The Crown ridiculed: Bob Hawke did not call the Queen a pig, or a pom – he was better than that
Australians watching The Crown have ridiculed the British series’ depiction of former prime minister Bob Hawke, after the ABC posted real footage of an interview with Hawke before the 1983 royal tour of Australian and New Zealand.
Episode six of the Netflix series’ fourth season, titled Terra Nullius, follows Prince Charles and Princess Diana on the tour. It opens with Hawke, played by Australian actor Richard Roxburgh, appearing on the ABC’s Four Corners program in February 1983.
Roxburgh has drawn plaudits for his performance – he previously played Hawke in a 2010 telemovie – but the show’s writers were panned after the released archival footage of Hawke’s appearance.
Related: 'Famously the most Spanish city': The Crown mocked for lacklustre recreation of Australia
Viewers pointed out that the real footage, and the real Hawke, were simply better than that dramatised by one of the world’s most expensive TV series.
Australians said The Crown’s script was unsubtle and inaccurate, and fabricated quotes to make Hawke appear much more agitated about the Queen and the royal visit than he was.
The real Hawke said the republic was not “a matter of great importance”, compared with poverty and disadvantage.
(1/4) Hey @netflix 👋. Huge fan. While we’re loving the fact that you’ve featured us in @TheCrownNetflix, we’re in the business of facts and there are a few things we want to clear up. pic.twitter.com/1eIWKVXAKG
— 4corners (@4corners) November 25, 2020
(4/4) And while we’ve enjoyed your creative license, Hawke did not call the Queen a pig on our show and say, "You wouldn't put a pig in charge of a herd of prime beef cattle, even if it does look good in twin set and pearls." Here's what he really said. Thnx again @netflix! pic.twitter.com/0JY8sEOB5C
— 4corners (@4corners) November 25, 2020
On The Crown, the Hawke character says: “I don’t think we’ll be talking about kings or monarchy here in Australia much longer – I think we’re past that now. I think we’re a bit more mature.”
The real Hawke said: “I don’t think we’ll be talking about kings in Australia for ever more ... we would be better off as a republic. But I don’t think it’s a matter of great importance.
“The thing that concerns me is the condition of men and women out there in Australia. Particularly the people in poverty, the disadvantaged. If we became a republic tomorrow, it wouldn’t improve their condition one iota.”
Hawke’s response about poverty and disadvantage was cut from the Crown version and replaced with invented lines in which he calls the Queen “a pom”.
I really don't care if TV that dramatises history isn't strictly accurate - but the real interview is so much more interesting than the dumb 2D Aussie caricature ('I just want Ostraaaalia to be freee') of the show. https://t.co/8BuSWU4UXF
— Josephine Tovey (@Jo_Tovey) November 25, 2020
The fictional Hawke tells the audience, to cheers and laughs: “The desire is simply to have a head of state that embodies and represents Australia’s values and traditions. A head of state that looks like us, sounds like us, thinks like us …[as opposed to] a pom.”
Hawke actually said: “I think in terms of being our own country, the time will come when Australians prefer a republic. I don’t think it is the number one issue on the agenda.”
Related: Young women are watching Diana's story in The Crown with horror | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
Four Corners especially took issue with a fictional Hawke line jokingly comparing the Queen to a pig.
On The Crown, Hawke tells the crowd: “[The royal family are] for all their good intentions, a different breed. You wouldn’t put a pig in charge of a herd of prime beef cattle.”
Viewers pointed out that the real Hawke interview was more eloquent, measured and complex than that on the show.
Would have been much, much better if The Crown just stuck to the truth and the transcript. https://t.co/VlM2vrNpDO
— Henry Belot (@Henry_Belot) November 25, 2020
the important fact checking. and yet, no comment on how the hair was not even remotely accurate https://t.co/idSZppBxcK
— Critically Endangered STEMLORD (@upulie) November 25, 2020
Wow lol quite the departure from "based on real events" when these two are considered side by side https://t.co/U5TmHVAixJ
— emma elsworthy (@emmaels) November 25, 2020
I must admit I thought that quote they attributed to Hawke was way off 😐 https://t.co/eruDdrjdxf
— Angela Cuming (@AngelaCuming) November 25, 2020
The Crown has also previously been mocked for its visual representation of Australia. Scenes in Australia were filmed in Spain. One moment, supposedly of Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall, was particularly highlighted as looking just like a hotel room above Malaga.
Oh my god this is meant to be Brisbane in The Crown. pic.twitter.com/WkXbrmOIZk
— Peter Taggart (@petertaggart) November 21, 2020
Yes, Diana stopped in for a banh mi in the series, we’ve all seen it.
— Peter Taggart (@petertaggart) November 21, 2020
The show’s creator, Peter Morgan, has been open about the artistic licence taken on the show.
A scene where Diana calls Uluru “Ayers Dock” also never happened.
The Crown’s latest season has also been criticised for “fake history” in relation to British events, including an invented scene where Lord Mountbatten, the uncle of Prince Philip, wrote a heartfelt letter to Prince Charles on the day Mountbatten was killed by an IRA bomb.
For what it is worth, the actor who plays Charles, Josh O’Connor, has publicly stated that he is a republican.