Now we're in the new Elizabethan era, with our current HM, the Queen. This book, 'The Crown: The Inside History' Volume 1 by Robert Lacey explores the first season of the hit Netflix show with the parallel frame: this is what happened in the show, and this is what actually happened. Volume 2 explores seasons two and three. It is also littered with trivia from the monarchy's private and public lives. It goes into fascinating detail, e.g. how is HM styled in Scotland, since Elizabeth I of England was never Queen there? My favourite is the connection between Henry VIII's religious titles and the current monarchy. Fidei Defensor a.k.a. 'Defender of the Faith' is the title that Henry VIII got from the Pope for defending Roman Catholic Church (oh yes...) against Luther's manifesto & 'Head of the Church of England' is something that he named himself a few years later. These titles have a lot to do with the letters FID DEF on the rim of some of our coins, and why the current monarch is always also the Head of the Church of England. Lacey also goes into the monarch's connection to the Church of Scotland.
I so love these books, because reading them is like having a historian next to you as you're watching one of the biggest shows of our time, which tells you the story of the most famous monarchy of all time with all the details and secrets you could ask for.
Volume 2 has a subtitle: 'Political Scandal, Personal Struggle and the Years that Developed Elizabeth II'. It goes into fascinating detail, just like its predecessor. My favourite is probably the chapter on ‘Vergangenheit’, where the writer follows the Duke of Windsor’s life after exile. Never could I have guessed that the Duke was ‘chums’ with Noel Coward! ...that and many more curious facts to be found in this tome.
Needless to say, I'm a big fan of the show, and there shall be a blog post on it quite soon. Watch this space!
Can't wait for season four! Can. Not. Wait!
See 'The Crown: The Inside Story' Volume 1 and Volume 2 on Amazon.
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