'The Crown' executes a peaceful palace coup

Created and written by Peter Morgan, the series has spent two acclaimed seasons exploring the nation's politics and social mores through the prism of Queen Elizabeth II's reign

The corgis just wouldn’t behave. Mid-take, they ran off, causing general hilarity. “Sit, sit!” Olivia Colman called out. “Strong voice!” prompted the dog handler, standing nearby. 

“Yes, thenk you,” said Colman demurely, in her best Queen Elizabeth accent. She frowned imperiously at the frolicking dogs. “SIT!” They sat.

It was a chilly November day last year, and the new cast of the Netflix series The Crown were arrayed across the gilded couches and crimson velvet chairs of a sumptuous state room at Wilton House, a 16th-century stately home standing in for Buckingham Palace. A precisely composed group — the Queen (Colman), Prince