Showing posts with label The Crown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Crown. Show all posts
I can't tell you enough how much of a royalty nut I am. So it's pretty obvious that watching The Crown has been high on my to-do list, despite the busy schedule, yes. The first season ended ages ago, and the second season will air come November so I tried my best to catch up. Hewego...

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QE II is one of the most admired monarchs in the world, if not the most admired. She's also one of the longest serving ones. She's well-loved and seems to take her role in a stride. But it wasn't always so. Lilibet, as she was fondly called by her family ascended the throne  in her mid-twenties and what a daunting role she took, we could only imagine. The Crown gives us a glimpse of it.

Here are the highlights of Episode 1:
-King George VI's declining health
-The wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten
-Winston's scene stealing, and subsequent return to Parliament
-King George giving more responsibility to Elizabeth in his stead
-Philip gets told that "She is the job."

Here are some snaps from The Crown Season 1, Episode 1 - "Wolferton Splash".

Princess in love. Lilibet glances admiringly at Philip. 
Philip is accorded the titles Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich prior to his wedding to Elizabeth.
I'd always thought the real Elizabeth looks as cool as cucumbers on photos but on this series she trembles a lot. Well, it must be hard to be heiress presumptive.
The wedding happens, despite the fact that Elizabeth's family would rather prefer a rich, landed and titled groom.
Two queens. Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary. 
Elizabeth receives a present from her father - a camera, to capture the happy moments of her marriage.
We want King!
#TeamShades
Wedded bliss.
Winston Churchill is elected as Prime Minister
King George VI undergoes a lung operation.
A tearful King George VI during Christmas at Sandringham. Yes, I was crying tons on this scene.
King George, knowing that his days are numbered invites Elizabeth to spend time with her and asked her to represent him on a tour to South Africa.

This scene here made such as an impact for me. Philip always seems to be whining and complaining to Elizabeth about how he misses his career in the Navy and we barely hear the King making a comment about it. But here he just goes straight to the point with Philip and tells him that all the titles given to him are not his job. She, Elizabeth, is the job and "doing this for her, doing this for me", is the greatest act of patriotism.

 Amen to that.


She is the job.
I cried so much during the first episode, you'd think I was related to the Windsors. And King George hasn't even died yet! I can only imagine how I'll be on the next episodes.

 XO,

 Carissa
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"The Heir" and "The Crown". Thirty five suitors, one Princess Eadlyn Schreave.
I am a certified royalty nut and if there's any literature which broaches on that topic I am sure to devour it almost instantly. I was introduced to The Selection Series by non other than my younger sister. It is composed of five books: The Selection, The Elite, The One, The Heir and The Crown. For all I know, I thought it would be just a trilogy but Kiera had some more stuff up her sleeve. The last two books are new additions. I just finished reading the last one over the weekend and well, let's just say I enjoyed the rather tearful ending. 

Photo credits to hyagrace.blogspot.com
*SPOILER ALERT*
So, it's a YA series set in the near future, precisely after the Third World War, in a country called Illea which occupies present day North America and some parts of South America. The ruling class is the monarchy (the Schreave family); the society has a caste system (One to Eight; One being the highest). The story revolves around the Selection process of finding a suitable spouse for the heir to the throne which is done through (gasp!) picking one representative from each province (that makes 35 candidates), inviting them to the palace, and the Prince decides who stays up to the very end. Very Big Brother-ish ha!

The first three books talks about how Prince Maxon Schreave found his perfect match in America Singer, a Five. At the end of the third book, they vowed that when the time comes, they will never subject their own child to such Selection again.

Well, who would have seen this coming. In time, Maxon and America became the rulers of Illea. They successfully eliminated the castes but trouble was brewing everywhere that King Maxon thought a distraction would come handy while we was trying to figure a way to fix things. He thought that having a new Selection to find a spouse for Princess Eadlyn was the perfect way to distract the people of Illea.

The synopsis for "The Heir".
I remember how headstrong and stubborn Queen America was when she entered the Selection twenty years ago. She didn't want to enter in the first place and she was sort of dragged by her own mother to put her name in. I totes understood where Princess Eadlyn's bullheadedness was coming from because she didn't want to be married off to some stranger. She wasn't even thinking about marrying yet. As the thirty five eligible bachelors pour into her home, she was thinking of ways of how to get rid of each one of them.

Thirty five choices it is.
How do I go about this without sounding like a bleary-eyed teenager. Lelz. But here we are. It's an entertaining little piece of a series mixed with some awkwardness. It's awkward isn't it, to have some 35 guys having to compete (literally) for one's love and attention. And truth is, Princess Eadlyn is not just an ordinary girl, she is the future queen. If she has been planning all along to teach the boys (and her parents) some lessons, it is she in the end who learns to open up and knows more about the lives, situations and backgrounds of her future subjects.

She agreed to have a Selection but she was fully decided on not falling in love. Here's a girl, who always felt like she was being watched all her life and that she has some large shoes to fill once she ascends the throne and as such she was always afraid to make mistakes and break the rules. 

In the end, she falls in love with someone but she has to break rules in order to be with him because (gasp!) he wasn't one of the 35 guys but was simply an interpreter of one of the Selected. 

In the end, she finds love in the most unexpected situation.
*Insert bleary-eyed teenager mode again here*
Because that's how love comes, ayt? When you least expect it. Maybe even when you don't want it. Gah! What a cliche. With some very wise words from her Daddy, she decided in the end to stand up for her love and everyone gets a happy ending. And why not.

I also mentioned that my face ended up being tear-stained in the end that's because Kiera packs all of her punches on the last few pages of the book. Trust me.

If anything, reading books such as these keep me young at heart. And I especially love it when the protagonist is beautiful, smart and brave girl.

XO,

Carissa

PS. Here's the hierarchy of the caste system in Illea.
Photo credits to www.emaze.com
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Like, literally.
After all, it won't hurt to see some crowns, gowns, jewels, and palaces here and there. It's always fun to see some historical drama unfold. Oh, the power struggle too!
Always great to see a female protagonist slayin' it.
So here they are...My title's quiet up front, ain't it?! Ha ha

The White Queen
The White Queen
I'm not sure how many times I've seen The White Queen. And I think my first blog post here is about this series; you can read it here, for a trip down memory lane. It's about the rise and fall of Elizabeth Woodville who became Queen of England when she married the newly crowned  Edward IV. It was set during the Wars of the Roses, when York and Lancaster were battling it out for the throne. And being the Yorkist that I am, I knew from history that things won't turn out great for them. But still, I rooted for them so I cried a whole lot while watching this. This is adapted from the book of the same title written by Philippa Gregory.

Reign
Reign
This one is about Mary Stuart; I think that's reason enough to excite me because I don't see much about her in movies. The ones that I have always portray her as 'the other Queen' who tried to steal Queen Elizabeth I's thunder so she was decapitated. I am curious about the girl who made QE I jealous. She must have been very beautiful. This is the part where I remind myself to not stray too far. According to reviews, this is loosely based on the real thing so there is very little historical accuracy. The poster above though is proof that  they didn't miss the detail about beauty...but I actually thought M QS was a redhead? Well anyway, it says 'The Rise of Mary Queen of Scots' which means that this encompasses the best days of her life: when she was being raised in the beautiful court of France, waiting to be married to the dauphin, Francis and eventually ascending  the throne with him. Like I said, enough to make my heart beat fast.

 Victoria
Victoria
This one hasn't aired yet but I already feel like binge-watching it because it is about one of my most favorite monarchs: Queen Victoria. I have seen the movie The Young Victoria in the past, as portrayed by Emily Blunt. I doubt it if there would be much difference in the story line since it would be covering the same period but since this one is an eight-part series I think we can have the luxury to be a bit more detailed about the story. Moreover, that crown and the intricately braided hair underneath it is also something to look forward to. (^,^)

The White Princess
The White Princess
The White Princess is yet to make its TV debut but I am very much familiar about its story line. Well, that is if it follows closely the book of the same title, also by Philippa Gregory on which this series is based. The White Princess is Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of The White Queen and King Edward IV, who married the victor of the Battle of Bosworth, Henry Tudor. Henry founded the Tudor Dynasty and took the crown as Henry VII (father of Henry VIII). The marriage of Elizabeth of York and Henry Tudor was made to unite the warring Yorkists and Lancastrians to finally pacify the entire kingdom. But far from achieving peace, England experienced many uprisings from people who were still rallying behind the Yorkist heirs, and with that the growing tension between the young couple. Even if they were already married and had kids, her husband still treats her like an enemy.

The Crown
The Crown
I've seen the trailer of The Crown and I must admit that I am quiet surprised. I've seen dozens and dozens of photos of the young Queen Elizabeth II and she always strikes me as someone confident and happy about her role. On the trailer, I saw a girl who trembles a lot. Well, if you would become queen at 25 maybe you would tremble too. And having Winston as Prime Minister, that would be unnerving. And with the popularity of the monarchy in shambles, maybe it's all too much for a young girl. More than 60 years later and here we are; the British Monarchy is a well admired institution and we can only credit it to the hardworking QE II who also leads by example. Vivat Regina!


There there, these are my five queens...that's three Elizabeths, one Victoria and one Mary.  I didn't mean to make it look like an all girls squad but I've always been drawn towards them. If you happen to look for some cute guys, I'm pretty sure you can spot some of them in these shows too *cough* MAX IRONS (King Edward IV in The White Queen) *cough*. Ha ha. Or maybe checkout those old episodes of The Tudors. Seriously though, the royalty nut aspect of me is pretty hardcore. I've constructed Queen Victoria's Family Tree in the past; that one left my old roomies scratching their heads. I was once obsessed with the Romanov Family. I still kind of am. I sometimes catch myself daydreaming over tiaras.

So there. If can have the chance to see all of these series, I'd be over the moon.

XO,
Carissa
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