The Crown may be based on the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II, but questions have arisen about the show's accuracy in the real-life events that it depicts. Peter Morgan's dramatization of events in the latter half of the 20th century, seen through the eyes of the United Kingdom's royal family, has covered historical events from Queen Elizabeth II's coronation to the Moon landings, and even the music of Billy Joel. The Crown has seen two actresses play Queen Elizabeth II so far, Claire Foy and Olivia Colman, with Imelda Staunton due to take over the role for the final two seasons of the Netflix show.

The Crown is not the first time its creator has adapted real-life events through the lens of the royal family. Peter Morgan wrote 2006's The Queen, which depicts the aftermath of the death of Princess Diana and the conflicting opinions on how her death should be treated. In the time between The Queen and The Crown, Morgan adapted another significant historical event with the play (and later film) adaptation of Frost/Nixon about the bombshell interview of disgraced ex-president Richard Nixon by the British journalist David Frost.

Related: The Crown True Story: Where Will The Final Season End?

Despite consistent critical acclaim throughout its four seasons, The Crown has come under fire, especially in the United Kingdom for its perceived lack of historical accuracy. In response to the fourth season, the former Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, suggested that Netflix should have a warning at the front of each episode claiming that the content of The Crown was fictional. With that criticism in mind, it is useful to examine just how accurately The Crown portrays the historical events it depicts.

How Queen Elizabeth II Really Became Queen

Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth in the coronation scene in The Crown

The way Queen Elizabeth II became Queen is accurately portrayed in The Crown season 1, episode 2 "Hyde Park Corner." Her father, King George VI, died on 6 February 1952, while the then-Princess Elizabeth and her husband Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, were in Kenya on a Commonwealth tour, just as the show depicts. The episode even took its name from the secret codename used to communicate the death of King George VI to the government.

Did Prince Philip Have Issues About The Coronation?

Matt Smith as Prince Philip in The Crown

The Crown depicts the Duke of Edinburgh as having trouble with royal traditions and being subordinate to his wife during the preparations for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation — not the last time Matt Smith would play an insubordinate prince. Although it is, in fact, true that the Duke of Edinburgh demanded that their children keep Mountbatten as a surname and ensured that the coronation would be televised, it is almost certainly false that Philip initially refused to kneel to his wife. As a member of two royal families, Philip would have likely never even considered breaking royal protocol like that in real life. While the Duke of Edinburgh did certainly have his concerns about Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, they were dramatized and exaggerated for The Crown​​​​​.

What Really Happened Between Princess Margaret And Peter Townsend?

Margaret and Peter Townsend on Netflix's The Crown.

In The Crown, Princess Margaret is effectively given the choice of staying in the royal family or marrying Peter Townsend, a divorcee, and therefore getting expelled from her royal duties. While that is mostly true to real life, it was discovered in 2004 that the then-PM Sir Anthony Eden had concocted a plan that would have allowed Princess Margaret, played by Mission: Impossible - Fallout's Vanessa Kirby, to marry Peter Townsend — though any offspring would be removed from the line of succession. It may never be exactly known why Princess Margaret chose not to marry Townsend, it is indeed accurate to real life that she chose the royal family, and her position, over him.

Related: The Crown Season 6’s Casting Call Confirms A Final Season Controversy

Did King Charles III Really Hate His School?

Julian Baring as Prince Charles in The Crown

Much like in The Crown, King Charles III really did detest attending his father's alma mater, Gordonstoun, in Scotland. He even compared it to an infamous Nazi POW camp, calling it "Colditz in kilts." He further broke with his father's tradition by sending his own sons, Princes William and Harry, to Eton College, practically a stone's throw from Windsor Castle, instead of Gordonstoun.

Was Edward VIII a Nazi Sympathizer?

Alex Jennings as Edward VIII in The Crown

In real life, Edward, the Duke of Windsor, really was a Nazi sympathizer and fierce anti-Semite. Season 2 of The Crown accurately reckons with the reveal of the Marburg Files, where it was revealed that the Duke of Windsor conspired with the Nazis in an attempt to make Britain surrender in the Second World War. The Nazis also had a plan in place, Operation Willi, to reinstate the Duke of Windsor as King in return for freedom of movement around Europe, though Edward's support for the idea is debated. Reportedly, in real life, Edward was sympathetic to the Nazi cause, and outspokenly anti-Semitic even after the war, blaming the outbreak of war on then-President Roosevelt and the Jewish people.

What Really Happened To Prince Philip's Sister?

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The Duke of Windsor was not the only royal with a connection to the Nazi party in real life; Prince Philip's older sister, Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark became a member of the Nazi party in 1937. The Crown season 2, episode 9 "Paterfamilias" depicts her death in a plane crash later that same year, shortly after giving birth on the plane itself. Sadly, as shown in The Crown, every passenger was killed when the plane crashed, including the newborn child. What The Crown does not show, due to the scene being a dream sequence, is the reason for the crash. In real life, fog developed as the plane approached the North Sea and the pilot attempted to land at an airport in Belgium. However, during the landing, the plane struck the chimney of a factory and crashed into the roof of the building.

Were King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla Really Separated?

Prince Charles and Camilla talking in an open field in The Crown.

Season 3 of The Crown depicts Lord Mountbatten and the Queen Mother, King Charles III's great-uncle and grandmother, respectively, conspiring to separate the then-Prince and Camilla Shand. While, at the time, the royal family did in fact not consider Camilla to be a suitable match for Charles, due to her non-aristocratic upbringing, it is not true that the Queen Mother and Lord Mountbatten plotted the separation of the couple, together. Lord Mountbatten and the Queen Mother actually thoroughly disliked one another and as such would not have conspired with one another. However, The Crown's depiction of Princess Anne having an affair with Camilla's future husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, is surprisingly true to life.

Related: The Crown's Most Horrifying True Event Is Worse Than You Think

What Was The Queen's Real Reaction To Aberfan?

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Unlike in The Crown, Queen Elizabeth II could actually cry. The Crown season 3 claims that she had to fake tears during a visit to the Welsh mining town Aberfan, which had just experienced the awful tragedy of a landslide that killed over 100 people. Contemporary witnesses claim that Queen Elizabeth II's inability to cry in The Crown could not have been further from the truth. However, what is true in the episode is the Queen's regret of not visiting Aberfan sooner. Reportedly, the late Queen waited a week to arrive at Aberfan after the landslide, despite Prince Philip visiting almost immediately, so that she would not be a distraction to the rescue efforts.

Was Princess Margaret's White House Party Really That Wild?

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While Princess Margaret certainly had a reputation for wild parties, the 1965 reception with President Lyndon B. Johnson depicted in season 3 of The Crown was exaggerated for dramatic effect. There is no evidence that in real life Princess Margaret actually kissed the then-President as she does in The Crown, nor is there any indication that she took part in any drinking games either. However, it was reported that the evening lasted longer than many others in the White House, with Princess Margaret and her husband, Lord Snowdon, allegedly leaving well after midnight. It may have been a fun party in real life, but not nearly as wild as The Crown suggests.

What Queen Elizabeth II Really Thought About Her Prime Ministers

Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher sitting and arguing in The Crown.

Certainly, the most tumultuous relationship between Queen Elizabeth and one of her Prime Ministers, as depicted in The Crown, occurs in season 4 with the appearance of the United Kingdom's first female PM, Margaret Thatcher. The feuds depicted in meetings between the two powerful women are indeed fictional and added for dramatic effect, although Thatcher did allegedly hate visiting the Balmoral estate in Scotland. By contrast, in real life, Queen Elizabeth II considered Winston Churchill to be the most "fun" Prime Minister. She also reportedly enjoyed her meetings with both Harold Macmillan and Harold Wilson, despite them leading opposing political parties.

What Really Happened To The Queen's Cousins?

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In season 4 of The Crown, Princess Margaret makes the startling discovery that she, and therefore also the Queen, has multiple cousins institutionalized at the Earlswood Institution for Mental Defectives. In a conversation with her sister, Queen Elizabeth II states that she believes their cousins, Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon, to be long dead. Sadly, this is not the case as Margaret discovers. In real life, Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon were indeed institutionalized at the Earlswood Institution in 1941. News of this was broken by the newspaper, The Sun, in 1986. The Institution then stated that the Bowes-Lyon sisters had not had any visitors since the 1960s. Nerissa died at the Royal Earlswood Hospital in 1986, with only hospital staff attending her funeral, while Katherine died in 2014.

Related: The Crown: Why Charles & Diana's Marriage Won't End Until Season 5

Did Princess Diana Have An Eating Disorder?

Emma Corrin as Princess Diana in her wedding dress in The Crown

Sadly, like in The Crown season 4, Princess Diana actually had an eating disorder. Princess Diana suffered from bulimia, an eating disorder and mental health condition where people will go through periods of binge-eating before purging the food from their bodies in an attempt to not gain weight. Princess Diana was very open about her struggles with bulimia, detailing her experiences with the eating disorder in a 1995 interview with the BBC. Princess Diana's openness about bulimia helped to challenge a societal stigma of silence surrounding eating disorders.

Did Princess Diana Struggle To Integrate Into The Royal Family?

Princess Diana The Crown

Unfortunately, Princess Diana really did struggle to integrate into the royal family, much like it is depicted in The Crown season 4. Her surprise dance to Billy Joel's Uptown Girl at the Royal Opera House really did fail to impress Charles, though in real life it was a Christmas present rather than a birthday present. Diana really did have a frosty relationship with many in the royal family, especially the Queen Mother, who was incredibly close with then-Prince Charles. Princess Diana also did really consider not going through with her wedding, although in both The Crown and in real life, she ultimately went through with it. The Crown is also accurate in its depiction of Diana's suspicions of Charles cheating on her with his former girlfriend, Camilla Parker-Bowles, despite them both being married with children.