Previously on Netflix’s The Crown, Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) had to say her final goodbye to her sister Magaret (Lesley Manville). Margaret had been struggling with her sickness as she had a series of strokes. It was a tragic episode and now is when the audience says goodbye to the amazing series.
The finale of the series starts with Charles (Dominic West) in bed with Camilla (Olivia Williams). It’s clear to see that something’s on his mind. The short scene transitions to Elizabeth as she wakes up in the morning. As she prepares to get ready for the day, her dresser gives her a rundown of what she has scheduled for the day.
The next scene is with Charles. He’s getting ready for the day. It has been almost two years since the United States went to war with Iran. He has breakfast with Camilla and bluntly asks her to marry him. He tells her that he wants her to be his wife.
The scene cuts off before Camilla can respond and goes back to Elizabeth as she enters her first meeting. They want to prepare for Elizabeth’s funeral, even though she’s in good health. Her husband Philip (Jonathan Pryce) tells her that they’ve been working on his for years. They want to plan it just in preparation for whenever the time comes.
They go to another room, where there’s a table laid out with miniature figures of how everything would play out on the streets. She takes a look at each of them, taking things more seriously as she notices how big of a deal it is.
As Charles makes it to the royal home, sitting in the car, there’s a herd of protestors yelling absurdly as Tony Blair (Bertie Carvel) leaves the palace. When Charles talks with his mother, he tells her all that happened and how people are now treating Blair so poorly.
Elizabeth asks her son why he came to see her and he asks for her blessing to marry Camilla. She has very high opinions of Camilla, not liking how she and her son both stepped out of their marriages to be with each other. Charles uses Elizabeth and Philip as an example of why she should give him her blessing.
Next, we see William and Harry hanging out with friends. Three people come to let the brothers know that they got a call from the Queen’s people. The scene then transitions back to Elizabeth. She meets with a big group of bishops concerning Charles’ want to marry Camilla.
Elizabeth tells them that she’s on the fence, but leaning more toward giving him the blessing. The bishops are all hesitant as it’s well-known how Charles and Camilla got together at the beginning of the relationship.
After the conversation, William and Harry are found sitting and waiting for their grandmother as the group of bishops leave the meeting room. The boys meet with her and the three of them go for a walk. She tells them that Charles wants to be married to Camilla. Harry doesn’t like it one bit, as does William, but Harry is more vocal about his feelings.
William tells their grandmother that even though it’s not ideal or what they want, it would be best to keep the royal status in the future. Harry is upset with William for giving Elizabeth his or rather their blessing.
A couple of days after meeting with their grandmother, Harry and William go to a costume part with Kate and some of their friends. At the party, someone takes a picture of Harry, who’s wearing a Nazi costume. The following day, William looks at the morning papers and notices Harry’s on the front page. Everyone looks at them and gets upset.
The next day comes along and Phillip tells Elizabeth that he called the store where the boys got their costumes from. He states that the uniform was inaccurate. It wasn’t meant to be a Nazi uniform, just a German Afrika Korps uniform with a swastika on the sleeve.
They depart as Philip leaves for the day and Elizabeth goes to the horse’s stall. Anne comes in and talks with her. She expresses to her mother that she thinks it’s time for Elizabeth to retire because she’s worked so hard and has been in the Crown for much longer than the normal time rate. Anne thinks that she should focus on herself and spend the rest of her years with the ones she loves.
After Elizabeth’s horse ride, she gets informed that the date for the wedding has been scheduled for April. They suggest that because of how things have played out with Charles and Camilla, it is more appropriate for Elizabeth to not come to the wedding ceremony and come to the reception afterward.
During the evening, Charles and the boys have dinner together. Harry and William bicker at each other and Charles yells at them, stating that he’s had enough. There’s been a separation between Charles and his boys, especially with him and Harry. Once dinner is done, he calls Camilla for the night.
Charles tells Camilla that Elizabeth is writing a speech for the wedding reception. The family has put together a pact, suspicious that there will be some sort of an announcement from her. Charles went to Philip, Philip went to Anne, and then Anne went to their brother Andrew. No one had any ideas as to what could be going on.
As time has gone on, it is now the day of the royal wedding for Charles and Camilla. The town guards get ready, putting up rails for citizens. Elizabeth listens to the ceremony televised as she continues to write her speech for the reception.
The reception has come. It’s now time for Elizabeth to give her speech. Her speech is filled with lighthearted jokes. As she’s going through her speech, Harry and William notice that she skips over a card, which could have been the big announcement she was going to make.
When the reception ends. William is getting the car together for Charles and Camilla. Elizabeth comes outside to talk to him. She tells him to take it easy on Harry because it’s hard being the youngest child, the second child. They go inside to take a family picture.
Once the photos are done, Elizabeth slips out of the room and Philip finds her in the church. He tells her that he knows she’s not ready to step down from being Queen. They have a heartfelt conversation before Philip leaves her so that she can continue her prayers.
This show has had a whirlwind of emotions. Being based on a true story, there’s a certain aspect to it. Being able to see the royal family, not just in the light of success, but also in the light of sadness and darkness even. The way they decided to do this last episode of the series was perfect. The finale offers a touching reflection on the passage of time and the inevitable changes that come with it, while also celebrating the resilience and strength of the characters.
Rating: 9/10