History YMMV / TheCrown2016

** Diana gets a slightly different version in Season 5, where it's often implied that either "people" (presumably those loyal to the Royal Family and who perceive her as a threat to its stability) are out to silence her, drive her out of the UK, or even kill her - or whether she's simply crazy or paranoid. At one point she speculates that the brakes on her car had been tampered with, before then suggesting that her car might just be due for a tune-up. This nods to assorted conspiracy theories about the circumstances of her death.

** Creator/MattSmith and Creator/ClaireFoy also got some of this during their time on the show due to their offscreen chemistry and how affectionate they are with each other in real life, even receiving the shipping nickname "Smoy" on certain social media platforms. The shipping still continues to this day despite them no longer being on the show, if Tiktok and Instagram are anything to go off of.

** UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson really was physically domineering and prone to conduct business while taking care of, err, 'other business'. [[RealityIsUnrealistic The show actually downplays]] Johnson's behaviour [[note]]He'd tower over targets until they leaned so far back they'd stumble backwards. He'd conduct business while defecating with the bathroom door wide open in full view of his aides. He had a telephone installed in said bathroom, partly so he could handle government business while on the toilet, but also partly so he could inform whoever he was talking to that he was handling his personal business while talking to them. He'd also whip out his member -- [[ICallHimMisterHappy which he called "Jumbo"]] -- at random moments just to show off his manhood; he particularly enjoyed doing this at press conferences. The use of the word "Johnson" as a (somewhat American) euphemism for the penis predates him, though.[[/note]]

** UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson really was physically domineering and prone to conduct business while taking care of, err, 'other business'. [[RealityIsUnrealistic The show actually downplays]] Johnson's behaviour [[note]]He'd tower over targets until they leaned so far back they'd stumble backwards. He'd conduct business while defecating with the bathroom door wide open in full view of his aides. He had a telephone installed in said bathroom, partly so he could handle government business while on the toilet, but also partly so he could inform whoever he was talking to that he was handling his personal business while talking to them. He'd also whip out his member -- [[ICallHimMisterHappy which he called "Jumbo"]] -- at random moments just to show off his manhood; he particularly enjoyed doing this at press conferences.[[/note]]

** UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson really was physically domineering and prone to conduct business while taking care of "other business". [[RealityIsUnrealistic The show actually downplays]] Johnson's behaviour [[note]]He'd tower over targets until they leaned so far back they'd stumble backwards. He'd conduct business while defecating with the bathroom door wide open in full view of his aides. He had a telephone installed in the bathroom partly so he could handle government business while handling personal business, but also partly so he could inform whoever he was talking to that he was handling his personal business. He'd also whip out his member--[[ICallHimMisterHappy which he called "Jumbo"]]--at random moments just to show off his manhood; he particularly enjoyed doing this at press conferences.[[/note]].

* AmericansHateTingle: While British critics were broadly positive in their reviews of the first three seasons, Season 4 was met with a much more mixed reception, and Season 5 was met with an ''extremely'' negative reaction. This was largely the result of a combination of these seasons being more openly critical of the monarchy, combined with them being the point where they started depicting Princess Diana (who is still considered a SacredCow by some Britons [[note]] hence e why she still features regularly in [[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers some newspapers]] over two decades after her death[[/note]]) and UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher (still a controversial figure for many). In the case of Season 5, the death of Queen Elizabeth a few months prior to it being broadcast had the effect of making critics and the press overwhelmingly hostile to anything that might even remotely be seen as criticism of the monarchy in general, and the much-loved (or at least, much-respected) late monarch in particular.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: "Fairytale" includes a scene where a mouse scurries across the floor of the Queen Mother’s sitting room in such a pointless detail that many fans suspect it just happened during filming and somehow no one noticed.

** Moondust wound up being a very love it or hate it episode. Some found it to be boring filler that could've been replaced with a more substantial story (something involving Princess Anne, for example — given that her attempted kidnapping, marriage and Olympic participation [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter are hardly even mentioned]]. Others found it to be an intriguing and believed that it provided Phillip a strong showcase with positive CharacterDevelopment.

* CryForTheDevil: The show has been praised for successfully making viewers empathize with controversial figures such as The Duke of Windsor, Prince Charles, and UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher.

** Moondust wound up being a very love it or hate it episode. Some found it to be boring filler that could've been replaced with a more substantial story (something involving Princess Anne, for example — given that her attempted kidnapping, marriage and Olympic participation [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharachter are hardly even mentioned]]. Others found it to be an intriguing and believed that it provided Phillip a strong showcase with positive CharacterDevelopment.

** Anne. While she has a supporting role in Season 3, as detailed in TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot, they skipped over everything to do with her marriage, her attempted kidnapping, and her Olympic participation. This has particularly been...''controversial'' given that some people regarded Philip's DayInTheLimelight episode as being pretty boring, dealing with Philip's less-than-thrilling realisation that the astronauts who went to the Moon were just...boring average joes. It's especially telling that her husband Mark and children Peter and Zara are barely even mentioned in Season 4, with even Fergie's brief glimpse from a distance being more substantial.

** Moondust wound up being a very love it or hate it episode. Some found it to be boring filler that could’ve been replaced with a more substantial story. Others found it to be an intriguing and believed that it provided Phillip a strong showcase with positive CharacterDevelopment.

* AmericansHateTingle: While UK critics were broadly positive in their reviews of the first three seasons, Season 4 was met with a much more mixed reception, and Season 5 was met with an ''extremely'' negative reaction. This was largely the result of a combination of these seasons being more openly critical of the monarchy, combined with them being the point where they started depicting Princess Diana (who is a ''huge'' SacredCow among much of the UK population), and in the case of Season 5, the death of Queen Elizabeth a few months prior making the press overwhelmingly hostile to anything that might even remotely be seen as criticism of the monarchy.

* HumorDissonance: Charles tells a joke about England's heavy rain that flops horribly and is supposed to show him as stiff and awkward in contrast to the publicly beloved Diana, but a lot of fans said they thought it was funny.

** The murder of the Romanov's by the Bolsheviks during the Russian revolution, shown in its entirety as they are all shot and stabbed to death by their bayonets. All while the children scream and cross themselves preparing to submit to their maker.

* TooCoolToLive: An unfortunate real life example with King George VI. A kind, well meaning man who never wanted nor was meant to be king, but still accepted the throne when it was thrust on him, and against all odds became a universally beloved leader. Unfortunately the illness caused by his position’s pressure causes him to die before the second episode is even finished, breaking the hearts the family and subjects that he loved so dearly.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: For all of the controversy over the shows use of ArtisticLicenceHistory, sometimes we see something that may come across as a bit odd, but which is actually true; sometimes, the truth really is stranger than fiction.
** UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill really was in the habit of dictating to his secretaries while in the bath. [[RealityIsUnrealistic The show actually downplays]] This, as in RealLife, the secretaries were often ''in the bathroom with him'', whereas the fictional Venetia Scott gets to stay on the other side of the bathroom door.
** UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson really was physically domineering and prone to conduct business while taking care of "other business." [[RealityIsUnrealistic The show actually downplays]] Johnson's behavior[[note]]He'd tower over targets until they leaned so far back they'd stumble backwards. He'd conduct business while defecating with the bathroom door wide open in full view of his aides. He had a telephone installed in the bathroom partly so he could handle government business while handling personal business, but also partly so he could inform whoever he was talking to that he was handling his personal business. He'd also whip out his member--[[ICallHimMisterHappy which he called "Jumbo"]]--at random moments just to show off his manhood; he particularly enjoyed doing this at press conferences.[[/note]].

** With Diana, there are occasional hints and implications that she says and does certain things less out of a sense of sincerity, and more out of manipulation and knowing it's favourable for her public image. Was she truly in love with Charles in the beginning, or was she more dazzled by his stature and by the idea of someday being Queen? Is she sincere in wanting to make her marriage to Charles work, or does she know it's the "right" thing to say when Elizabeth questions her? Was hugging the AIDS patient on her New York City trip truly a spontaneous moment of altruism, or something she knew would make a really good photo-op? Diana, in the show and in real life, could be interpreted as entirely guileless, naive, and sweet, or as somewhat more dogged and calculating? [[TakeTheThirdOption Or is she using that calculating for altruistic goals]]? This continues into Series 5 when Elizabeth Debicki takes on the role, and we get (for example) a scene where she spends a lot of time visiting patients in the hospital where Dr. Khan works, leaving the viewer to wonder whether she's only doing that so she can catch his eye.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson really was physically domineering and prone to conduct business while taking care of "other business." [[RealityIsUnrealistic The show actually downplays]] Johnson's behavior[[note]]He'd tower over targets until they leaned so far back they'd stumble backwards. He'd conduct business while defecating with the bathroom door wide open in full view of his aides. He had a telephone installed in the bathroom partly so he could handle government business while handling personal business, but also partly so he could inform whoever he was talking to that he was handling his personal business. He'd also whip out his member--[[ICallHimMisterHappy which he called "Jumbo"]]--at random moments just to show off his manhood; he particularly enjoyed doing this at press conferences.[[/note]].
** George V really did have a pet parrot that used to perch on his shoulder at mealtimes (and when he read government papers for that matter); she was an African Grey called Charlotte, rather than the Macaw seen in the show. Queen Mary apparently hated her, and was especially troublesome during breakfast since she would partake of any boiled eggs on the table.

** George V really did have a pet parrot that used to perch on his shoulder at mealtimes (and when he read government papers for that matter); she was an African Grey called Charlotte. Queen Mary apparently hated her.

** Despite the disastrous couple they play on the show, Creator/JoshOConnor and Creator/EmmaCorrin have gotten some of this due to their strong onscreen chemistry and endearing behind the scenes friendship.

* IdiotPlot: The alterations to history turn the separation of Margaret and Peter Townsend into one. Despite being previously noted as a foremost authority on British constitutional law, Elizabeth has no idea of the second half of the Royal Marriages Act that's being hidden from her, nor does it apparently ever once occur to her to look it up and make sure she's getting the whole story in the two years before Margaret turns 25. Indeed, the conspirators even have as a ready-made excuse that the law was there for her to study whenever she wanted. And nor do Margaret or Peter themselves think to make sure of what they're signing on for, or even any of the journalists informing the public about the highly popular couple.

** The miners' strikes during Thatcher's tenure were equally long and infamous as those under her predecessors, and Arthur Scargill was already introduced in Season 3; the difference is that Thatcher wound up with a CurbStompVictory against him and the NUM. Not so much as a mention of it is made in Season 4.

** Lesley Manville, when starring in the titular role of ''Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022)'' (set in the 1950s), referenced Princess Margaret, saying, "Oh, I like her. You can see a twinkle of mischief in her eye." Manville would shortly be cast as the elderly Princess Margaret for Seasons 5 and 6.

** With Diana, there are occasional hints and implications that she says and does certain things less out of a sense of sincerity, and more out of manipulation and knowing it's favourable for her public image. Was she truly in love with Charles in the beginning, or was she more dazzled by his stature and by the idea of someday being Queen? Is she sincere in wanting to make her marriage to Charles work, or does she know it's the "right" thing to say when Elizabeth questions her? Was hugging the AIDS patient on her New York City trip truly a spontaneous moment of altruism, or something she knew would make a really good photo-op? Diana, in the show and in real life, could be interpreted as entirely guileless, naive, and sweet, or as somewhat more dogged and calculating? [[TakeTheThirdOption Or is she using that calculating for altruistic goals]]?

* NarmCharm: Despite criticisms of acting like a caricature of Thatcher, Gillian Anderson's portrayal was still deemed strong enough that many viewers weren't bothered by her being a LargeHam.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Two words. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpNCuMRurmc Duck Shoot.]]

** Creator/GillianAnderson's UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher. Many believe she did a fantastic job brining the famous figure to life, while others found her take on the Prime Minister to be too hammy and stilted in comparison to the other actors's more natural performances. There's also a bit of division on whether or not Thatcher was depicted too sympathetically or if it was a well done WartsAndAll portrayal.