Tuesday Tea and Tomes: The Crown, The Official Companion, Volume 2

 

Refresh for Season 5 of "The Crown" with companion book, Volume 2

This week, Season 5 of "The Crown" will be available on Netflix. In preparation, we're brewing some of the blends from The Republic of Tea's "The Crown" series and refreshing ourselves on previous seasons and the true events that inspired creator, Peter Morgan's riveting historical fiction drama.  With the latter activity, we're specifically looking at Seasons 2 and 3 with the aid of "The Crown, The Official Companion, Volume 2", by Robert Lacy.

Robert Lacy is a British historian who serves as a consultant to The Crown.  Reading the "facts" supplied by Lacy, they certainly provide a lush framework for Morgan's dramatic interpretation.  Volume 2 covers the period of Queen Elizabeth's reign from 1956 - 1977, an over twenty-year span of royal and political scandal which would seem hard to top. But then, enter the 1990's, (Season 5) that included "annus horribilis" - which, in hindsight, probably should not have been limited to a single year in that decade.

Brewing up some Prime Minister's Blend to pair with companion book

Not to say the period of Volume 2 doesn't have plenty of spice. We see Princess Margaret marry commoner Anthony Armstrong-Jones (the first to do so since Henry the VIII married Ann Boleyn), Prince Charles bullied at the same Scotland boarding school his father exceled at as a youth and the Proforma Scandal that brought down a Prime Minister of the Conservative Party with sketchy ties to Prince Phillip.

And, that's just a few chapters pulled from history and "The Crown - Volume 2".

This is the second companion book to the Netflix series, "The Crown" and I found it a quick and interesting read. Text is accompanied by vintage pictures as well as photos from the show.  

Meeting and interviewing The Royal Chef who is not looking forward to Season 5 of The Crown

It's also tasty appetizer to Season 5 which has sparked a lot of opinions ranging from actress, Judi Dench, campaigning for Netflix to add a disclaimer that the show is a fictionalize account of history (as noted in MSN's, The Wrap), to Darren McGrady, The Royal Chef, (BTS met and interviewed in 2013), who expressed his hesitation in reliving the tragic events of that period.  The Royal Chef recently posted the following on Twitter:

"I was there for Princess Diana's funeral and was in the Queen's private apartment helping her move personal belongings during the Windsor Castle fire. I'm not looking forward to the new season of The Crown."

Having The Queen's Evening tea ready for The Crown's Season 5 viewing this week

Like the Royals themselves, The Crown will face detractors as well as admirers, those who tirelessly fact-check and others who will concur with how the imagined intimate conversations play out. Personally, we are of the opinion that it will all pair nicely with a pot of tea and a companion book.

The Crown, Season 5, will be available on Netflix, November 9th.

I was gifted the book and two different teas by my children, Rob, Matt and Rachel. They know what their mother loves and they know where she'll be Wednesday night.