‘The Crown’ Season 1 Dramatically Explores Why Prince Philip Was Not A King

Today it was announced that Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II’s long-time love and husband, had passed away at the age of 99. While the Duke of Edinburgh had stayed by the Queen’s side throughout her reign, he never attained the rank of King. Why wasn’t Prince Philip ever King of England? The answer is steeped in tradition, patriarchal values, and — if The Crown Season 1 is to be believed — some very tense behind-the-scenes drama. Netflix’s The Crown Season 1 opens upon the engagement of the young “Lilibet” and Philip and explores the emotional drama of Philip never becoming King.

The Crown is a fictitious account of the private lives of the Royal Family, following Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Princess Margaret, Prince Charles, and their kin through the decades of the 20th century. The Crown Season 1 opens when George IV (Jared Harris) is still the nation’s beloved monarch, known for his love of family and the duty he showed the nation during World War II. George IV and his beloved wife only had two daughters: Princess Elizabeth (Claire Foy) and Princess Margaret (Vanessa Kirby). That meant that during a tumultuous time for the world, England would be expected to keep the tradition of the monarchy alive with the first female monarch since Queen Victoria. That also meant that Elizabeth’s choice of consort, aka husband, would be equally important.

From the jump in The Crown Season 1, we know that Elizabeth has her heart set on the dashing Greek-Danish Prince Philip (Matt Smith). Fun, roguish, brave, and saddled with a scandalous family (including sisters who had literally been married to Nazis), he’s not exactly seen as a stable choice. But Elizabeth is dazzled by him and it’s clear that Philip’s ambitious British uncle, Lord Mountbatten (Greg Wise), will do all he can to push the match. So much so that after George IV passes away, Lord Mountbatten is giving toasts in his own house presuming the new name of the Royal Family will be Mountbatten, and not Windsor. Or so says, The Crown Season 1 Episode 3, “Windsor.” None other than John Lithgow’s Winston Churchill is enlisted to convince the new Queen that she and her progeny cannot be known as Mountbatten, but Windsors.

The cause for all this anxiety over names and titles really circles around patriarchal traditions. From the pro-Windsor side of things, there was a desperate need to firm up the “brand” of the Royal Family, especially following the scandal surrounding the Prince Edward’s abdication and the domino effect of monarchies being run out of Europe in the early 20th century. Windsor was the Royal Family brand and the brand had to remain strong.

Moreover, when it came to royal titles, Kings outrank Queens as a rule. So when Prince Philip wed then-Princess Elizabeth, there was concern that he should not get to outrank her as monarch of England. The line had to remain the line of Windsor. As Queen, Elizabeth would outrank Prince Philip. Had he been King (or the family name changed to Mountbatten), that would be put into question.

For the Mountbatten side, the question also had to do with patriarchal pride. As The Crown dramatizes, Elizabeth has to awkwardly tell Winston Churchill that Philip’s masculine pride demands that the family take his name. She sees it as a compromise that will ensure marital bliss. The Royal establishment sees it as a foreign prince with embarrassing family connections weaseling his way onto the throne. Always choosing duty over her heart, Elizabeth II relents and keeps the Windsor name and the higher title over her husband. And yes, it causes familial strife for them!

(Interestingly, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle chose Mountbatten as their son Archie’s surname.)

The Crown doesn’t just explain why the powers-that-be at the time were nervous about Philip becoming king, it also dramatizes a few tense arguments between Philip and Elizabeth about the intersection of Royal duty and traditional female roles. It also goes beyond that, portraying Prince Philip as a nuanced figure. He’s stubborn, old-fashioned, and says some crazy racist things to African sovereigns, but he also is loyal to Elizabeth in his own way.

That’s the magic of The Crown, after all: to make these larger-than-life figures feel like real people, even after their deaths.

Watch The Crown on Netflix