The Crown: Part One By Michael Moriarty The Crown, a stunningly naked record of the trials and tribulations, both public and private, of our present Queen Elizabeth, has me, again, madly in love with the English-speaking theater. I doubt if this, yes, brilliantly filmed and acted soap opera is even close to the truth of the Royal Family but who cares really?! The general plight of all monarchies of the Third Millennium is laid bare and without apology. It amounts to a transatlantic combination of playwrights John Osborne and Edward Albee, with an obviously respectful nod to the greatest of Royal Chroniclers: William Shakespeare. It contains a cruelty I find not only acceptable to the British “upper classes”, but a nasty symptom of the Royal presumption that what is now labeled the British Commonwealth is still and always shall be the British Empire. The Emperor’s sense of humor?! That of Prince Phillip. And, unfortunately, the British population’s nostalgia for the good old days. The American description of it is “sucking up”! The British? “Giving the Queen her proper place.” Versus America: “The Queen needn’t earn it! She was born to it! And no one deserves such power unless they’ve proved themselves worthy of it!” Even Prince Phillip doesn’t seem to agree with royal rights. Therein lies the English literary nod to America’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf! Edward Albee’s American Royal Couple: “George and Martha” of Washington legend. All with an obligatory seasoning from John Osborne’s unforgettable Look Back in Anger. The Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, having a drunken fit, tearing through and destroying her possessions while listening to Ella Fitzgerald’s Angel Eyes?! Not coincidentally an American classic. As, in her seemingly helpless position amidst this alcoholic ballet, Queen Elizabeth herself is at Margaret’s door listening to her sister’s drunken fit, yes, helplessly. Prince Phillip, in one episode, most willfully elevates himself to being referred to as “your highness”! Following which, he complains about the Queen’s new hair-do. As “His Highness”, he feels obviously allowed to complain that the Queen is no longer sexually enticing with her hair reminding him of a “motorcycle helmet”! Indeed, she said she would like to have “more children”. Yet, “His Highness” declares, during a Royal Train Trip, that he might find the task of procreating with a hairdo, like that of his Queen’s, far too challenging. “His Highness’s” suggestions for the Queen’s sexual role models: Jayne Mansfield and Rita Hayworth. President John F. Kennedy, however, might have recommended Marilyn Monroe. According to my wife, who is now into the last of the three series, the only aristocrat left unscathed and actually beatified is Sir Winston Churchill. Yet, unlike America, there is an eternal pomp and circumstance surrounding even sister Margaret’s drunken temper tantrums. How so?! We are forever reminded that the Royal Family can and have looked down on the rest of the world because they must! They are expected to avoid the temptation to do so but, alas, they are mere human beings and, yes, there are many a slip twixt the Windsor’s and their German heritage. Now comes “The Speech”! An address the Queen made to employees of the Jaguar factory. One might safely call it an unapologetic insult to the majority of the British working class. Words that unleashed what the press first referred to as “The Peer”! This Episode #5 of the second season is entitled Marionettes. Bee Hive would, I think, have been a more appropriate title. The powers afforded “The Hive” of Queen Elizabeth the First, as versus Queen Elizabeth the Second?! Queen Elizabeth the First’s freedom and rights?! The unquestioned power to have anyone she wanted to be rid of executed?! In those days, the growing British Empire had the irreplaceable right to dispose of any personality in the Queendom that might annoy Her Royal Highness. Queen Elizabeth the Second?! She hasn’t anything like those privileges. Therefore, this “Peer”, a lord actually, attacked the Queen’s speech without fear of any major dangers. Heard on radio throughout the land?! The drama that ensues will be discussed in: The Crown Part Two Where there are, due to the series length, countless more reports from me to come. Enjoy! I certainly did! Michael Moriarty is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor who starred in the landmark television series Law and Order from 1990 to 1994. His recent film and TV credits include The Yellow Wallpaper, 12 Hours to Live, Santa Baby and Deadly Skies. Contact Michael at rainbowfamily2008@yahoo.com. He can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/@MGMoriarty.
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