From the Seattle Times: “For the opening episode, which depicts young Elizabeth’s marriage to Prince Philip, the show’s costume department made an exact replica of the Queen’s 1947 wedding dress, designed by Norman Hartnell. The original, made of ivory silk, took Hartnell and his staff six months to make (it included 10,000 hand-embroidered seed pearls), at an undisclosed cost. (In cash-strapped postwar England, the then-princess famously saved ration coupons for the fabric.) The new gown, a meticulous carbon copy, took seven weeks. Its cost? About $37,000.”
“The Crown” hits all of the tent-pole moments in Elizabeth’s public story, all of them well-documented by decades of news coverage and history books, but Morgan had to use his imagination and make educated guesses when it came to filling in the blanks.
“If he erred in scenes that take place behind closed doors, it wasn’t because of lack of effort or attention to detail. A team of researchers spent 2 ½ years fact-checking his scripts.”
We’ve been streaming this 10 episode Netflix-original series which depicts the life and times of Queen Elizabeth II. The acting, costumes, photography, and period scenes are superb. Churchill in his declining years provides great drama as he interacts with the Queen. Already a second season is planned and it may continue for several more years. The quality of these episodes rivals that of the beloved Downton Abbey.