The Crown's Complicated Women // Season 3, Episode 5
In this week’s edition of Swerve South, Jaime is joined by special guests Hilary Coulson and La Shonda Mims to discuss the complicated women featured in season 4 of The Crown and how the latest season grapples with the complexities of gender presentation and thorny female relationships. This conversation unpacks the divisive legacy of Margaret Thatcher, the brilliance of Gillian Anderson’s performance (and hair), the spell of Princess Diana, and how the show falls short of capturing Diana’s remarkable charisma. On top of character discussion, this episode fleshes out the season’s political backdrop, from the effects of Thatcherism on the working class to the anti-apartheid movement of the 1980s. Our host and guests also share their own adolescent impressions of the royal family and contemplate why royal drama continues to keep us so enthralled.
Show Notes & EXTRAS
Historical Context:
Margaret Thatcher and her all-male cabinet.
Gillian Anderson recreates a portrait of Thatcher’s cabinet in The Crown.
Fact-checking ‘The Crown’: Did Margaret Thatcher really look down on women?
‘The Crown’ Takes on Margaret Thatcher’s Legacy—How Well Does It Do?
Margaret Thatcher and Class Struggles in ‘The Crown’ Season 4
What The Crown Season 4 Doesn’t Tell You About Michael Fagan
The Crown: Margaret Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth’s Key Conflicts
The Queen Really Did Condemn Margaret Thatcher's Position Over Apartheid Sanctions in South Africa
'The Crown': The Wildest Historical Events That Didn't Make It Into Season 4
Further Reading:
Princess Diana with Prince Charles and baby William on the infamous “Australia tour.”
A scene from The Crown depicting Diana and Charles’s tour of Australia.
The True Story Behind The Crown's Prince Charles, Princess Diana and Camilla Parker Bowles Love Triangle
The Crown and Princess Diana’s Enduring Popularity
Young Women are Watching Diana’s Story in The Crown with Horror
Princess Diana’s Real-Life Battle with Bulimia
The Fascinating Story Behind Princess Diana's Explosive Secret Tapes
The True Story Of Princess Diana's Groundbreaking AIDS Advocacy
“Royal Bodies,” Hilary Mantel
A Tale Old and New as Another Royal Wife Breaks Free
Diana shakes hands with a patient with AIDS at London’s Middlesex Hospital in 1987.
Diana holds an HIV-positive child, 1991.