Each season of “The Crown” covers a time period of roughly ten years. Season 5 showed us how years of misunderstanding and animosity led to the divorce of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. They were clearly not happy with each other, but they were not given a choice to go their separate ways. The already brittle reputation and respect of the British royal family were at stake. They had to set an example for the hypocritical society, and so they resorted to further hypocritical means and methods. They had to portray that they were one big happy family and teach the nation how to uphold integrity and values. Most of the relationships inside the royal family remind us of a dysfunctional Indian couple. In the Indian subcontinent, people often find themselves in unwanted matrimonial alliances, where they want to get a divorce but still stick around for years merely because of the stigma attached to the notion of separation. In their quest to become the protectors of values and religious principles, the royal family had forgotten how important it was to keep changing with time. They didn’t understand that, in their strife for becoming the chaplains of the nation, they had become obsolete and irrelevant.
Till the very end, Queen Elizabeth wanted Diana and Charles to somehow make it work. She did not see that 11 years of marriage had rotted their core. Diana had become self-destructive. She was perpetually depressed and often witnessed these extreme mood swings. She had started imagining things. She felt dejected and often didn’t know what to do with her life. Charles had given up on the marriage a long time ago. He had grown to despise his own wife. She had become needy and insecure because of Charles’ actions. Charles had made it very clear that he wouldn’t stop meeting Camila Parker Bowles, and that greatly affected Diana. She always had a problem with Camilla’s involvement in their personal matters, and why wouldn’t she? She felt that Camilla knew more about her husband than she did, and she was not wrong in thinking that. Charles expected her to understand what Camilla meant to him. But could she? How could she understand that her husband felt more connected to Camilla than his own wife? How could she understand that, had he been given the option, he would have married her instantly? It was a very helpless pot to be in, and it had an adverse impact on Diana’s emotional core, more than what anybody had imagined.
What Can We Expect From Season 6 Of ‘The Crown’?
“The Crown” Season 5 documented the events up to May 1997. Tony Blair had just been elected as the Prime Minister of the nation, and Charles saw an opportunity to strike a chord with him and coerce his mother to abdicate the throne. Tony Blair’s dominating behavior made it very clear that he was not going to adhere to each and every command of the monarchy, and the Royal Family would have to make certain changes and compromises. “The Crown” Season 6 will finally show us the infamous car crash of Princess Diana and the uproar it caused, not only in British society but in the entire world. Diana’s popularity at that time was unparalleled. No other member of the royal family had been so loved and respected. There was something about the princess that made everybody like her instantly. She had warmth in her personality, and people felt like she understood their plight. She was full of life and quite unrestrained in her expressions, unlike her other family members. A lot of people inside the royal family were jealous of the kind of fame she enjoyed. They had deep-seated resentments as their hard work often went unnoticed, but whatever Diana did become the headlines. It would be interesting to see how Peter Morgan and the team showcase the last days of the princess’ life. Hopefully, the writers will make us privy to what was going on inside the princess’s mind. Obviously, it would be based on the testimonies of the people who were in touch with her during her last days, but still, it is a fascinating subject. This would probably be the biggest challenge that the makers will have to face in Season 6 of “The Crown.” The death of Diana is something that deeply affected the entire nation, and it would be very tricky to deal with the subject matter and recreate it for the screen. Another fascinating aspect that the makers will probably touch upon is the public anger the Queen faced after the death of Diana.
Queen Elizabeth went by the philosophy that if one didn’t know what the impact of the words spoken would be, then one must keep quiet and stay on the sidelines till the dust settles. It had worked for her up until then, but on August 31, 1997, the world she knew changed a little bit. Tony Blair called Diana the “people’s princess” amidst the various conspiracy theories that surrounded her death. Diana might not have been the Queen, but she ruled the hearts of the common people, who wanted some reaction from the royal household. They wanted their Queen to pay her respects. The Queen did come ultimately, but the damage had already been done. It would be intriguing to see, in the 6th season, the dilemma that stopped the Queen from talking about the car crash. It would be a huge responsibility on the shoulders of the makers, who would have to execute it with added solemnity. It would be interesting to see the kind of conversations that happened inside Buckingham Palace after the car crash. The makers will have to decide if they take an objective viewpoint and put the blame for the death of Diana on the paparazzi or if they take an open-ended approach and a more subjective and philosophical approach where they show the facts and leave it up to the viewers to decide for themselves.
Among other things, we would also get to witness the romance between Kate Middleton and Prince William in the next season. Kate met Prince William in the early 2000s when they both were studying at St. Andrews University. All things considered, the makers will try to make the last and final season of “The Crown” more dramatic and more impactful. They would want to do justice to the legacy that the show has built itself over the years and also try to leave the fans and the viewers satisfied.
