The first season of ''
The Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
'' follows the life and reign of
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
. It consists of ten episodes and was released on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
on 4 November 2016.
Claire Foy
Claire Elizabeth Foy (born 16 April 1984) is a British actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the young Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of the Netflix series ''The Crown'' (2016–2017) for which she won a Primetime Emmy Aw ...
stars as Elizabeth, with main cast members
Matt Smith
Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the Eleventh Doctor, eleventh incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the BBC series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Daemon Targarye ...
,
Vanessa Kirby
Vanessa Nuala Kirby (born 18 April 1988) is an English actress. She has received several accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Born in London to urologist Roger Kirb ...
,
Eileen Atkins
Dame Eileen June Atkins, (born 16 June 1934), is an English actress and occasional screenwriter. She has worked in the theatre, film, and television consistently since 1953. In 2008, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress and the Emmy Aw ...
,
Jeremy Northam
Jeremy Philip Northam (born 1 December 1961) is an English actor and singer. After a number of television roles, he earned attention as Mr. Knightley in the 1996 film adaptation of Jane Austen's '' Emma''. He has appeared in the films ''An Idea ...
,
Victoria Hamilton
Victoria Hamilton (born 5 April 1971) is an English actress.
After training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Hamilton began her career in classical theatre, appearing in productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the ...
,
Ben Miles,
Greg Wise
Matthew Gregory Wise, born 1966, is an English actor and producer. He has appeared in several British television programmes and feature films. He played the role of John Willoughby in ''Sense and Sensibility'', which also starred Emma Thompson, ...
,
Jared Harris
Jared Francis Harris (born 24 August 1961) is a British actor. His roles include Lane Pryce in the AMC television drama series ''Mad Men'', for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Seri ...
,
John Lithgow,
Alex Jennings
Alex Jennings (born 10 May 1957) is an English actor of the stage and screen, who worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre. For his work on the London stage, Jennings received three Olivier Awards, winning for ...
, and
Lia Williams
Lia Williams (born 26 November 1964) is an English actress and director, known for stage, film, and television appearances. She is noted for her role as Wallis Simpson in ''The Crown''.
Theatre career
Williams's breakthrough performance came ...
.
Premise
''The Crown'' traces the life of
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
from
her wedding in 1947 through to the present day.
The first season, in which
Claire Foy
Claire Elizabeth Foy (born 16 April 1984) is a British actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the young Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of the Netflix series ''The Crown'' (2016–2017) for which she won a Primetime Emmy Aw ...
portrays the Queen in the early part of her reign, depicts events up to 1955, taking in the
death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
of
King George VI, prompting Elizabeth’s accession to the throne, and leading up to the resignation of
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
as
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
and the Queen's sister
Princess Margaret deciding not to marry
Peter Townsend.
Cast
Main
*
Claire Foy
Claire Elizabeth Foy (born 16 April 1984) is a British actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the young Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of the Netflix series ''The Crown'' (2016–2017) for which she won a Primetime Emmy Aw ...
as Princess Elizabeth and later
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
*
Matt Smith
Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the Eleventh Doctor, eleventh incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the BBC series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Daemon Targarye ...
as
Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, Elizabeth's husband
*
Vanessa Kirby
Vanessa Nuala Kirby (born 18 April 1988) is an English actress. She has received several accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Born in London to urologist Roger Kirb ...
as
Princess Margaret, Elizabeth's younger sister
*
Eileen Atkins
Dame Eileen June Atkins, (born 16 June 1934), is an English actress and occasional screenwriter. She has worked in the theatre, film, and television consistently since 1953. In 2008, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress and the Emmy Aw ...
as
Queen Mary, Elizabeth's grandmother and great-granddaughter of
King George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
*
Jeremy Northam
Jeremy Philip Northam (born 1 December 1961) is an English actor and singer. After a number of television roles, he earned attention as Mr. Knightley in the 1996 film adaptation of Jane Austen's '' Emma''. He has appeared in the films ''An Idea ...
as
Anthony Eden, Churchill's
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...
and
Foreign Secretary, who succeeds him as
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
*
Victoria Hamilton
Victoria Hamilton (born 5 April 1971) is an English actress.
After training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Hamilton began her career in classical theatre, appearing in productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the ...
as Queen Elizabeth,
King George VI's wife and Elizabeth II's mother, known as
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother during her daughter's reign
*
Ben Miles as Group Captain
Peter Townsend, George VI's
equerry
An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...
, who hopes to marry Princess Margaret
*
Greg Wise
Matthew Gregory Wise, born 1966, is an English actor and producer. He has appeared in several British television programmes and feature films. He played the role of John Willoughby in ''Sense and Sensibility'', which also starred Emma Thompson, ...
as
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...
, Philip's ambitious uncle and great-grandson of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
*
Jared Harris
Jared Francis Harris (born 24 August 1961) is a British actor. His roles include Lane Pryce in the AMC television drama series ''Mad Men'', for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Seri ...
as
King George VI, Elizabeth's father, known to his family as Bertie
*
John Lithgow as
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
, the Queen's first Prime Minister
*
Alex Jennings
Alex Jennings (born 10 May 1957) is an English actor of the stage and screen, who worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre. For his work on the London stage, Jennings received three Olivier Awards, winning for ...
as
Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII, who abdicated in favour of his younger brother Bertie to marry Wallis Simpson; known to his family as David
*
Lia Williams
Lia Williams (born 26 November 1964) is an English actress and director, known for stage, film, and television appearances. She is noted for her role as Wallis Simpson in ''The Crown''.
Theatre career
Williams's breakthrough performance came ...
as
Wallis, Duchess of Windsor
Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused ...
, Edward's american wife
Featured
The following actor is credited in the opening titles of a single episode:
*
Stephen Dillane
Stephen John Dillane (; born 27 March 1957) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Leonard Woolf in the 2002 film '' The Hours'', Stannis Baratheon in ''Game of Thrones'', and Thomas Jefferson in the 2008 HBO miniseries ''John Ad ...
as
Graham Sutherland
Graham Vivian Sutherland (24 August 1903 – 17 February 1980) was a prolific English artist. Notable for his paintings of abstract landscapes and for his portraits of public figures, Sutherland also worked in other media, including printmaking ...
, a noted artist who paints a portrait of the ageing Churchill
Recurring
* Billy Jenkins as young
Prince Charles, Elizabeth and Philip's son
* Grace and Amelia Gilmour as young
Princess Anne
Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...
, Elizabeth and Philip's daughter (uncredited)
*
Clive Francis
Clive Francis (born 26 June 1946) is a British stage, television and film actor.
Early life
Francis was born in Eastbourne, Sussex. He is the son of actors Raymond Francis and his second wife Margaret Towner.
His father played Detective Chief ...
as
Lord Salisbury
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen y ...
,
Leader of the House of Lords
The leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The post is also the leader of the majority party in the House of Lords who acts as ...
*
Pip Torrens
Philip D'Oyly "Pip" Torrens (born 2 June 1960) is an English actor.
Known for playing urbane, authoritative figures, Torrens portrayed courtier Tommy Lascelles in the Netflix drama ''The Crown'', aristocrat Lord Massen in the HBO series ''Th ...
as
Tommy Lascelles, Private Secretary to King George VI; later Private Secretary to the Queen
*
Harry Hadden-Paton
Harry Frederick Gerard Hadden-Paton (born 10 April 1981) is a British actor. He is perhaps best known for his television roles as Herbert Pelham, 7th Marquess of Hexham, in the television series ''Downton Abbey'' and Martin Charteris in ''The ...
as
Martin Charteris
Lieutenant-Colonel Martin Michael Charles Charteris, Baron Charteris of Amisfield, (7 September 1913 – 23 December 1999) was a British Army officer and courtier of Queen Elizabeth II. Charteris was the longest-serving Assistant Private Secr ...
, Private Secretary to Princess Elizabeth; later Assistant Private Secretary to the Queen
*
Daniel Ings
Daniel Ings (born 1985) is an actor from England. He starred as Luke Curran in the Channel 4/Netflix comedy series '' Lovesick''.
Early life
Ings attended Dauntsey's School in Wiltshire, followed by Lancaster University where he studied theatr ...
as
Mike Parker, Private Secretary to the Duke of Edinburgh
* Lizzy McInnerny as Margaret "Bobo" MacDonald, Principal Dresser to the Queen
*
Patrick Ryecart
Patrick Geoffrey Ryecart (born 9 May 1952) is an English actor.
Early life and career
Ryecart was born in Warwick, Warwickshire.
His first West End appearance was in Bernard Shaw's ''Candida (play), Candida'' at the Albery Theatre, playing t ...
as
The Duke of Norfolk
Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...
,
Earl Marshal
Earl marshal (alternatively marschal or marischal) is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England (then, following the Act of Union 1800, in the United Kingdom). He is the eig ...
*
Will Keen
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...
as
Michael Adeane
Michael Edward Adeane, Baron Adeane, (30 September 1910 – 30 April 1984) was Private Secretary to Elizabeth II for 19 years, between 1953 and 1972.
Early life and education
Adeane was the son of Captain Henry Robert Augustus Adeane (1882– ...
, Assistant Private Secretary to the Queen; later Private Secretary to the Queen
*
James Laurenson
James Laurenson (born 17 February 1940) is a New Zealand stage and screen actor.
Early life
Laurenson was born in Marton, North Island, New Zealand. He was a student at Canterbury University College in Christchurch (now University of Canter ...
as
Doctor Weir, Physician to King George VI; later
Physician to the Queen
Physician to the King (or Queen, as appropriate) is a title held by physicians of the Medical Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Part of the Royal Household, the Medical Household includes physicians, who treat general conditions ...
*
Mark Tandy as
Cecil Beaton
Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the theat ...
, Court Photographer to the British Royal Family
*
Harriet Walter
Dame Harriet Mary Walter (born 24 September 1950) is a British actress. She has received a Laurence Olivier Award as well as numerous nominations including for a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2011 ...
as
Clementine Churchill
Clementine Ogilvy Spencer Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill, (; 1 April 1885 – 12 December 1977) was the wife of Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and a life peer in her own right. While legally the daughter o ...
, Winston Churchill's wife
*
Nicholas Rowe as
Jock Colville
Sir John Rupert Colville, CB, CVO (28 January 1915 – 19 November 1987) was a British civil servant. He is best known for his diaries, which provide an intimate view of number 10 Downing Street during the wartime Premiership of Winston Churchi ...
, Sir Winston Churchill's private secretary
*
Simon Chandler
Simon Chandler (born 1953) is a British film, television and theatre actor. He often plays senior establishment figures such as Members of Parliament and senior civil servants.
Biography
Born in 1953 and educated at Bedford School, Chandler's ...
as
Clement Attlee, Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
*
Kate Phillips
Kate Phillips (born 21 May 1989) is a British actress. She became famous for her role as Jane Seymour in the successful miniseries ''Wolf Hall'' (2015). She subsequently appeared in the miniseries '' War & Peace'' (2016), the first season of th ...
as Venetia Scott, Sir Winston Churchill's secretary
*
Ronald Pickup
Ronald Alfred Pickup (7 June 1940 – 24 February 2021) was an English actor. He was active in television, film, and theatre, beginning with a 1964 appearance in ''Doctor Who''. Theatre critic Michael Billington described him as "a terrific sta ...
as
Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury
* Nigel Cooke as
Harry Crookshank
Harry Frederick Comfort Crookshank, 1st Viscount Crookshank, (27 May 1893 – 17 October 1961), was a British Conservative politician. He was Minister of Health between 1951 and 1952 and Leader of the House of Commons between 1951 and 1955.
B ...
,
Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services.
Some governments have separate ministers for mental health.
Coun ...
*
Patrick Drury
Patrick Drury (born 19 August 1945) is an English character actor best known for playing shopkeeper John O'Leary in the Channel 4 television comedy ''Father Ted'' and Ivan in ''The Beiderbecke Connection''.
Early life
Drury was educated at ...
as
The Earl of Scarbrough, Lord Chamberlain
*
John Woodvine
John Woodvine (born 21 July 1929) is an English actor who has appeared in more than 70 theatre productions, as well as a similar number of television and film roles.
Early life
Woodvine was born in Tyne Dock, South Shields, Tyne & Wear, Engla ...
as
Cyril Garbett
Cyril Forster Garbett (6 February 1875 – 31 December 1955) was an Anglican bishop and author. He was successively the Bishop of Southwark, the Bishop of Winchester and the Archbishop of York from 1942 to 1955.
Early life
Garbett was born in ...
, Archbishop of York
*
Rosalind Knight as
Princess Alice of Battenberg
Princess Alice of Battenberg (Victoria Alice Elizabeth Julia Marie; 25 February 1885 – 5 December 1969) was the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, mother-in-law of Queen Elizabeth II, and the paternal grandmother of King Charles III ...
, Philip's mother
* Andy Sanderson as
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, (Henry William Frederick Albert; 31 March 1900 – 10 June 1974) was the third son and fourth child of King George V and Queen Mary. He served as Governor-General of Australia from 1945 to 1947, the only memb ...
, Elizabeth's uncle (and Edward VIII and George VI's brother)
*
Michael Culkin
Michael Culkin (born 2 July 1954) is an English theatre, film, and television actor probably best known for his role as Judge Buller in the BBC drama ''Garrow's Law''. He appeared as Rab Butler in the first two seasons of ''The Crown'', in '' ...
as
Rab Butler
Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, (9 December 1902 – 8 March 1982), also known as R. A. Butler and familiarly known from his initials as Rab, was a prominent British Conservative Party politician. ''The Times'' obituary c ...
,
Chairman of the Conservative Party
The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office.
When the Conservatives are in government, the off ...
*
George Asprey
George Asprey (born 1 October 1966) is a British stage, film, and television character actor. Since 2008, Asprey has played the part of Scar in the West End theatre production of the musical ''The Lion King''.
Early life
Of Asprey's origins, the ...
as
Walter Monckton
Walter Turner Monckton, 1st Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, (17 January 1891 – 9 January 1965) was a British lawyer and politician.
Early years
Monckton was born in the village of Plaxtol in north Kent. He was the eldest child of paper m ...
, Minister of Defense
* Verity Russell as young Princess Elizabeth
* Beau Gadsdon as young Princess Margaret
*
James Hillier
James Hillier, (August 22, 1915 – January 15, 2007) was a Canadian-American scientist and inventor who designed and built, with Albert Prebus, the first successful high-resolution electron microscope in North America in 1938.
Biography
B ...
as
Equerry
An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...
*
Jo Stone-Fewings
Jonathan Stone-Fewings (born 1967) is an English actor. He studied at Hereford College of Arts and at the Welsh College of Music and Drama, and began his career in 1989. He has been a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) since 1994. H ...
as Collins
*
Anna Madeley
Anna Madeley (born 1 October 1976) is an English actress. She performed for three seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has appeared in three off-West End productions. She has starred in productions on each of the main British televisi ...
as
Clarissa Eden
Anne Clarissa Eden, Countess of Avon (; 28 June 1920 – 15 November 2021) was an English memoirist and the second wife of Anthony Eden, who served as British prime minister from 1955 to 1957. She married Eden in 1952, becoming Lady Eden in 19 ...
, Anthony Eden's wife (and Sir Winston Churchill's niece)
*
Tony Guilfoyle
Tony Guilfoyle (born 30 March 1960) is an Irish actor. He was born in County Wicklow, Ireland, and was educated at the Drama Centre from 1970 to 1973. He is best known for his recurring role as the accident-prone Father Larry Duff, in the TV ...
as
Michael Ramsey
Arthur Michael Ramsey, Baron Ramsey of Canterbury, (14 November 1904 – 23 April 1988) was an English Anglican bishop and life peer. He served as the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury. He was appointed on 31 May 1961 and held the office until 1 ...
, Bishop of Durham; later Archbishop of York
* Nick Hendrix as Billy Wallace, Princess Margaret's close friend
* Josh Taylor as
Johnny Dalkeith, nephew of
the Duchess of Gloucester
* David Shields as
Colin Tennant, Princess Margaret's close friend; later
Lady Anne Coke's fiancé
* Paul Thornley as Bill Mattheson
Guest
* Michael Bertenshaw as
Piers Legh, Master of the Household
* Julius D'Silva as
Baron Nahum
Stirling Henry Nahum (1906 – 5 September 1956), or Sterling Henry Nahum (sources differ), known professionally as Baron, was a society and court photographer in the United Kingdom.
He was born in England of Italian Jewish heritage. Having embar ...
, Court Photographer to the British Royal Family
*
Alan Williams as Professor Hogg
*
Michael Cochrane as
Henry Marten, Vice-Provost of Eton and the Queen's private tutor
* Jo Herbert as Mary Charteris, Martin Charteris's wife
* Richard Clifford as
Norman Hartnell
Sir Norman Bishop Hartnell, KCVO (12 June 1901 – 8 June 1979) was a leading British fashion designer, best known for his work for the ladies of the royal family. Hartnell gained the Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth in 1940, and ...
, Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to the Queen
*
Joseph Kloska
Joseph Anthony Kloska (born 1983) is an English actor. He began his career in radio, moving on to work in television, theatre, and film.
Life
Named after a Polish grandfather, Teofil Joseph Kloska, who had settled in England, Kloska was brought ...
as
Porchey, Horse Racing Manager to the Queen
* Amir Boutrous as
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...
,
President of Egypt
The president of Egypt is the executive head of state of Egypt and the de facto appointer of the official head of government under the Egyptian Constitution of 2014. Under the various iterations of the Constitution of Egypt following the E ...
* Abigail Parmenter as Judy Montagu
Episodes
Release
The series's first two episodes were released theatrically in the United Kingdom on 1 November 2016. The first season was released on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
worldwide in its entirety on 4 November 2016.
Season one was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on 16 October 2017 and worldwide on 7 November 2017.
Music
All music composed by Rupert Gregson-Williams, except where noted:
Reception
![John Lithgow 8 by David Shankbone](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/John_Lithgow_8_by_David_Shankbone.jpg)
The
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reported 88% approval for the first season based on 72 reviews, with an average rating of 8.55/10. Its critical consensus reads, "Powerful performances and lavish cinematography make ''The Crown'' a top-notch production worthy of its grand subject." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the series holds a score of 81 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''s TV critic
Lucy Mangan
Lucy Katherine Mangan''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' (born 1974) is a British journalist and author. She is a columnist, features writer and TV critic for ''The Guardian''. A major part of her writing is related t ...
praised the series and wrote that "Netflix can rest assured that its £100m gamble has paid off. This first series, about good old British phlegm from first to last, is the service's crowning achievement so far." Writing for ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'', Ben Lawrence said, "''The Crown'' is a PR triumph for the
Windsors, a compassionate piece of work that humanises them in a way that has never been seen before. It is a portrait of an extraordinary family, an intelligent comment on the effects of the constitution on their personal lives and a fascinating account of postwar Britain all rolled into one." Writing for ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', Matthew Gilbert also praised the series saying it "is thoroughly engaging, gorgeously shot, beautifully acted, rich in the historical events of postwar England, and designed with a sharp eye to psychological nuance". Vicki Hyman of ''
The Star-Ledger
''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...
'' described it as "sumptuous, stately but never dull". ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
''s Gwen Ihnat said it adds "a cinematic quality to a complex and intricate time for an intimate family. The performers and creators are seemingly up for the task".
''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' critic
Dorothy Rabinowitz
Dorothy Rabinowitz is a Pulitzer Prize winning American journalist and commentator.
She was born in New York City, and attained a bachelor's degree at Queens College. She worked toward a doctorate at New York University from 1957 to 1960, but di ...
said, "We're clearly meant to see the duke
f Windsor
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
as a wastrel with heart. It doesn't quite come off—Mr. Jennings is far too convincing as an empty-hearted scoundrel—but it's a minor flaw in this superbly sustained work." Robert Lloyd writing for the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' said, "As television it's excellent—beautifully mounted, movingly played and only mildly melodramatic."
Hank Stuever
Hank Stuever (born 1968) is an American journalist who writes about popular culture for the ''Style'' section of ''The Washington Post''.
Early life and education
Stuever was born and raised in Oklahoma City, where he attended Bishop McGuinn ...
of ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' also reviewed the series positively: "Pieces of ''The Crown'' are more brilliant on their own than they are as a series, taken in as shorter, intently focused films".
Neil Genzlinger
Neil Genzlinger is an American playwright, editor, book reviewer, and theatre and television critic who frequently writes for ''The New York Times''.
Family
Genzlinger is a grandson of the late '' The Philadelphia Bulletin'' columnist Don Rose. ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' said, "This is a thoughtful series that lingers over death rather than using it for shock value; one that finds its story lines in small power struggles rather than gruesome palace coups." ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
''s Daniel Fienberg said the first season "remains gripping across the entirety of the 10 episodes made available to critics, finding both emotional heft in Elizabeth's youthful ascension and unexpected suspense in matters of courtly protocol and etiquette". Other publications such as ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'', ''
Indiewire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
'', ''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', ''
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
'' and ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' also reviewed the series positively.
Some were more critical of the show. In a review for ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine, Daniel D'Addario wrote that it "will be compared to ''
Downton Abbey
''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...
'', but that .. was able to invent ahistorical or at least unexpected notes. Foy struggles mightily, but she's given little...''The Crown''s Elizabeth is more than unknowable. She's a bore". ''
Vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
''s Matt Zoller Seitz concluded, "''The Crown'' never entirely figures out how to make the political and domestic drama genuinely dramatic, much less bestow complexity on characters outside England's innermost circle." Verne Gay of ''
Newsday
''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...
'' said, "Sumptuously produced but glacially told, ''The Crown'' is the TV equivalent of a long drive through the English countryside. The scenery keeps changing, but remains the same." ''
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'' magazine's Willa Paskin, commented: "It will scratch your period drama itch—and leave you itchy for action."
John Lithgow won the 2017
for his performance in the episode "Assassins."
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crown (season 1), The
2016 American television seasons
2016 British television seasons
1