Dickie Arbiter, the former press secretary of Queen Elizabeth II, is not happy with how “The Crown” depicted Her Majesty, especially from seasons three to six.
After having watched all seasons of the Netflix series, the 83-year-old can now weigh in on all three portrayals of the monarch. Claire Foy played Her Majesty during her younger years for seasons one and two, Olivia Colman for seasons three to four and then Imelda Staunton for the last two seasons.
Seasons three to six of the show followed the timeline from 1964 to 2005. Arbiter worked closely with the late monarch from 1988 until 2000, and so he was especially critical of Colman and Staunton’s portrayal of the Queen. He said he did not recognise the “drawn” woman played by Colman and found Staunton’s version to be gloomy in a way that did Her Majesty disservice.
“I don’t remember her being glum and boring. Glum if there was a death in the family or one of the dogs had to be put down, but she was playing glum and boring right the way through,” he told Deadline of Staunton’s portrayal.
However, he praised Staunton’s portrayal of the Queen in one scene when she delivered a nation’s address following the death of Princess Diana. Arbiter shared that in real life he played an important role in orchestrating the speech. Meanwhile, his favourite portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II came from Foy who he said was “brilliant” as the young monarch.
The journalist shared the same sentiment about Colman and Staunton’s portrayal of the Queen in his piece for 9Honey. He wrote: “There have been three Queens. Claire Foy, as the young Queen (and by far the best) played the Queen sympathetically. Olivia Colman’s Queen was sulky; in all the years I worked for HM, I never saw sulk.”
He added: “Lastly, Imelda Staunton’s Queen, portrayed glum and boring. Huh! From my own experience, Elizabeth the Second was never boring. Glum or sad, but only when circumstances warranted that mood.”
The journalist continued: “The Queen was always going to pay a public tribute to Diana, but in her time and not order. To her, the eve of Diana’s funeral was the right time. The tribute was delivered admirably, Imelda Staunton got that right, but what I did miss, unless I blinked too loudly, was the applause from outside Buckingham Palace at the end of her tribute.”
As for “The Crown” finally ending Arbiter wrote: “It has been an experience, one I hope never to encounter again. Amen.” Part two of the sixth and final season of the series aired on Netflix on December 14 and it ended with a reference to the death of the real-life Queen Elizabeth II.
