What ‘The Crown’ Gets Wrong About The Queen
Is the Queen a feminist?
Just in time for a new season of The Crown, Olivia Colman, famous from her fabulous lead role in The Favourite, has hailed Queen Elizabeth as the “ultimate feminist.”
But while the Queen might be fierce that doesn’t necessarily make her a feminist. Basically, Olivia Colman thinks she is, simply because the Queen has power, money and drives a car.
A journalist for The Guardian already tore this argument to shreds. But that doesn’t mean much.
Some better examples could still prove the Queen is a feminist, right?
Is She, Or Isn’t She?
To work out whether Queen Elizabeth II is actually a feminist, we would need to look at her history of political engagement. But there sort of isn’t one. The Queen has always put her duty before activism.
She’s seen a lot during her reign. Elizabeth II was around for the whole Nazi thing, the reigning monarch when JFK got assassinated and has lived through 14 UK Prime Ministers.
But despite all of that, the Queen has never publicly voiced her opinion. She’s actually supposed to be apolitical.
Why Isn’t The Queen Political?
Queen Elizabeth II was born at a time when Britain still embraced a stiff-upper lip, which basically meant forget your feelings and get on with it.
In 1986, the Sunday Times published claims by her former press secretary. Apparently, Queen Elizabeth said that the views of then UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher about apartheid South Africa were “uncaring, confrontational and socially divisive.”
Not only did the palace officially deny this, but the Queen even called Thatcher to apologise.
More recently, Boris Johnson suspended the British parliament in a bid to get Brexit through. An outraged public then called on the Queen to do something about it.
Maybe its time for the Queen to intervene?#Brexit pic.twitter.com/T7DfJpYiiY
— .Dear Aunty: (@dearaunty) March 24, 2019
When it comes to parliamentary matters, the Queen’s official website says “she has to remain strictly neutral.” The Crown has fabricated lots of stuff to give the queen more political swagger than she actually has.
What Has The Crown Made Up?
In the show, a young Queen tries to stop Princess Margaret’s marriage. But according to the BBC, Queen Elizabeth actually encouraged her sister to wed.
The series also shows the queen banishing the Duke of Windsor over the contents of the Marburg Files –– which revealed some shady stuff about Nazis and the monarchy. But according to The Times, Elizabeth II just gave her cousin a slap on the wrist and they kept in touch.
When it comes to girl power, The Crown really spices things up by making out that the Queen was so jealous of US first lady Jackie Kennedy, that she went to Ghana just to compete with her popularity.
But in real life, Queen Elizabeth II invited Jackie Kennedy for another visit to Buckingham Palace and opened the British memorial to John F. Kennedy.
According to Reader’s Digest, the Queen even confided in Mrs. Kennedy about keeping her public and private lives separate, saying: “After a while one learns how to save oneself.”
For Queen Elizabeth, tradition, duty and privacy come before activism.
What’s The Verdict?
Because she’s never publicly voiced her opinion about gender equality, it’s impossible to call the Queen a feminist.
Elizabeth II has equalised the line of succession for royals, which means that any first-born of Prince William would’ve gotten the crown regardless of their gender.
But while that might indicate she privately believes in gender equality, it’s not something other British women will benefit from.
It’s kind of impossible for the Queen to take a stance on issues. Sure, Princess Diana was an AIDS and landmines activist. Prince William and Harry have spoken out about mental health and LGBTI+ rights. And, more recently, Meaghan Markle launched (the trés feminist) Forces For Change.
But Queen Elizabeth II has to place her duty before feminism. Her stiff-upper-lip is what keeps British modern democracy independent of the royal family’s private beliefs.
Ben is a journalist, documentary filmmaker and host of The Junkee Takeaway. You can follow him at @benstrum on Instagram.
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