“You may wish to consider this is Wales, not England.”
Over the weekend, season three of The Crown landed on Netflix.
The eagerly anticipated latest series starring Olivia Colman, Helena Bonham Carter, and Tobias Menzies focuses on the monarch in the 60s and early 70s, during a time when loyalties to the Crown are changing – and with them, the entirety of Britain.
Episode three, Aberfan, details the story of the Aberfan disaster when a coal tip collapsed near the Welsh town claiming the lives of 144 people, most of them children.
The Queen’s response to the destruction was delayed, as she didn’t visit the village herself until after the clean up was well underway and the dead had been buried.
The Crown‘s depiction of Elizabeth during this time showed a Queen that was incapable of empathy and emotion, until the final moments of the disaster when she took time to reflect and final managed to shed a single tear.
“You may wish to consider this is Wales, not England,” her aide tells her as she travels to Aberfan. “A display of emotion would not just be considered appropriate, it’s expected.”
She later remarks: “I dabbed a bone-dry eye and by some miracle no one noticed.”
Although the series’ portrayal of the Queen herself has been the site of some contention, viewers have been incredibly moved by the show’s representation of the Aberfan community.
The destruction, heartache, and desperation present during such a painful time in the mining village’s history is, as many have posited, mandatory viewing to understand a crucial moment in time that is often forgotten.
Aberfan. Whew. That's how you write pain.
— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) November 18, 2019
It's appalling that so few people know about #Aberfan. 144 buried alive by the National Coal Board. Ep.3 of #thecrown3 should be mandatory viewing. This is what happens when profit is valued above people's lives, same with Grenfell and will happen again. #neverforget #cymruambyth
— Eira Morgan-Jones 🪶🍃☀️ (@EiraMorganJones) November 17, 2019
Y'all #TheCrownNetflix wrote the Aberfan episode so well that my eyes are sweating. RIP to all those who passed away in the Aberfan disaster 😭
— Brooke Byrd (@brookebyrd04) November 18, 2019
Fucking hell, s3e3 of @TheCrownNetflix is full-on. If you don’t already know what happened in the Welsh village of Aberfan in 1966, you might want to find out beforehand so you can be at least a little emotionally prepared.
— Richard Carroll (@Richard_Carroll) November 18, 2019
It was so powerful to watch episode 3 of #thecrownseason3 tonight. I'm from Neath, half an hour away from Aberfan and the tragedy is still so raw there. I took this a few months ago. The victims rest peacefully on a hill overlooking the town. Never forget. #Aberfan #TheCrown pic.twitter.com/Z7fJfjnCQ4
— Sarah Penney (@sarahlpenney) November 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/romepix/status/1196161487938760710?s=20
RT saffdavies12: THIS. SCENE.
Olivia Colman is an absolute legend.
the whole aberfan episode is a masterpiece.#TheCrown https://t.co/zu6RhG0CWu – netflix— CinemApp News (@CinemApp_CineUK) November 18, 2019
The Crown season three is available to stream on Netflix now.
