News about Michael Shea

According to a newspaper article from 1986, the Queen (pictured with Mrs Thatcher in 1979) was expected to be'dismayed' by the 'uncaring' PM's refusal to issue sentrums on apartheid South Africa, afraid that the decision would divide the Commonwealth. It was a tale that contributed to rumors that Her Late Majesty did not engage with Britain's first female Prime Minister, raising the alarm clock. But what the Queen did next showed that things were not as they appeared. According to biographer Charles Moore, the obnoxious monarch phoned the 'desperately wounded' PM to apologize and deny that the remarks were made in her opinion. Michael Shea, the Queen's Press Secretary who was blamed for the incident, resigned the following year, although the aide maintained that his departure was unrelated to the furore. The truth of the Queen and Mrs Thatcher's friendship was much better represented by their public appearances in their later lives. In 1995 (right) and 2005 (right), Her Majesty and Prince Philip attended both Mrs Thatcher's 70th and 80th birthday parties (middle) and 2005 (right). And, when the Iron Lady died at the age of 87 in 2013, the Queen attended her funeral. The Daily Mail's coverage of the 1986 furore was particularly revealing.

Since its premiere in November 2016, Netflix has blurred the boundaries between fact and fantasy, while still curating America's obsession with the Royal Family. The royals were born into celebrity in the eyes of Americans, who couldn't help but get wrapped up in the drama that was portrayed on television. Although the show is based on actual events, it's still fiction - and it has altered timelines, reimagined private conversations, and exaggerated events. Although The Crown has aided in the surge of interest in events that have engulfed the monarch over the years, it has been chastised for failing to make it clear enough that it is not a fictional retelling and skewing fact and fiction. The melodrama had a dizzying effect on viewers, who seemed to know the Royals well; but they didn't know the versions that were being seen in a work of historical fiction. The show had such a large effect in America that it has left some people wondering if the US is too curious by the Monarch, and some commentators have 'enough' with the queen's passing 'hogging' the pages.