Could we be getting a Harry and Meghan sequel to The Crown? Credit: Pool
As the final episodes of The Crown make their regal (or ignominious, depending on your point of view) appearance on Netflix, the inevitable discussion has turned to what will happen, if at all, now that the series has reached its conclusion. takes place in April 2005. Peter Morgan, the show's creator and head writer, hinted that he had an idea for a spinoff, but said in an interview with Variety in October, «It's going to take a unique set of circumstances to come together.» What those circumstances might have been is anyone's guess, but Morgan dropped another hint: «If I had to go back to The Crown, it would definitely be going back in time,» he said.
< p>Of course, this could mean almost anything. It's impossible to imagine an entire 10-episode spin-off sprouting from The Crown, from The Wars of the Roses to The Wars of the Windsors, in the form of counter-paced Harry and William. However, given that Morgan's only previous foray into the Middle Ages was the screenplay for the ill-fated 2008 film The Other Boleyn Girl, which prompted cries of disbelief from historians long before The Crown was even discussed, it's most likely that he and Netflix will stick to more contemporary themes and ideas. Here are five of the most likely royal family-related spin-offs that will make for compelling drama—and, who knows, might hit a streaming service near you in some form in the coming years.
1. Abdication crisis
I may have some personal bias on this subject, given that I wrote a book about the abdication crisis of 1936. an ill-fated year in the short reign of Edward VIII. It began with the death of his father George V and ended with his reluctant brother Bertie becoming George VI after his self-centered and completely thoughtless brother gave up the throne to marry his mistress Wallis Simpson, something he would have been constitutionally incapable of doing. . if he had remained king. The idea of the Queen abdicating is hinted at in the final episode of the final series of The Crown, but she rejects the idea, at least partly due to what happened before; time, of course, to tell the whole saga.
Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson in 1936 Photo: Popperfoto
It's a story rich in drama, intrigue and dark comedy, filled with a cast that includes everyone from Winston Churchill — on Edward's side, in this case on the wrong side of history — and the Machiavellian newspaper magnate Lord Beaverbrook to the duelist. royal women, Wallis and Queen Elizabeth. There are also important episodes focusing on Hitler and his lackey, the German ambassador Joachim von Ribbentrop, who both desperately wanted Edward not to abdicate because they mistakenly believed that if war broke out he would be able to abdicate. to ensure England's neutrality, and perhaps even support, when it came to Germany's territorial ambitions.
Many of the set scenes can be fantastically brought to life thanks to Netflix's massive budget, be it Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin's climactic December speech to the House of Commons in which he had to push through the abdication bill or risk the overthrow of the government or Edward and Wallis's supposed romantic breakup in the summer of 1936 years on board the yacht Nalin, which accidentally became a major diplomatic incident, although British newspapers were sworn to secrecy about the couple's relationship. (Admittedly, it was a very different time.) And as a dynamic scene of action, there is the July assassination attempt on Edward by vagabond—and occasional MI5 informant—George McMahon, who was rumored to have acted with Secret Service intelligence. and maybe even approval.
The crisis was briefly explored in the 2010 film The King's Speech and even more briefly in Madonna's terrible 2011 film WE, but it is in desperate need of a full, big-budget screen portrayal. If there's any spin-off that deserves to come out of The Crown, it should be this one.
2. Windsors during World War II
If the abdication drama were to play out, it would be an obvious sequel that would lead seamlessly into the opening of the first episode of The Crown's first series, which focused on the intertwined destinies of the now separate branches of the royal family. In one corner was George VI, coping with the heartbreaking responsibility of being the monarch the nation so desperately needed during the war, when Europe was falling to Hitler's rule and all seemed lost. And on the other side — both figuratively and literally — was his brother, the former Edward VIII-turned-Duke of Windsor, whose Nazi sympathies, and perhaps even loyalty, ultimately led to Wallis being exiled to the Bahamas , where he inevitably managed to cause trouble, even thousands of miles away.
Alex Jennings as Edward VIII and Leah Williams as Wallis Simpson in The Crown Photo: Alex Bailey/Netflix
The obvious parallels between feuding siblings William and Harry create a poignant, even uplifting contemporary resonance, but what's more More importantly, a saga of royals alternately finding their mettle in adversity or retreating in betrayal would have given the superb actors a chance to face each other in scenes that were rich in drama, in addition to being firmly in Morgan's wheelhouse.
He has always excelled at real life storylines that pit real people against each other (think David Frost and Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon or James Hunt and Nikki Lauda in Race) and was he able to bring back Jared Harris and Alex Jennings to reprise their roles as Corona as the king and former king respectively, it would guarantee some exciting scenes pitting the two against each other one after the other. And that's before we even get to the issues of Nazi sympathies at the highest levels of the court, the surprise arrival of Rudolf Hess in Scotland trying to negotiate peace terms with the king, and Edward and Wallis nearly being kidnapped — or voluntarily went for it. c – Nazis in Portugal in 1940.
3. Edward Caresser
Queen Victoria is probably too significant a figure to cover in one series — in all likelihood you'd need another six-season storyline and it would cost hundreds of millions of pounds to produce — but if Netflix and Morgan were interested in covering another a significant figure in every sense, then her son Edward VII, the so-called “Edward the Caresser,” would make for a fascinating drama.
He was a monarch who was often caricatured, figuratively and literally, for his excessive appetite for women, food and cigarettes, but he was also the first modern ruler to be sensible and pragmatic about the changes that were taking place in society after his death mother. His relatively short nine-year reign saw everything from the rise of socialism and the suffrage movement to the advent of steam engines and—though it took place across the Atlantic—the beginning of air travel.
Edward VII, pictured in 1898. Photo: W. and D. Downey
However, The Crown was never a decent series and so it was necessary to take a closer look at Edward's eventful personal life, which included everything from his flings with actresses and dancers to his having a custom-made 'love chair'. This would both accommodate his considerable girth (before his coronation he had a waist of forty-eight inches, and with a good life it only increased) and would allow him to sleep with his chosen companion.
That said, if the show had wanted to contrast bedroom antics with a more serious political theme, there would have been ample opportunity to explore how his dealings with European diplomacy with its rulers, many of whom he was involved with, helped at least delay the outbreak of the First World War, which occurred four years after his death, during the reign of the less glamorous George V.
4. Fergie and Princess Anne
If Netflix and the producers wish, for budgetary or structural reasons, not to return to the ten-episode series format, but instead produce shorter, one-shot films or miniseries more along the lines of A Very English Scandal and the like, they are spoiled for choice with incidents. which were omitted from the main body of The Crown, but which could happily fill a two or three hour slot.
Sarah Ferguson was largely written out of the series, perhaps because—sorry, Fergie—she didn't have much to do with the main story of the royal family. Show producer Andy Harris bluntly stated that the notorious incident with her financial adviser in 1992, which he called a «very tasteless event», was omitted because it was, as he put it, a «stupid sideshow». but did not rule out that «one day Peter [Morgan] or perhaps other producers may reveal many of the stories we have decided not to publish.»
Erin Doherty as Princess Anne in The Crown Credits: Des Willie
While the image of Sarah getting a very personal pedicure may delight or horrify viewers, the storyline that many expected to see in the third season of The Crown was the attempted kidnapping of Princess Anne in 1974, in which a schizophrenic named Ian Ball told her that is going to detain her and demand a ransom of £2 million, which will then go to the National Health Service. Anne, so brilliantly played by Erin Doherty in a star-studded episode, reportedly replied: «Not bloody likely» before passers-by and police came to her aid. One would hope that it would be the perfect blend of thrills and dark comedy, and would also hopefully bring Doherty back into the leading role she never got to play in the third season.
What about perhaps the most high-profile incident involving a member of the royal family in recent years — Prince Andrew's Newsnight interview? Well, back off, Peter Morgan and Netflix; What's really coming next year on that front are two dramas based on the infamous interview.
5. Harry and Meghan
Back in 2020, Morgan suggested he would never feature the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's romantic relationships and subsequent escapades on the show, saying the incidents went against his so-called «20-year rule» of being resolved at least two decades after the event occurred in order to understand its relevance and place in history. (He broke that rule in 2006's The Queen, which depicts the events of August and September 1997, but no matter.) He said of the destructive duo that «Meghan and Harry are in the middle of their journey and I don't know. what their journey is and how it will end. I want a little happiness, but I’m much more comfortable writing about things that happened at least 20 years ago.”
Luther Ford as Prince Harry and Ed McVey as Prince William in The Crown Photo: Justin Downing/Netflix
It's a noble statement and, of course, the last episode of The Crown in which Luther Ford plays the resentful and angry prince — teenager. Harry, clearly if subconsciously inspired by his appearances in the media over the past few years, avoided any speculation about future romantic entanglements for the younger of the two royal brothers. However, at some point someone will want to tackle the whole Harry and Meghan saga and the endless controversy and reputational damage it has caused to the royal family. And it seems likely that Morgan, in his self-appointed role as chronicler of the misadventures of the House of Windsor, will be as well placed as anyone to do so and bring to light all the tasteless, often hilarious absurdities. But just one request, if you really need it: please, please, can Megan not play herself?
The Crown is now on Netflix
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