THE CROWN.

• Author: Lancaster, Joe

Netflix's lightly fictionalized historical drama The Crown examines the British monarchy through its longest-serving chief, Queen Elizabeth II. The series delves into the role of institutions and whether it's best to modernize or to maintain tradition. Elizabeth and Prince Charles attempt modest modernizing reforms, but more often they acquiesce to custom. In The Crown's fifth season, the royals face the growing sentiment that their role is antiquated. While Elizabeth and Charles wonder whether the monarchy should change, Britons debate whether it should exist.

Elizabeth denied her sister the right to marry a divorcee--and until this season denied her son the right to divorce--because as Britain's sovereign, she also heads the Church of England, and is nominally vested by God with her authority. Neither Elizabeth nor Charles considers an alternative because...