Republican Fist in a Respectful Velvet Glove

British media observer, Phil Harrison discusses the controversy over “The Crown” – how much of it is fiction? how much is intended to be fiction? – at the start of an intense six months scrutiny of the British Royal Family as the Harry and Meghan departure roiled in the  background – and before it intensified in early 2021). This essay provides an overview of the monarchy’s changing role in and relationship with the media since the 1950s and the gradual weakening of the reverence with which the family was viewed, now all but gone. Read the article below. [“The Crown has slipped: how the Netflix epic captures our relationship with the royals” by Phil Harrison, The Guardian online, 2 December 2020]