BUZZ BOOK: ‘The Crown’ is back — and now there’s a book, too
The much-anticipated second season of the Netflix series “The Crown” dropped Friday, an arrival that pairs perfectly — albeit coincidentally — with the recent announcement that Prince Harry will wed American actress Meghan Markle in May 2018. The new season of the series, which stars a luminous Claire Foy as a young Queen Elizabeth, delves into marital problems between the queen and Prince Philip, issues that were hinted at towards the end of season 1, and Princess Margaret’s marriage to Lord Snowdon. This season, viewers can complement their binge-watching with “The Crown: The Official Companion Volume 1” (Crown Archetype) by British historian Robert Lacey, author of “Majesty,” his 1977 biography of Queen Elizabeth II, and the historical consultant to “The Crown.” The book is the perfect item to have on hand while watching the show, particularly for American viewers who might not be familiar with most of the minor characters or smaller historical events that act as backdrops to the royal familial drama. The book includes detailed recollections from eyewitnesses to history, such as press photographer John Jochimsen, who remembers a 25year-old Elizabeth in- heriting the throne when her father died while she was in Kenya. “We stood silently outside the lodge as the cars drove away in a cloud of dust,” recalls Jochimsen. “Not one of us taking a shot at that historic moment. Seeing the young girl as queen of Great Britain as she drove away, I felt her sadness as she just raised her hand to us as we stood there silent, our cameras on the ground.”