The Crown has returned for its final ever drop, which features one of the most tumultuous times in royal history.
The second half of the final season will see the nation come to terms with the sudden, harrowing loss of Princess Diana, and how the royal family chose to respond to the news.
Diana’s death came just months after the new prime minister, Tony Blair (played by Bertie Carvel in The Crown) took office. A change from the stale Conservative government that came before him, Blair and New Labour were considered a huge modernising force, spearheading the ‘Cool Britannia’ movement. He coined the term ‘People’s Princess’ to describe Diana in her death, and is thought to be the force that convinced the royals to change the way they grieved publicly.
The Crown hints at a somewhat disjointed relationship between the new Prime Minister and the monarchy, but how much is their somewhat frosty relationship is true? We’ve got the low down.
Did the Queen and Tony Blair get along?
Rumour has it among royal circles that Blair was one of the late Queen’s least favourite Prime Ministers. Blair, who was 44 at the time and the youngest Prime Minister since the 1800s, was seen to be a great moderniser – something at odds with the Queen, who was a steadfast believer of tradition.
According to a report from the Sunday Telegraph, written in 2006, insiders claimed Blair asked the monarch to refer to him ‘as Tony’, something the Queen reportedly refused to do and referred to him only as Prime Minister. He further stirred the pot when reportedly asked to shift his weekly audiences with her to a Wednesday afternoon, as opposed to the usual Tuesday, in order to better prepare for Prime Minister’s Questions. The late Queen was described as ‘surprised’ at the request - understood to be a euphemism for her annoyance. She did acquiesce to the demands, however, and the audience is still thought to happen every Wednesday.
It also didn’t help matters that Cherie Blair was not particularly deferential towards any of the royals. On the Blair family’s first visit to Balmoral in 1997, the human rights lawyer raised eyebrows by not curtseying to the Queen. She also caused a stir in 2003, when she was papped yawning when sat next to Elizabeth during the royals’s visit to the Braemar Highland Games.
Peter Morgan, who wrote both The Crown and 2006 feature film The Queen commented on the Blair years. Speaking to The Telegraph, he explained; "Mr Blair's buzzword throughout his tenure has been 'modernisation'," he said. "But the Queen is the figurehead of an institution all about stability and preservation for which modernisation is the antithesis. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Queen has treated him with trepidation."
How did Tony Blair advise the Queen after Princess Diana died?
When news was announced that Princess Diana had died in Paris in 1997, the Queen famously wanted to adhere to the royal family’s stiff upper lip protocol, which effectively meant business as usual, and no flags at half mast.
It was a stark difference to what the crowds wanted, with many calling for the monarchy to show some sort of public response. It caused a huge backlash, with a snap poll taken at the time saying one in four people no longer wanted a monarchy in Britain.
It is generally accepted that it was down to Blair’s intervention, and understanding a more hands-on approach was needed, that led to the Queen giving a rare televised speech.
In the now famous moment, Elizabeth II spoke "as your queen and as a grandmother."
"I want to pay tribute to Diana myself," she said. "She was an exceptional and gifted human being. In good times and bad, she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness. I admired and respected her—for her energy and commitment to others, and especially for her devotion to her two boys."
The family returned from Balmoral, with the Queen openly paying her respects to Diana as she walked around and observed the thousands of bouquets left at Kensington Palace.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, historian Dominic Sandbrook told of Blair's intervention: "That the sort of ritual display of empathy, which [Blair] was very good at, and the Queen wasn't very good at, that was, he could see, becoming an important part of our political culture.
"Nobody likes to be in somebody else's debt. And I think the Queen probably did feel simultaneously he had saved her, but at the same time, she didn't like the fact that he'd done it or like him for it."
While Blair’s aides gave themselves a pat on the back for 'saving the monarchy', the man himself has since rowed back on his intervention.
Speaking on Today after Elizabeth II passed away in 2022, Blair said: "She was trying to balance what she had to do as a queen and what she had to do as a grandmother. She was acutely aware that she had two young, young children who had lost their mother in terrible circumstances, and who were grieving and who needed to be looked after."
He added "the late monarch didn’t need me to tell her’ the national was in mourning.
"She sensed it, and then she responded," Blair continued. "And when she responded, she responded perfectly. She got the tone absolutely right."
And it would appear Blair’s relationship with the Queen thawed as years passed. The former Labour leader was awarded Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter by Elizabeth II – one of the highest honours.
Blair added that he had travelled to Balmoral just months before she died for a catch-up.
"She was in amazing form. She was warm and humorous and interested in everything," he said. "She kept a very, very keen and sharp eye on the country and how it was changing and what its people thought right up until the end."
Kimberley Bond is a Features Writer at Cosmopolitan. After gaining her MA in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield in 2016, Kimberley first started her career as a showbiz and culture writer, where she interviewed A-Listers (and Z-Listers) on red carpets, at awards ceremonies and at parties.
After the pandemic put a hold on the showbiz circuit, Kimberley turned to features and has written for a number of publications including The Independent, The Telegraph, Evening Standard, Stylist and Glamour amongst countless others.
She’s still a complete celebrity gossip hound, and when she’s not scrolling through the sidebar of shame you can find her on X, LinkedIn or in the gym where’s trying and failing to get an arse like JLo.
