The timeline of The Crown gradually follows the life of Elizabeth, from her marriage in 1947 to her reign over the United Kingdom onwards. At this moment, the series has released two seasons, depicting the Queen’s life until the year 1963. However, if Elizabeth II is the main character of the show, the historical background happens to be a regular part of the series as well. Indeed, the timeline covering the two seasons depicts a slow transition from the post-second-world war civilization to a modern society. Yet, this progression has not been made without any confrontation and the beginning of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign witnesses two major international conflicts: The Cold War and The Suez Crisis.

This article thus aims to review what led to such tensions and how the series approached it.

The Cold War (1947 – 1991)

After the Second World War, although the world was presumed to be at peace, two countries that were allies during the war turned out to be enemies afterwards. On one side, the United States appeared to be perceived as the “heroes” of the Second World War –by, for example, helping to liberate France from the Nazi occupation- and advanced in terms of military equipments –possessing the atomic bomb and using it against Japan-, while on the other side, the Soviet Union disagreed with the policies of their former allies. Those discords led to the demarcation of two camps: the Western Block which included the United States and its allies and the Eastern Block which referred to the Soviet Union.

The Cold War did not, in any case, resemble to the First or the Second World War. While the two latter were frontal military confrontations with a consequent amount of civil fatalities, the Cold War was all about technological and cultural contests. The most major example could be the conquest of space. On one side, the Soviets were the first one to conquer space by sending the satellite Sputnik 1 in 1957 but were unable to send men in the space yet. Meanwhile, the United States achieve to send men on the moon with the mission Appollo 11, in 1969.

As a result, the Cold War was an endless fight of improvement and propaganda that the rest of the world witnessed while choosing its camp. It eventually ended with Soviet Dissolution but the economic opposition between the United States and Russia still remains present today.

Surprisingly enough, although the series opens with the marriage of Elizabeth and Philip, which took place in 1947, that is to say, the same year the Cold War begun, the conflict is only mentioned in the seventh episode of the first season, "Scientia Potentia Est", in 1953. Indeed, in 1953, the Soviet Union had tested their first nuclear bomb, leading the Prime Minister Winston Churchill to call for an international meeting with Eisenhower, president of the United States. Nevertheless, the Cold War is mainly approached as a subplot while the health of Winston Churchill is spotlighted.

The Suez Crisis (1956-1957)

In order to fully understand the controversy, it is necessary to look back further in the past. The Suez Canal is a waterway located between the African and the Asian continent and which link the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. The Canal can be considered as a strategic crossing point since it prevented from bypassing Africa to reach the Mediterranean Sea. In 1956, the Suez Canal was controlled by the British and the French, while an international access to the canal with the Convention of Constantinople. Nevertheless, because of the Cold War climate, tensions were built within Soviet and Western allies.

The whole crisis relied on an unkept promise from the American and the British to finance an embankment for the Egyptians because of their proximity to the Soviet Union. As a result, Nasser, president of Egypt, took control of the canal as a sign of rebellion. Strong military confrontations ensued between France, Britain and Israeli against Egypt. The United Nation asked for a cease-fire in 1957, letting Egypt victorious in its rebellion. Meanwhile, Israel was allowed to use the Canal but France and Britain lost their influence over the strategic location in the Middle East.

As for the Cold War in the first season, the Suez Crisis is more approached as a subplot raising conflict within the British political landscapes than anything else. Little context is explained through the series but the Britain’s hesitation to engage in a military response. The Suez Canal is overall perceived as a catalyst which pushed Anthony Eden to resign from his status of Prime Minister.  

Sources :

• Cold War. (2018). In Encyclopædia Britannica
• Wikipedia - Cold War
• Suez Crisis. (2018). In Encyclopædia Britannica
• Suez Canal. (2018). In Encyclopædia Britannica

As the previous article said, the reign of Queen Elizabeth II is characterized for the transition it witnessed in the world in the twentieth century, going from tradition to modernization. However, when Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the throne, she is torn apart between two camps. On one side, the Queen is told to remain faithful to the Royal Traditions, embodying an institutional token that should not take into consideration personal opinions. On the other side, Elizabeth II is advised to modernize the Monarchy by breaking some old customs. For example, she should be closer to the British people. Consequently, the Queen is facing the evolution of the society and understands that the Monarchy must evolve as well in order to perpetuate through the century.

However, if one takes the times to consider the picture as a whole, the influence goes the other way around. To be more explicit, the monarchy can bring a pertinent judgment as well, enabling a better evolution of the British society in turn.

This observation can be illustrated through two events that had been depicted in The Crown. The first event is the Great Smog of London that took place in 1952 and which is depicted in the fourth episode of the first season, entitled “Act of God”.  The second event is a constitutional crisis based on an article written by John Grigg –also called Lord Altrincham- which criticizes Queen Elizabeth II’s behaviour, depicted in the fifth episode of the second season, entitled “Marionettes”.

The article aims to explain those two events and how the series introduced it to the viewers.

The Great Smog of London (1952)

The Great Smog of London took place in December 1952. Due to the lack of wind, the cold winter weather and an anticyclone, the pollution produced by the factories in London did not evaporate and led to a consequent pollution of the atmosphere. The phenomenon lasted four days, causing the deaths of 12 000 individuals and 200,000 causalities. At the time, Winston Churchill was Prime Minister but he was not impressed by the event, simply designating an “act of God”.

In the Crown, the plot mainly stresses on the fact that the production of pollution in the air was due to the factories and cars. Yet, the Prime Minister did not request any interruptions in order to reduce the pollution. Consequently, Queen Elizabeth asked for a meeting with Churchill in order to change his mind. The meeting is eventually unnecessary as Winston Churchill discovered that his secretary has been killed by a double-decker which she did not see because of the fog. Nevertheless, the initial reaction of Winston Churchill regarding the smog deeply questioned his ability to run the United Kingdom. As a result, when Winston Churchill eventually faces his inability to lead the country, he asks for the opinion of the Queen regarding which decision to take. On the advice of Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill quits Downing Street.

John Grigg’s Article (1957)

“The personality conveyed by the utterances which are put into her mouth is that of a priggish schoolgirl, captain of the hockey team, a prefect, and a recent candidate for Confirmation.” ─ John Grigg, 2nd Baron Altrincham

In August 1957, the Queen is becoming self conscious due to the released of an article written by John Grigg. In this article, John Grigg criticizes the Queen, stating among other things that she is being moralistic and that her voice is “a pain in the neck”. Grigg is quickly despised for having such judgment over the Monarch. Consequently, in an attempt to defend objectively his arguments, he attends a TV program. Four months later, the Queen makes her first Royal Christmas Speech on television and later on became closer to British people as she organized a Garden Party.

In the episode “Marionettes”, it is suggested that the Queen had a secret interview with John Grigg in order to improve her image, but there is actual proof of the meeting up to today. The series might actually symbolically made the Queen and the Lord met to emphasis on how much the Queen was willing to listen and change in order to keep the Monarchy popular towards its people.

Sources:

• Wikipedia - Great Smog of London
• Wikipedia - John Grigg, 2nd Baron Altrincham
• Express - Lord Altrincham insulted Queen and was threatened with HANGING – but did he SAVE royals?