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While these shows all try to claim part of the noughties nostalgia trend, they feel politically and contextually vacant.
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When The Crown debuted in 2016, the quality of the story lines, acting and impressive production standards were striking. What happened?
TheCrown.
Queen Elizabeth II managed to claw back popular support after the PR disasters around her handing of Diana’s divorce from Prince Charles and her response when she died.
Dutch delftware with a double portrait of William III and Mary II, ca. 1690.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
From lockets for Henry VIII’s wedding to tea cups for Charles III’s coronation, there is a long history of royal souvenirs.
Prince William and Prince Harry arrive for the statue unveiling of their mother on what would have been Princess Diana’s 60th birthday at Kensington Palace in July 2021, a year after Harry departed the U.K. for the United States.
(Yui Mok/via AP)
The relationship between Princes William and Harry is fractured, and can be explained by what’s known as the ‘family systems’ theory. Repairing it will require the Royal Family to change.
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How Prince Harry using a psychic to contact his dead mother, Princess Diana, isn’t that unusual.
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Children and the adults they become need to choose how they grieve. That may include sharing their experiences and getting angry.
Princes William and Harry have made several joint public appearances following the death of their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Jamie Lorriman / Alamy Stock Photo
Sharing administrative tasks and reminiscing on family moments can bring siblings together during tough times.
Queen Elizabeth II during a 1983 tour of California.
George Rose/Getty Images
The new queen was a subversive model for American women of the 1950s, and many traveled to London for her coronation. Their daughters and granddaughters will be among those mourning the monarch’s death.
A quarter of a century after the Paris car crash, conspiracy theories about Diana’s death persist.
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Conspiracy theories help people make sense of chaos and tragedy by finding a ‘reason’ behind the coincidences.
Pablo Larraín/Roadshow
Far from the romance of 1981’s made-for-TV films, Spencer is trapped in a frozen Sandringham setting, gasping for air.
emka74/Shutterstock
Diana is no longer limited to photographs and interviews in her lifetime. She is experiencing a successful posthumous career without her consent.
Brothers: Princes William and Harry reunited for the dedication of the statue to their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
Dominic Lipinski/Pool via Reuters
The late Princess of Wales has become a vehicle for others to reflect their own feelings.
Sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley photographs his sculpture of Princess Diana.
YouTube/BBC
Reactions to the new figure embody the problems that come with recreating the images of modern icons
Martin Bashir’s interview with Diana, Princess of Wales was watched by millions when it aired in 1995.
PA/BBC Screen Grab
Critics of the UK’s public broadcaster will be sharpening their knives over the latest scandal.
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Oprah Winfrey brought emotion and empathy to her bombshell interview with the couple – two qualities sorely missing in public debate these days.
Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese
Royal confessions disrupt the careful balance between transparency and secrecy on which the monarchy is based.
Des Willie Netflix
The chorus of disapproving voices declaiming The Crown’s approach to royal storytelling are angling for the biographers’ holy grail and seeking to protect their own lucrative market share.
Des Willie/Netflix
In this new season of The Crown, Queen Elizabeth has two rivals for centre stage: Margaret Thatcher, played dazzlingly well by Gillian Anderson, and Diana Spencer.
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Princess Diana’s bad experience with a ‘tell-all’ book in 1992 should have been a cautionary tale for her son.