History YMMV / TheCrown2016

** Philip, who is brusque and condescending to nearly everyone he meets. But then come the revelations that he had to give up his career ambitions and nearly all of his self-worth in order to support his wife in an age when men were expected to be the absolute heads of their households, leaving him with nothing to do but socialize and pursue various hobbies to occupy his time.

* FandomRivalry: After Netflix cancelled several of their most expensive shows in 2017, their fans were furious that ''The Crown'', the service's actual ''most'' expensive show, got to stay around. A big part of the resentment is that the company's president had recently made a statement about how proud they are of the risks they're taking with their original programming, yet ''The Crown'' is by far the most "safe" of the shows in question, being a highbrow period drama about a bunch of straight white people.

* {{Squick}}: The show depicts King George VI's illness and death in very graphic detail. Some highlights include:
** A closeup of the operation to remove one of his lungs, showing his beating heart and the surgeons cutting away at his lung.
** Philip walks into the room being used as a makeshift operating theater in time to see King George VI's diseased lung being laid out on a tray.
** Margaret walking in on his body being embalmed.

* DuelingShows: Many comparisons have been drawn between the Crown, and ITV's Victoria, as both series about the early reigns of two of Britain's most famous Queens, their struggles of balancing their marriages and family life with their royal duties, their relationships with their ministers and both featuring former Series/DoctorWho co-stars Creator/MattSmith and Creator/JennaColeman, respectively [[note]]as well as Alex Jennings as scheming royal uncles The Duke of Windsor and King Leopold of the Belgians, respectively[[/note]]. The Crown's producer even [[http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-10-03/the-crown-producer-says-soapy-rival-royal-drama-victoria-isnt-in-the-same-league fanned the flames by saying Victoria is not in the same league as The Crown]]. For what it's worth, ''The Crown'' made a global splash and ended up winning Best Drama and Claire Foy won Best Dramatic Actress at the 2016 Golden Globes while ''Victoria'' seemingly faded into the background.

* DuelingShows: Many comparisons have been drawn between the Crown, and ITV's Victoria, as both series about the early reigns of two of Britain's most famous Queens, their struggles of balancing their marriages and family life with their royal duties, their relationships with their ministers and both featuring former Series/DoctorWho co-stars Creator/MattSmith and Creator/JennaColeman, respectively [[note]]as well as Alex Jennings as scheming royal uncles The Duke of Windsor and King Leopold of the Belgians, respectively[[/note]]. The Crown's producer even [[http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-10-03/the-crown-producer-says-soapy-rival-royal-drama-victoria-isnt-in-the-same-league fanned the flames by saying Victoria is not in the same league as The Crown]].

** [[UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen Queen Elizabeth II]], who'd hoped to have had at least ten or twenty years to raise her family before ascending to the throne. But her father's failing health meant that she had to quickly start taking more responsibility and unexpectedly become Queen well before she was 30, resulting in the deterioration of her marriage and family life as [[StiffUpperLip she steadfastly grows into her position and refuses to let the strain show to the public]].

* DuelingShows: Many comparisons have been drawn between the Crown, and ITV's Victoria, as both series about the early reigns of two of Britain's most famous Queens, their struggles of balancing their marriages and family life with their royal duties, their relationships with their ministers and both featuring former Series/DoctorWho co-stars Creator/MattSmith and Creator/JennaColeman respectively. The Crown's producer even [[http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-10-03/the-crown-producer-says-soapy-rival-royal-drama-victoria-isnt-in-the-same-league fanned the flames by saying Victoria is not in the same league as The Crown]].

* DuelingShows: Many comparisons have been drawn between the Crown, and ITV's Victoria, as both series about the early reign of two of Britain's most famous Queens, their struggles of balancing their marriages and family life with their royal duties, their relationships with their ministers and both starring former Series/DoctorWho alumni Creator/MattSmith and Creator/JennaColeman respectively. The Crown's producer even [[http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-10-03/the-crown-producer-says-soapy-rival-royal-drama-victoria-isnt-in-the-same-league fanned the flames by saying Victoria is not in the same league as The Crown]].

* {{Squick}}: Philip walks into the room being used as a makeshift operating theater in time to see King George VI's diseased lung being laid out on a tray.

* WTHCastingAgency: Arguably, Creator/MattSmith as Prince Phillip - Smith's time on ''Series/DoctorWho'' has given him a reputation as a young, {{Adorkable}} GeekyTurnOn sex symbol, not attributes with which Prince Phillip is associated in real life. Others would argue that playing Prince Philip would allow Smith [[PlayingAgainstType to dilute that image]], as Smith is [[AbilityOverAppearance quite talented despite not being like Prince Philip in real life]]. Plus, he's a ''very'' close physical match.

* WTHCastingAgency: Arguably, Creator/MattSmith as Prince Phillip - Smith's time on ''Series/DoctorWho'' has given him a reputation as a young, {{Adorkable}} GeekyTurnOn sex symbol, not attributes with which Prince Phillip is associated in real life. Others would argue that playing Prince Philip would allow Smith [[PlayingAgainstType to dilute that image]], as Smith is [[AbilityOverAppearance quite talented despite not being like Prince Philip in real life]].

* WTHCastingAgency: Arguably, Creator/MattSmith as Prince Phillip - Smith's time on ''Series/DoctorWho'' has given him a reputation as a young, {{Adorkable}} GeekyTurnOn sex symbol, not attributes with which Prince Phillip is associated in real life.

* HarsherInHindsight: Princess Margaret's breakup with Peter Townsend is this, doubly so when one considers that in RealLife, the Queen and the cabinet actually ''supported'' their relationship. The princess's actual marriage later ended in divorce.

* WTHCastingAgency: Arguably, Creator/MattSmith as Prince Phillip - Smith's time on ''Series/DoctorWho'' has given him a reputation as a young, {{Adorkable}} GeekyTurnOn sex symbol, not attributes with which Prince Phillip is associated in real life.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: In a meta-example thanks to Eileen Atkins playing Queen Mary here after having previously done so in the movie ''Film/BertieAndElizabeth''. In that movie, Queen Mary was more of a CoolOldLady who mainly provided sarcastic comedy. Here, she's a GrandeDame who acts as a mentor to Elizabeth and embodies the traditionalism of the Windsor family--one of her most notable scenes is when she appears after George's death in full mourning regalia and curtseying to now-Queen Elizabeth.

** Philip, who is brusque and condescending to nearly everyone he meets. But then comes the revelations that he had to give up his career ambitions and nearly all of his self-worth in order to support his wife in an age when men were expected to be the absolute heads of their households, leaving him with nothing to do but socialize and pursue various hobbies to occupy his time.
** David, the Duke of Windsor, who is as much BitchInSheepsClothing as he his portrayed, but the abdication weighs on him heavily. He has to endure, what he feels is, the constant disrespect towards his wife by being denied the style of Her Royal Highness, the British Establishment making it clear they will never forgive him for the Abdication, his own family despises him for the same, and yet he remains devoted to the institution of the Crown, even as he admits that he lacked the strength to bear it.

** [[UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen Queen Elizabeth II]], who'd hoped to have had at least ten or twenty years to raise her family before ascending to the throne. But her father's failing health meant that she had to quickly start taking more responsibility and unexpectedly become Queen well before she was 30, resulting in the deterioration of her marriage and family life as [[StiffUpperLip steadfastly grows into her position and refuses to let the strain show to the public]].

** Philip, who is brusque and condescending to nearly everyone he meets. But then comes the revelations that he had to give up his career ambitions and nearly all of his self-worth in order to support his wife in an age when men were expected to be the absolute heads of their households.

* JerkassWoobie: Philip, who is brusque and condescending to nearly everyone he meets. But then comes the revelations that he had to give up his career ambitions and nearly all of his self-worth in order to support his wife in an age when men were expected to be the absolute heads of their households.