Duty vs. individuality: Breaking down this major theme in The Crown

The major theme in The Crown is duty vs. individuality. Which does the royal family usually choose? Is there a choice that’s better than the other?

A major theme in The Crown is duty vs. individuality, with duty representing the royal family’s allegiance to the British monarchy, nation, and safety of their family and individuality referring to their personal feelings, beliefs, and unique personalities that separate them from the majority’s perception of things.

The key motivator in the Queen’s decision to choose duty has been survival. This has caused queens, kings, and parliament to be more strict on the protocol. In the show and in history, there have been several incidents that could’ve resulted in the end of the British monarchy. However, choosing to act according to duty has hurt people in and outside of the royal family and made relationships within the royal family fraught and cold.

This complicated dance of choosing oneself or choosing what must be done for a greater necessity is something regular people can understand. It’s what makes us empathize with privileged, kind-of-unnecessary royals. It shows that this theme is quite interesting and leaves a lot to be discussed.

Some moments from The Crown and actual history have shaped the British royal family’s respect for duty over individuality. They usually resulted from covering up the mess of a decision someone made for individualistic reasons. A prime example is King Edward VIII’s abdication.

King Edward VIII abdicating the throne

King Edward VIII chose to favor individuality when he abdicated the throne in December 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee. The King of England is head of the Church of England, which is against divorce. In The Crown we see that this major event looms over the Queen and her family’s head during her reign, influencing them to make harsh decisions to protect the monarchy.

King Edwards’s abdication made his brother George VI take on the role of King, putting George VI’s eldest daughter Elizabeth II (current Queen Elizabeth) in line for the throne. After his abdication, King Edward VIII was renamed Duke of Windsor.

The Duke of Windsor’s abdication affected many people’s lives in a drastic way. Although his and Wallis Simpson’s story is seen as an example of true love, the royals thought to choose his personal desire affected the family terribly. In The Crown, it’s shown that King George VI, his wife Queen Elizabeth I, and his mother Queen Mary continued to stay angry at the Duke of Windsor. King George VI wasn’t as natural as a king as his brother was. He was often anxious in the public and would get ill from stress and the duties of royal life. When he died from lung cancer, his wife and mother blamed the Duke of Windsor for his death. They believe being king was too much for King George to handle.

In season 1 episode 3, Queen Elizabeth, who just started her reign, invites her uncle the Duke of Windsor for lunch. She eventually asks him for an apology, saying she would’ve preferred growing up away from the spotlight and just being an ordinary English countrywoman. Viewers start to learn that, for the royal family, being King or Queen is viewed more like a burden than an exciting job or title. The fact that the Duke of Windsor passed this duty on to his weaker brother made his family think of him as a villain.

After his abdication, the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson visited Germany to meet Adolf Hitler. He had an interest in Hitler for the positive economic changes and job opportunities he created for Germans and he thought Hitler could give him a new political career. This made his family trust him even less when he and King George VI’s father worked hard to make sure Britain’s ties to Germany were severed. To prevent further damage the couple was sent to a post in the Bahamas in 1940.

The abdication and the Duke of Windsor’s actions caused paranoia among the royal family about future abdications or other terrible events that could possibly ruin the monarchy. This set the scene for several people to be burned in the name of duty.

Queen Elizabeth had to make decisions as queen when she wanted to make decisions as her more intimate roles: wife, mother, and sister. Her marriage to Prince Philip suffered when she had to be a powerful queen instead of an understanding wife.

Prince Philip’s manhood being challenged by his wife’s role as queen

The first two seasons of The Crown show the difficult marriage Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip had once she became Queen. Prince Philip is an adventurous, traditional alpha-male who wanted to have an exciting naval career. He had to give up his former life and being the head of his family after his wife became queen. Queen Elizabeth, in order to do her job, took a more masculine role in their relationship. She never backed down, choosing the Crown over boosting her husband’s masculine ego. Two moments in The Crown show this in particular.

First, their children weren’t allowed to take Prince Philip’s last name, Mountbatten. Besides the tradition of a child taking their father’s last name, the thought of having the heir to the throne have his last name brought Prince Philip an enormous sense of pride. His uncle and Queen Elizabeth’s second cousin, Lord Louis Mountbatten, was also excited to be elevated in status by having his family’s name belong to the reigning royals. Lord Mountbatten and Prince Philip’s Greek royal family was revolted against, which removed their original royal titles.

The government thought it was important that the last name Windsor be kept in the family, though. The royal family has German blood, and they used to have German last names. During the first World War, the British royals didn’t want to be associated with their German heritage, due to them being Britain’s enemy in World War I. King George VI was afraid of being overthrown by his people for having connections to the enemy, so he changed his family name to Windsor to appear more British. Prince Philip also has German blood, hence the name Mountbatten. Prince Phillip had a difficult time fitting into the royal court because of his Greek and German heritage. His name not being given to his children further increased his feelings of being an outsider.

Second, Prince Philip had to kneel before his wife at her coronation. In The Crown, this was displayed as an ultimatum if he wanted the coronation to be televised. Televising the coronation was important to him because he believed that giving the average person a peek into royal life would keep his family safe from being taken down, like the way his Greek royal family was. He felt that he could be useful this way, so he couldn’t give up that opportunity. A popular scene from season 1, episode 5 shows this conflict:

"“ I want to be married to my wife!” says Prince Philip.“I am both [Queen and wife] and a strong man would be able to kneel to both!”“I will not kneel before my wife!”“You wife is not asking you to.”“But my Queen commands me?”“Yes!”“I beg you make an exception for me.”“No!”"

This scene shows the unfair power dynamic in their relationship, which most relationships would not be able to survive on. Queen Elizabeth chose to follow orders that the government said were important for her to follow as head of the royal family. She chose to be a good queen over compromising with her husband, even though choosing the opposite might’ve made their marriage less trying.

However, Queen Elizabeth did let her husband get his way on one major topic: Prince Charles’ education. Prince Philip wanted his son to go to the same all-boys boarding school he went to, Gordonstoun in Scotland, which made him into the man he is today. The queen wanted Charles go to Eaton College, a place the majority of past kings and queens were sent.

Prince Charles was known for being a sensitive boy — the total opposite of his alpha, athletic father. Prince Charles hated his time at Gordonstoun, having a difficult time adjusting in an environment where the athletic, confident, and tough thrive. He was bullied constantly. The Crown shows that the queen had a feeling her son would feel this way. To her, it was important that the future king gained confidence in himself, and at that school, he didn’t build confidence.

Still, the queen allowed Prince Philip to be the leader in deciding Prince Charles’ education. She wanted to save her marriage, so she made an individualistic decision to step back on this one. Unfortunately, Prince Charles suffered during his school years because of this. We might’ve seen a more confident Prince Charles if things were different. And possibly, it could have rewritten history for the better.

The breaking up of Princess Margaret and Group Captain Peter Townsend

Another important personal role in Queen Elizabeth’s life is being a sister. She and her younger sister, Princess Margaret, had a strong relationship growing up. Their relationship suffered, however, when the queen couldn’t support her wish to marry Peter Townsend. Instead, she had to prevent the marriage from happening.

When she was a young woman, Princess Margaret fell in love with Group Captain Peter Townsend. Townsend was her father’s, and then her sister’s, equerry, and before that he was an officer in the Royal Air Force. He wasn’t just the King’s equerry; he was a trusted confidante that he liked to have around. At her sister’s coronation in 1953, the press spotted Princess Margaret interacting with Peter Townsend in a suggestive matter. In The Crown, this was depicted as her taking off a piece of fluff from his uniform.

The romance was a secret, but the princess and Townsend hoped they could get the queen’s blessing. Unfortunately, because Townsend is a commoner and recent divorcee, he wasn’t a match for a royal in the eyes of the law. In The Crown, it shows that the queen wanted to give the couple their blessing. She took advice from her mother, Prime Minister Churchill, and other advisors who suggested Princess Margaret wait until her 25th birthday to marry Peter Townsend. Then it is legal for a princess to have a complete say in who she marries.

The queen didn’t know this was a ploy to delay the marriage and allow them to fall out of love. After it was revealed, Queen Elizabeth had to face the music and go back on her promise to her sister in order to protect the crown. It would look bad for her as queen and head of the Church of England to condone divorce.

A flashback in The Crown shows King George talking to the young sisters after he found out his brother abdicated the throne. He wanted the sisters to promise to love each other and support each other no matter what. Queen Elizabeth had to put being a good sister to side in order to save the reputation of the royal family. In season 3, you can see the effects this heartbreak had on Princess Margaret in her older years. She did end up marrying again, but it was a troubled marriage that ended in divorce. They fought a lot and both parties had affairs.

These major events in the royal family’s history have been instances of them choosing duty to survive instead of individualistic decisions. Although the monarchy survived those events, many members were left unsupported or heartbroken, but when members made individualistic decisions, people were hurt as well. There doesn’t seem to be a clear answer to the duty vs. individuality debate, but if we look at where the modern family is today, they granted some individual’s desires to keep up with the times.

Prince Charles is now in an accepted relationship with Camila Shand, whereas we see in season 3 that this once wasn’t seen as an acceptable relationship. Prince Charle’s youngest son, Prince Harry, has married Meghan Markle, who has also been divorced. It looks like the British royals are committed to surviving throughout the years, no matter who has been harmed or helped in the process.

Season 3 of The Crown is currently available to stream on Netflix.