lead director (Benjamin Caron) who previously steered the production through its prior years or the magic simply can't retain itself forever, it admittedly felt almost as if S1 (an an example) succeeded by holding its attention to a small ensemble of iconic characters. Thus, as the family grows, each member's pulling at the other's story & competing for screen time, increasingly spreading it all a bit thin with each & every installment.

Elizabeth Debicki is far too tall for the part of Diana . They should have cheated the camera angles or made the other actors wear lifts. Princess Diana was tall for a female of her era at 5'10", but Elizabeth Debicki is 6'3". That completely changes the dynamic with all the other actors. The scenes with the tiny Imelda Staunton as the Queen (barely 5' tall) are laughable. Also the Royals would never have permitted a marriage with a woman who was 5" taller than Prince Charles. In real life Diana wore flat shoes and Charles often stood on a step for photos so as not to emphasise that she was the same height as him. It is a shame because apart from that she is doing a great job in the part and is very believable. I'm sorry but I find her extreme height in this performance very distracting.

... she really overdoes the 'head down, eyes up' look. Her voice is really good, though, as Diana. Also, Dominic West, while a lovely actor, is not a good Charles because he is not petulant enough; he actually has a very genuine smile, while we rarely see that from Chuck. :-) Chuck - oh sorry, King Chuck - is always self-pitying and probably only smiles at Camilla as far as we have ever seen; it's mostly self-pity and resentment that we see from him, hence my call of 'petulant'. I don't know why my review requires so many more words, but I'll fill it up with this so I can post it for your enjoyment.

If the date shown during the early scene of the Queen being examined is correct, this season opens in 1991-92.

However, Charles has been recast with an actor who looks EASILY 25-30 years older than the previous Charles (and looks far less like Charles than the previous actor).

The queen has aged 15-20 years in those same 2-3 years since last season, as has the Duke.

Princess Diana is even skinner than the previous actress and bears little resemblance to the actual Diana (which the first one did).

If Charles were as old as this actor appears to be (60s), he would be well into his 90s now (and he is actually only 75).

Princess Anne has aged 20-25 years in the 2-3 years since last season.

Casting people really dropped the ball.