Some historical inaccuracies in Netflix's The Crown have bothered real-life people, the royal family, and history buffs. While The Crown depicts members of the British monarchy throughout the late Queen Elizabeth II's reign, it sometimes misinforms viewers about certain historical events. There are some big differences between the on-screen events and what actually happened.

Arguably, The Crown is a historical drama, not a docuseries. In the past, many British shows have reimagined a specific era without being entirely accurate to historical record, including Victoria and Peaky Blinders. Despite the backlash, The Crown warns viewers that real events may have inspired plot details, but it's still a fictional dramatization. That being said, there are some glaring inaccuracies that fluent history buffs can spot from a mile away.

Updated by Jenny Melzer on March 6, 2024: Having finally wrapped up its final season, The Crown remains one of the most expensive productions in television history. Although fans have recently complained about the show's painfully slow pace, watching the British royal family's gradual acclimation to modern sensibilities is just as thrilling as ever. As such, we've updated this article with some more relevant information, as well as to adhere to CBR's current standards in formatting.

10 The Mysterious and Tragic Death of Venetia Scott

This Character Didn't Even Exist in Real Life

Peaky Blinders star Kate Phillips portrayed Venetia Scott throughout Season 1 of The Crown. However, Phillips' character never actually existed. In Season 1, Venetia faithfully serves as secretary to Prime Minister Winston Churchill, but she meets her demise during The Great Smog of 1952. The smog clouds her vision, and a bus fatally strikes her while she's delivering a message to Downing Street.

While The Great Smog of 1952 plagued London and caused thousands of deaths, The Crown invented Venetia as one of its victims. Venetia's death persuaded Churchill to deliver an impassioned speech to motivate Londoners in the time of crisis, which convinced Queen Elizabeth II to keep the Prime Minister in his position. However, his secretary's death had nothing to do with this in real life.

9 Princess Margaret's Attitude Toward Charles and Diana's Wedding

Actress Helena Bonham Carter Came Up With This Narrative Twist

In The Crown, Princess Margaret strongly objects to the potential marriage between Prince Charles and Diana. However, it's unclear if she was actually opposed to the relationship and whether she spoke about her concerns. According to People, Helena Bonham Carter, who portrayed Princess Margaret after Vanessa Kirby, invented the plot detail.

"I like to credit myself with an idea. I said, 'Hang on, I'm not really part of this.' They all looked at me," Bonham Carter said. Bonham Carter thought Princess Margaret wouldn't encourage the marriage after her sister didn't allow her to marry Captain Peter Townsend, as he was divorced.

8 Princess Margaret Didn't Discover Her Bowes-Lyon Cousins

Tabloids Exposed Their Tragic Real-Life Fate in the Late 1980s

In Season 4, Princess Margaret continues to struggle with her identity as a member of the royal family. In Episode 7, "The Hereditary Principle," she discovers that her two presumably dead cousins, Katherine and Nerissa Bowes-Lyon, are actually living at a psychiatric hospital in Surrey. Their family admitted them due to their mental health conditions, and only the hospital staff attended their funerals.

While tabloids exposed their real-life tragic fate in the late 1980s, Princess Margaret didn't uncover the mystery herself. Additionally, there's no record of any royal family member visiting the cousins since the early 1960s. The two sisters never received any cards or presents on their birthdays or Christmas.

7 Michael Fagan Didn't Talk About Margaret Thatcher

Fagan's Two Palace Break-Ins Didn't Have Anything to Do With Politics

The Crown also depicted Michael Fagan's break-in at Buckingham Palace in 1982, which brought him to Queen Elizabeth II's bedroom. In some of The Crown's most interesting dialogue, Fagan explains his dissatisfaction with Margaret Thatcher to the late monarch. However, in reality, Fagan's two palace break-ins didn't have anything to do with politics.

Speaking with The Guardian, Fagan recalled the incident and explained: "Something just got into [his] head." The perpetrator spent only a few months of his two-year sentence in prison for his crimes and then spent three months in a psychiatric hospital. In 1997, he went back to prison, in addition to his wife and son, for conspiring to supply heroin.

6 The Portrayal of Prince Philip's Tempestuous Relationship With Charles Deeply Offended Him

The Show Incorrectly Suggests That He Was an Abusive Father

The Crown arguably depicts the late Prince Philip as the main villain. In addition to portraying him as a terrible husband, The Crown also suggests he was an abusive father. Prince Philip sends young Prince Charles to Gordonstoun School, where the students bully him. When explaining the harassment to his father, Prince Philip responds by calling his son "weak."

While the royal family doesn't regularly tune in to The Crown, Prince Philip actually watched that episode. As reported by Page Six, his "shockingly malicious" scenes in The Crown upset him. In addition to being portrayed as an awful father, The Crown inaccurately blames him for his sister's death in a plane crash.

5 Winston Churchill and Elizabeth II Had a Different Relationship

The Queen and the Prime Minister Were Known for Being Quite Close

The Crown alleges that the relationship between Churchill and Queen Elizabeth II was quite strained. In reality, the pair were actually quite close. According to The Sunday Post, she confessed Churchill was her favorite Prime Minister due to his fun-loving personality.

However, The Crown portrays the late Prime Minister as extremely gruff, without a funny bone in his entire body. Likewise, 2017's Darkest Hour also shows Churchill, played by The Dark Knight trilogy's Gary Oldman, as a grumpy individual during the outbreak of World War II.

4 Elizabeth II Responds Late to the Aberfan Disaster

The Real-Life Queen Felt Guilty for Decades

In Season 3, The Crown depicts the 1966 Aberfan Disaster, a devastating coal slide in South Wales. The tragic historical event claimed 144 lives, 116 of which were children, after the coal slide covered Pantglas Junior School and several surrounding houses. The Crown showed Prince Phillip, played by Outlander's villain Tobias Menzies, visiting the wreckage the day after the disaster.

However, it actually took over a week for Queen Elizabeth II to show up. Many have questioned the late monarch's approach to the incident in the past several decades, but The Crown made her appear more callous than she was. In the years following the tragic event, the late Queen said her failure to immediately visit was her "biggest regret" in an article published by The Free Library.

3 Margaret Thatcher's Decision About the Falklands War

Thatcher's Son Mark's Disappearance Had Nothing to Do With Her Wartime Decisions

The Falklands War took place in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over two British territories, the Falkland Islands and the South Sandwich Islands. The Crown suggests Margaret Thatcher's son's disappearance factored into her decision over the start of the Falklands War. While Mark Thatcher did disappear in the Sahara Desert, the timeline differed between the two events.

This is just another of The Crown's inaccuracies. The Prime Minister's son went missing for six days in January 1982 after a motor rally in the Sahara Desert. However, the Falklands conflict didn't begin until three months after he safely returned to the United Kingdom. Therefore, Mark's disappearance didn't factor into Thatcher's decision.

2 The Timing of the Royal Love Quadrangle

Princess Anne Was Already Engaged When Charles Met Camilla

Prince Charles' controversial affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles consistently made headlines. However, the story became even more problematic when The Crown suggested Princess Anne's relationship with Camilla's former husband, Andrew Parker-Bowles, happened at the same time as Charles' affair.

While the love quadrangle made good material for the show, it didn't actually fit into the same timeline. Princess Anne and Andrew began their relationship in 1970, two years before Charles and Camilla met. By the time the pair were introduced, Anne was already engaged to her future husband, Mark Phillips.

1 Queen Mary Didn't Decide the Romanovs' Fate

The Matter Plagued King George V for Weeks Before the Tsar's Family Was Assassinated

In Season 5, The Crown transports viewers to World War I-era Britain when King George V and his wife, Queen Mary, led the monarchy. In 1918, Tsar Nicholas II asked the British royal family for assistance, as his family was in danger after the Russian Revolution. Due to their impending doom, the Romanovs wanted to avoid their deaths by moving to the United Kingdom.

Uncertain about what to do, Queen Mary advises George to deny the Romanovs refuge, which led to Bolshevik revolutionaries shooting and bayoneting them to death. However, there is no evidence that Queen Mary was responsible for the fate of the Romanovs. However, the matter did plague George for weeks on what to do with his distant cousins.