The Crown Dissected

by Hugo Vickers

The Crown is one of Netflix's most successful series, but is it true to the facts? The Crown is one of North America's favorite series. Hugo Vickers, however, has something to say about the popular series' accuracy. All three seasons of it. Called "the most knowledgeable royal biographer on the planet," particularly on the period the series covers, Vickers has commented on the British Royal Family on television and radio since 1973, authored numerous books about the Royals, and acted as historical adviser on a number of films. In his previous books on seasons one and two of The Crown, Vickers separated fact from fiction to tell readers what really happened and what certainly did not happen. Now adding the most recent season, The Crown Seasons 1, 2 and 3 features Vickers' same episode-by-episode approach analyzing the plot, characterization and historical detail in each storyline. He describes how the series continues to distort the facts, and refers back to previous seasons whenever needed. Vickers writes that he does not approve of The Crown because "it depicts real life people in situations which are partly true and partly false, and unfortunately most viewers take it all as gospel truth." He accepts that fiction can be a device to illuminate true events, but artistic license can create false, dangerous and lasting impressions as well what he calls a "perversion of what is true." Undoubtedly there will continue to be debate on the accuracy of The Crown 's storylines, but that is what makes historical dramas so compelling. The Crown Seasons 1, 2 and 3 is a must-read for any fan of the show, as well as for all TV critics.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

Published February 7, 2020

About the author

Hugo Vickers is a writer and broadcaster, who has written biographies of many twentieth century figures, including the Queen Mother, Gladys, Duchess of Marlborough, Cecil Beaton, Vivien Leigh, a study of Greta Garbo, Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece, and his book, The Private World of The Duke and Duchess of Windsor was illustrated with pictures from their own collection. Mr Vickers’s book, The Kiss: The Story of an Obsession won the 1996 Stern Silver Pen Award for Non-Fiction.

Reviews

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I watched the show the Crown- especially the interactions with Princess Margaret I wondered how much of the story was true. I grabbed this book to see what an expert in the British royalty would have to say. From the introduction he states- "Fiction should help us understand the truth, not pervert it." His book is basically a friendly essay and list of all the perversions that take place in each episode of the Crown. I figured a couple things would be out of order/off- I didn't expect so much to be changed to make the show more "interesting".
If I was a REAL fan (I am not)- I might rewatch the show with the book close by. It was good to hear that Prince Philip wasn't so upset about being "just" a prince. And that Margaret's life wasn't ruined when she was asked to wait 2 years before marrying Pete Townsend. Drama- I get it, but not when the show is supposed to be sharing the lives of the British family with the world.

Read while watching The Crown.

M&L Reading Challenge 2024: a book about a queen

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the series "The Crown" on Netflix, and I wanted to know how true it all was (if you weren't googling various things about it while watching are you even watching?). Vickers has been considered the royal expert for as long as this particular set of royals has been around (so basically, for forever), and reading his commentary was a delight. He was the stuffy and incensed British man I had hoped for, and I very much enjoyed his commentary and summary of it. If you watched "The Crown" and want to know how true it all is, you should definitely check this out. Hint: They got most of it wrong, and Vickers will tell you how and why.

[William Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, cutting and often hilarious

While The Crown may have its lavish production, good character acting and griping music it does play fast and loose with the history and protocol. Use the series as a springboard to read more and learn about the real events. Hugo Vickers’ books are an excellent start and this short but fun work cuts through the Netflix series with cutting gravitas.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was watching the Crown, as one does, and I kept thinking, how much of this is real and how much is pure fiction? I've done my share of googling on the subject, so when this book popped up in my Kindle recommendations for next to nothing, I got it. And it delivered. Vickers' opinion is that it's a bit more truthful about the political stuff than about the characters. Which made me feel better, because the Queen isn't actually cold and unfeeling, among other things.

[E G Melby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

[Sem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vickers must have found the writing of this book hugely cathartic.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Elle Paxton · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tended to agree with most of what Mr. Vickers hated about The Crown. I stopped watching after Season 3 as I could see it had veered into tabloid nonsense & fiction. This is a very good disection of all that is wrong with the series from someone who's very close to institution of the BRF so would be well aware of everything they got correct (not much) & everything they got wrong (mostly everything).

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved watching The Crown and wondered how much was made up, so I was anxious to read this book. The author knows the Royal Family very well, and goes through each of the three seasons, describing every episode, and practically every scene. He's not very happy with the television version, but that was to be expected. Many of his criticisms are small details. Others are fairly major. He doesn't appreciate the changes which were made, presumably to produce a better story, but on the other hand, this is a real family, still living and shouldn't a "biography" of famous people be accurate? Can a cinematic version be made of an ongoing true-life story? The details in the book are almost overwhelming. I wish he could have had a summary of the most serious changes/errors/omissions.

[Trillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly flimsy excuse for a book, consisting mostly of recaps of the episode followed by 'the ribbon he wore was too wide and on the wrong side'. I was left with the general impression that the show must be fairly accurate, if there is nothing more to criticise than what is in this book! Still, it's a quick read and there are some interesting notes about where the TV series has fudged the dates of real life events. At times it reveals more about the author's personal preferences than the show itself.

[Alecia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given this book as a birthday gift. This is only for fans of the TV series, The Crown. The author is an authority on the British Royal Family, and for the life of me, I do not understand why he wasn't hired as an advisor. He certainly finds minor (mostly in terms of royal outfits) and historical timeline faults with almost every episode, along with his opinions on what really happened and what definitely could not have happened. And that is what this book is comprised of. Other than that, it would be of little interest to anyone but the most diehard and dedicated fans of the series.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a slim volume with a bit too little substance and a few too many personal quirks from Hugo Vickers (his attitude to sexual royals on TV is almost quaint for the 21st century...never mind any other century). But for what it is, I enjoyed it: this is a lovely quick-and-dirty nitpicker's guide to "The Crown" and it comes in useful for the historical backstory.

[Kylie Percival · Rating 1 out of 5]

It would be kind to say this book is somewhat tedious. The end might have better served if the author had concentrated on the larger issues of historical accuracy and then dealt separately with minor issues of chronology, location and costume. A very short book that took me a long time to finish.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

My copy covered series 1, 2, 3 and 4 and was an easy and quick to read potted history of the modern British monarchy. You could read this without watching The Crown, but the reader might wonder why only certain events were included as opposed to more of an overview.

[Becky Galambos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an interesting read. By a celebrated Royal historian who has written many royal bios and books about various aspects of the monarchy, this book compares the storyline of the crown with actual history.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

#14 of 130 books pledged to read during 2020

[Kt Dixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book, but he is a little pedantic in some areas

[Kathleen Kirchner · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I love about the series