THE CROWN: Season 1
Duty wins in this superb, historically faithful royal drama.
Should You Watch It?
THE CROWN is a rare historical drama that treats its subject with respect. Its superb acting and impeccable historical detail bring the early years of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign to life, while its central conflict between personal desire and public duty is powerfully and subtly drawn.
The series honors the traditional family, constitutional monarchy, limited government, the rule of law, and Christian virtues such as self-control and self-sacrifice. It also portrays marital loyalty and continued commitment as praiseworthy, even when Elizabeth and Philip’s marriage is under serious strain.
The cost is significant. The series includes brief nudity, intense foul language, an adulterous romance, frequent alcohol consumption, constant smoking, and a Deistic worldview that invokes God mostly for ceremonial occasions. You should watch only if you are an adult prepared to engage those concerns thoughtfully.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESTHE CROWN follows Princess Elizabeth as she moves from a happy life as a wife and mother into the public burden of the British throne. Beginning in the 1950s, the 10-part season traces her efforts to reconcile personal and public roles while Britain struggles to recover from World War II and its empire begins to disintegrate.
Around Elizabeth are Prince Philip, her family, Winston Churchill, church leaders, and a treacherous court shaped by politics, tradition, love, and duty.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this is exceptionally well made. THE CROWN is historically faithful, superbly acted, surprisingly restrained, and respectful in its presentation. Its historical detail is impeccable, and the drama powerfully and subtly depicts the conflict between individualism and duty.
John Lithgow gives a magnificent performance as Winston Churchill. The series is also a welcome departure from sleazy, pseudo-historical television such as VIKINGS and THE TUDORS. Its strongest achievement is the way it makes competing loyalties—country, family, marriage, faith, and personal happiness—feel weighty and consequential.
The Worldview
THE CROWN encourages admiration for constitutional monarchy, limited government, the rule of law, the traditional family, and Christian virtues of self-control and self-sacrifice. It praises marital fidelity, loyalty to family, and selfless commitment to God-given duty. Elizabeth’s faithfulness to duty is contrasted with the selfishness and deceit of the Duke of Windsor, who gave up the throne to marry his twice-divorced mistress.
The series also presents a world where God is present largely in ceremony rather than in personal guidance and comfort. People are not generally shown seeking direction from Jesus, the Church, or the Bible in personal matters. This Deistic outlook means Elizabeth’s choice to put country and duty ahead of loved ones cannot bring her domestic happiness or inner peace.
The series’ treatment of an adulterous romance includes the repeated idea that “morality is changing,” while church leaders insist on Elizabeth’s oath to defend the faith. The result is a respectful but incomplete moral vision: duty matters, but duty without a personal relationship with God cannot fully satisfy.
The Bible gives a fuller answer to the question of duty and happiness: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Light Christian and moral but slightly Deist worldview where the blessings of the God of the Bible are invoked sometimes invoked (mostly for ceremonial occasions, however), and the Archbishop of Canterbury reminds Elizabeth of her oath to be the “Defender of the Faith,” but people aren’t expected to have a personal relationship with Jesus or seek guidance from God, the Church or the Bible on personal matters, and marital fidelity and loyalty to family are praised, and a selfless commitment to God-given duty is seen as most important, plus some light Romantic/relativist elements with a repeated line “morality is changing”, when adulterous lovers want the Queen to approve their marriage; many profanities and one “f” used in a sexual context, the King recites an obscene limerick which includes the an obscenity to help his stage-fright, and Prince Philip uses some crass language about horse-breeding; suspenseful scene as a wild elephant threatens to charge, dramatic hospital scenes as London is hit with a poisonous fog that’s fatal to some, bus hits woman in London, one graphic scene of lung surgery, daughter visits her father’s body during the embalming process, wife throws things at her husband during an argument; sexual content contains obscene limericks in Episode 1, a young woman mentions bringing young men to her apartment, one married couple shown talking in bed together, an unmarried couple kiss frequently and may be sleeping together while the man is still married to another woman, but it’s unclear, woman visits the man in his bedroom after his divorce and hugs him in bed fully clothed, a scene with horses mating, and a bystander makes crass jokes about it, eccentric old man handles his (clothed) private area as he leaves the room presumably to use the restroom, engaged couple are seen together in a hotel room before going to bed; rear male nudity (Episodes 1 and 2) on two occasions as man is seen sleeping in bed without clothes, slides of scantily clad foreign dancers at a gentleman’s club, Churchill is seen from the waist up in his bathtub; frequent alcohol consumption, Philip comes home drunk several times; constant smoking of cigarettes and cigars, and sick man injects what seems to be morphine for pain relief; and, Queen Elizabeth and Philip’s marriage suffers from the strain of her job, much deceitful intrigue as courtiers and politicians seek to manipulate Queen Elizabeth, and Churchill orders subordinates to lie about his health condition, but he’s strongly reproved, the Duke of Windsor is insulting and vengeful to both his family and the people who made him choose between his mistress and the crown, Princess Margaret is jealous of Queen Elizabeth and tells her she will never forgive her for standing in the way of her love affair, Prince Philip struggles with his passive role as Prince Consort and starts to party and drink too much, leading to conflict with Elizabeth, but he apologizes.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Elizabeth’s public duty repeatedly conflicts with her family responsibilities. How can Christians honor legitimate responsibilities without neglecting those closest to them?
1 Timothy 5:8 · Philippians 2:3–4The series praises self-control and self-sacrifice. When does sacrifice become faithful service, and when might it become an excuse to avoid love or wisdom?
Romans 12:1 · 1 Corinthians 13:3The Church of England’s leaders remind Elizabeth of her oath to defend the faith. What does it mean to defend the faith with both conviction and humility?
Jude 3 · 1 Peter 3:15THE CROWN presents God as present mainly in ceremonies. How is a personal relationship with God different from merely honoring Him publicly?
Jeremiah 9:23–24 · John 17:3The Final Word
THE CROWN is superbly acted, historically faithful, and unusually respectful. Its vision of duty, family loyalty, and self-sacrifice has real moral weight, but its adult content and distant view of God require discernment. For discerning adults, the answer is WORTH WATCHING — ADULTS ONLY. For other viewers, consider these.
