I'm not talking about "The Crown" when I say that Claire Foy is returning in another British period film about an unhappy marriage. With her upcoming BBC/Amazon series "A Very British Scandal," your favorite young queen is returning to British history. The scandals and Britishness of this production are absolutely off the charts, and I adore a title that tells you everything about a show before you even hit play.
There's a lot to look forward to and think about here, and we're going to do it all right now, so let's do it together. You know what it means: it's happy hour, people.
In "A Very British Scandal," the Duke of Argyll (Paul Bettany) and Duchess of Argyll (Foy) battle it out in one of England's most renowned divorce cases, the infamous Argyll v. Argyll case, which The Guardian describes as "the only [case] any erstwhile law student ever recalls." With images of the Duchess allegedly having sex with other men, the Duke brought the scandal to a head, accusing her of sleeping with as many as 88 men outside of their marriage.
Fortunately, it doesn't appear that the narrative of "A Very British Scandal" will finish there. It appears that the drama is more concerned with revealing the rot that was already seeping into the marriage due to the Duke's drinking and his proclivity for physical and mental violence as well. As entertaining as this story may be, it's also quite sad, and Foy is more than capable of conveying both.
"The Crown" and "The Duchess" take place in the same time period, so her portrayal of the Duchess is a perfect fit (between 1947 and 1963ish). Fortunately, it doesn't appear that Foy is being typecast in this film. The Duchess of Cambridge, on the other hand, is a spitfire who does what she wants when she wants and makes a lot of blunders in the process.
After thinking about it, I'm convinced that a "Crown" and "British Scandal" crossover episode would be the best thing for my mental and physical well-being. Foy's portrayal of the Queen and her role as the Duchess of Cornwall are both well into their own arcs on the show and in real life, but can you see them at the same party? For historical purposes, I don't know whether the two actually met, but we all know that these shows are full of historical inaccuracies. BBC: This is an official appeal.
For those of us who suffer from the British period piece affair bug, be glad to know that the limited series will be available on Amazon on April 22, 2022. It premiered on BBC in December of 2021, which is when we originally wrote about the series, so be aware of spoilers. In shows based on historical events, I usually feel like I'm saying something ridiculous. In the end, may spoilers for events that have already taken place be possible?
The gin martini is chilling, and we're going with it, pillbox-hats and all.