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TV series 'The Crown' brings mourners closer to royals

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Caroline Taix, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Actress Olivia Colman attends the world premiere of Season 3 of " The="" in="" November="" Neil="" EPA-EFE="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/entertainment/09/15/actress-olivia-colman-epa-9152022.jpg"/><figcaption>Actress Olivia Colman attends the world premiere of Season 3 of &quot;The Crown&quot; in London, November 13, 2019. <em>Neil Hall, EPA-EFE/file</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>As Liz Butler stood among the crowds of well-wishers outside Buckingham Palace, she couldn&#x27;t help asking herself if she was living through a future episode of the hit TV series &quot;The Crown.&quot;</p><p>Like many of those flocking to bid farewell to Queen Elizabeth II, Butler was a big fan of the Netflix show that has offered viewers a glimpse -- albeit fictionalized -- inside royal life. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/09/10/22/netflix-suspends-the-crown-filming-after-queens-death">Netflix suspends &#x27;The Crown&#x27; filming after death of Queen Elizabeth</a></li></ul><p>&quot;I wonder, will they try to put all this in it?&quot; said Butler, 68, as the new King Charles III and his Queen Consort Camilla swept by, waving from the royal car.</p><p>&quot;The Crown&quot; -- one of the streaming giant&#x27;s biggest successes -- has been credited with helping to shape, and in many cases soften, perceptions of the royal family for new generations. </p><p>First aired in 2016, it charts the queen&#x27;s journey from nervous 25-year-old neophyte to a national institution, as she guided the world&#x27;s most famous monarchy through decades of scandals and upheaval. </p><p>In the days following her death after seven decades on the throne, there was reportedly a huge spike in the numbers clicking in to watch the series. </p><p>In Britain, viewership shot up 800 percent on the week before, in France, it tripled, and in the United States, it quadrupled, The Guardian newspaper reported, citing figures from Whip Media. </p><p>A fifth season charting the tumultuous period in the 1990s that saw the monarchy rocked by the split of the queen&#x27;s son Charles, now king, from his wife Diana, is set to go out this autumn.</p><p>Filming is currently going on for a sixth season as well, although it was halted for a day after the queen died. </p><div><strong>&#x27;Found out so much&#x27;</strong></div><p>Virginie Verrez, who had decided to stop by Buckingham Palace on her work trip from France, said she loved the series -- especially the first two seasons about the young queen assuming the role. </p><p>&quot;I found out so much about this family,&quot; the 33-year-old told AFP. &quot;I didn&#x27;t know much, in fact, and now I&#x27;ve become quite interested in the members of the royal family.&quot;</p><p>Verrez said she followed the drama as Prince Harry and his wife Meghan quit the fold and issued broadsides against the royals in interviews from the United States. </p><p>&quot;I understood better how the British monarchy works,&quot; she said. &quot;But I&#x27;m happy to live in a republic, as all this seems pretty archaic.&quot;</p><p>Sanna Wintren, 34, who had come from Sweden with some girlfriends for the weekend, laid a bunch of flowers in memory of the queen. </p><p>&quot;In Sweden we don&#x27;t care as much about our royal family,&quot; she said.</p><p>But Wintren became hooked on &quot;The Crown&quot; from the moment she saw it. </p><p>&quot;I got Diana-obsessed after,&quot; she said. &quot;I&#x27;ve seen every documentary on her I could.&quot;</p><div><strong>&#x27;Humanized&#x27;</strong></div><p>The last season to air drew some criticism in the UK for taking too much artistic license and allegedly portraying Charles excessively negatively over his treatment of his ex-wife. </p><p>But Wintren insisted that for her, the show had &quot;humanized&quot; the new monarch. </p><p>&quot;I understand him better: he was not allowed to live his love story,&quot; she said. </p><p>German Andrea Geldmann, 66, brushed off accusations that the makers had strayed too far from the truth to lavish praise on the series.</p><p>&quot;I love &#x27;The Crown.&#x27; It&#x27;s really well done,&quot; she said. &quot;I have more affection for the queen.&quot;</p><p>Gai Reckless from Australia agreed that she now had &quot;more sympathy&quot; for Elizabeth. &quot;I did not know before how much she had to leave in order to become queen.&quot;</p><p>But now -- as the final curtain falls on the life of Britain&#x27;s longest-reigning monarch -- there was a clear sense that the last chapter was being written. </p><p>&quot;We&#x27;re witnessing the end of the series here,&quot; said Verrez.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2221270" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

As Liz Butler stood among the crowds of well-wishers outside Buckingham Palace, she couldn't help asking herself if she was living through a future episode of the hit TV series 'The Crown'.

TV series 'The Crown' brings mourners closer to royals

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TV series 'The Crown' brings mourners closer to royals

Caroline Taix,

Agence France-Presse

Published Sep 15, 2022 03:22 PM PHT

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