WiC Watches: The Crown season 3

Episode 306: “Tywysog Cymru”

This episode gives us our first glimpse of Prince Charles as a young man, now played by Josh O’Connor. At first glance, the young Prince comes across as a little frivolous, and possibly not that bright. However, this episode goes to great lengths to successfully show us the sensitivity and loneliness of the Prince of Wales as he struggles to find his own voice.

After Prince Charles is sent to Wales to learn the Welsh language and hopefully curry favor with the locals before his formal investiture as Prince of Wales, Charles finds himself on a mini-story arc of his own. After arriving in Wales as a naive and apathetic student, the Prince wins over a separatist professor and his family by getting serious about learning the country’s history and culture and making a sincere effort to connect with her people.

Queen Elizabeth is often the most sympathetic character on The Crown as the story unfolds largely from her point of view. This episode provides a unique window into the perspective of her eldest son and heir, and here the Queen is downright terrifying. From Charles’ vantage point, Queen Elizabeth is a cold and imperious gorgon with a heart of ice. Charles makes some unauthorized edits to his investiture speech, and like some uptight British stage mom from the depths of Hell, the Queen is absolutely not here for it.

It’s admirable storytelling that presents a multi-dimensional picture of its lead characters. Prince Charles as a young man is depicted as wanting to be more open and emotional with the public than his traditional and patrician mother. It’s an interesting precursor to what we all know is coming down the road when the series arrives at the death of Princess Diana. The seeds of an inevitable generational clash are deftly planted here.