New Season: Sophisticated Words And Quotes from The Crown on Netflix

Tori Tornreviewed byNataliia Afonina / more about Editorial Process19 min
Created: Dec 2, 2022Last updated: Feb 1, 2024
Words And Quotes from The Crown on Netflix

The moment the true fans of the Netflix series The Crown had been waiting for has come. The fifth season of The Crown finally premiered on 9 November 2022. Which gives a perfect opportunity for every English learner out there to improve their English skills. 

The new season focuses on the British Royal members' lives from 1991 to 1997. The 90s for Windsors mark the main changes in the modern Royal family. The main thing is, undoubtedly, Prince Charles and Princess Diana's big divorce. 

The leading roles are played by Imelda Staunton, Jonathan Pryce, Elizabeth Debicki, Lesley Manville, Jonny Lee Miller, and Dominic West. 

Once we had watched The Crown season 5, we immediately created a complete list with sophisticated and not really The Crown quotes and words to learn. Be sure we will rock the world of English learning for you. Some of the following words can be difficult to pronounce on the first try, so read how to pronounce English words correctly and clearly

How To Learn English With The Crown Quotes

For a long time, the language learning platform Promova has offered its users the opportunity to learn English through popular tv series. In our app, you can find a unique course, "English with TV series." There are plenty of lessons with vocabulary from iconic tv shows such as Friend, The Simpsons, Gossip Girl, and Desperate Housewives. In addition, we help you to memorize words and phrases with quotes from movies and series. 

Suppose you want to expand your vocabulary with movie words and improve your pronunciation and speaking skills. In that case, we recommend you sign up for private tutoring on Promova. The language learning platform offers lessons with professional certified English tutors for adults. However, if you are a mad fan of The Crown, you should sign up for individual classes with one of our British English tutors. They will shed light on the subtleties of British English. It differs in pronunciation, lexicon, spelling, and grammar. Take one episode for a 50-min lesson and master your English with the help of your private English tutor on the Promova platform. 

The Crown Quotes And Vocabulary: Full Manual Of Season 5

As a language learning platform, Promova seeks to provide its learners with the best high-quality educational and entertaining content. That is why, watching season 5 of The Crown, we've gathered as many valuable words and phrases along with examples of the tv show quotes. So now, you can watch The Crown season 5, understanding every word. Please, enjoy our detailed list by episodes. However, if you find yourself missing modern English after reading this article, don't hesitate to dive into our guide to British slang: 40+ common British phrases and words

Episode 1 Queen Victoria Syndrom

The first episode of season 5 takes us back to 1991 when the Queen and Prince Philip decided to take a trip with the famous royal yacht Britannia, launched by Her Majesty in 1953. At the same time, Prince Charles and Princess Diana gathered with their sons for a vacation in Italy which the press titled their second honeymoon. The Sunday Times published a story where they assigned Elizabeth II "Queen Victoria Syndrome," meaning she was too old and out of touch to run the country. Meanwhile, Charles and Diana's relationship had been getting worse. 

Princess Diana

Squash – a firm hug

Can I have a squash?

To stick up for – to defend or support someone

Thanks for sticking up for me. 

Queen Elizabeth II

Weathering any storm – to be able to find a solution for a problematic situation in the best way possible

I hope that this brand-new vessel, like your brand-new queen, will prove to be dependable and constant, capable of weathering any storm.

Ribbon – a long strip

To feet up – not to work and relax

One last day cutting ribbons in Morecambe, then feet up for the summer. 

To decompress – to relax and reduce the pressure

It's a wonderful way to decompress. 

To slip away – to leave unnoticeably without saying goodbye

Shall we slip away?

Prince Charles

Horde – a large group of people

To indulge – to let someone enjoy something

When the entire point of being on a beautiful yacht like this is that we can escape from hordes of people indulging in retail as recreation. 

Vast – very big

Newlyweds – a couple that recently got married

But as an intimate space for newlyweds, it's like a floating observation tank. 

Glaringly – in an undeniable manner

Every awkward silence and stilted conversation between bride and gloom glaringly obvious to each and every one of the 200 crew. 

To lift up – to improve mood

It seems to lift the rest of the world up. 

Wicked – evil or with no morals

It's a dreadful, wicked disease. 

To flick through – to read quickly through a piece of text

I don't suppose you found time to flick through it?

Fogey – an old-fashioned person with conservative mindset

What an old fogey. 

Contradiction – a gathering of statements or ideas that are opposite to each other

You not only refuse to deny your contradictions, you don't see them as contradictions. 

Prince Philip

Obsolete – out of date, no longer useful

I'm many ways, she's obsolete. 

To pass something's best – to be not in a worse state or condition than before

She's so obviously past her best. 

Outrageous – unusual in a shocking way

It's outrageous. 

To put a foot wrong – to make a mistake

She has never put her foot wrong. 

Princess Anna

Manned – being controlled or ruled by a human

Lighthouse – a tower with light to guide ships

It's one of the last manned lighthouses in Scotland. 

Princess Margaret

Giddy – euphoric or dizzy

I was just telling the prime minister that these things can get quite giddy. 

Non-royals 

Hazard – a risk

Occupational hazard, I'm afraid. 

A stone – a weight metric that is equal to 6,35 kg or 14 pounds

All right. Half a stone. By the end of summer. 

To sound like a broken record – to repeat the same thing constantly

At a risk to sound like a broken record, the less time you spend on your feet, the better. 

Out of touch – unaware of recent changes

When talking about the Queen, again and again, the same words came up. Irrelevant. Old. Expensive. Out of touch. 

Abdication – resignation from being king or queen

And when asked, almost half believe you would make an excellent king and would support an early abdication by the Queen in your favor. 

Curtailment – reducing something, cutting something off

It appears that there has to be an unfortunate curtailment to the holiday. 

To bequeath – to pass something to someone else

I'm just mindful before she left the office, Mrs. Thatcher bequeathed the Palace an extremely generous civil list settlement. 

Indispensable – essential, necessary, vital

She is a central and indispensable part of the Crown serves the nation. 

To call a night – to go to bed

Shall we call it a night?

Deluded – believing in something that is far from being real or the truth

Instead, the senior Royals seem dangerously deluded and out of touch.

Dockworker – an employee in a post whose job is to load and unload ships

Thousands of dockworkers, many of whom helped to build the royal craft, give the Queen a warm reception as she walks past them to inspect the yacht. 

Speculation – a guess or theory that has no evidence

An air of expectancy – the feeling that something exciting is about to happen

For many months, there has been speculation about the name of the new yacht, and there's an air of expectancy as Her majesty steps forward to perform the actual launching ceremony.

Episode 2 The System

The second episode of The Crown season is dedicated to the process of writing the scandalous book about how unbearable it was for Princess Diana to be a part of the Royal family. A royal correspondent Andrew Morton with direct but hidden Diana cooperation revealed all the ugly truth about the inattentiveness of the Royals towards her personality. 

Prince Philip

Gang – a group of organized criminals

We've become quite a gang. 

Rein – a strap to guide a horse 

These two reins control the leaders. 

Slog – a hard work

Getting registration can be a bit of a slog. 

Novice – an individual who is new to something, a rookie 

You are not a novice anymore. 

To bind – to tie or hold together

It can actually be the glue that binds it all together. 

Queen Elizabeth II

Awry – unusual, different from expected

And not just because any husband or wife can feel when something is awry, but ultimately, it's not what I know about you or even what you know about me. 

Princess Diana

Heir – a person who receives responsibilities and property of their late ancestor

But the Crown could take the legal custody of any heirs to the throne. 

To sob out – to cry intensively 

I was suddenly overwhelmed and I sobbed my eyes out. 

To hound – to chase someone

When I talked to him about photographers hounding me, he talked about Camilla. 

Non-royals

Morbid – abnormal or unhealthy

Norton thought it was morbid to have her so close, but I wanted somewhere I could see her every day. 

To bear that in mind – to remember something and take it into consideration

I'll bear that in mind. 

Infuriatingly – in a furious way

He moves infuriatingly well for a tall man. 

Indiscretion – something embarrassing or wrong from the moral perspective

And if you are worried about indiscretion, he got nothing from me. 

To have a ringside – to be in a position where you can see very well

As a royal correspondent, I've had a ringside seat to this marriage for a while. 

Truce – an agreement between enemies for short term

There are two alternatives to a truce. 

Entrenched – to stick to something firmly and unlikely to change it

The two sides are too entrenched. 

Episode 3 Mou Mou

In the third episode, the focus switches to the story of Mohamed Fayed, a street vendor in Alexandria who becomes a wealthy businessman. He and his bellowed son Dodi were the ones, who bought the Hôtel Ritz Paris, then Windsors' Parisian villa, and the Royal Windsor Horse Show. The main goal for Mohamed was to become a part of high-class society as a true English gentleman and to get closer to the British Royal family. Later, at one of the Royal Windsor Horse Show, Mohamed met Diana and introduces her to his son Dodi. 

Queen Elizabeth II

Exile – a state of being expelled from someone's native country

Banishment – a punishment when a person is banned from their country

Our exile from England. Our banishment from home. 

Princess Diana

Substitute – a person who can replace another person performing the same duties

I realize I'm no substitute for the Big Chief. 

To grovel – to try to please someone in a way that is unreasonable

No matter how much you pay to grovel. 

Princess Margaret

Acorn – a nut of the oak tree

Out of the acorn of a simple kindness an oak tree of happiness will grow. 

Non-royals

Merit – a quality of feeling good that you deserve something

I came here hoping to be treated on merit.

Valet – a male personal assistant

As his valet?

Custom – a traditional and accepted way of doing things

British manners and customs rule the world. 

To savor – to enjoy something by tasting it

Afternoon tea is not a task to hurry through, Mr. Mohamed, but a ritual to be savored. 

Percy sorted out a link in my back swing with the help of stop-action photography. 

To confine – to restrict someone to stay within certain limits

She'd been confined in the house for eight years. 

To cripple – to disable walking or moving normally

Crippled by arthritis. 

Mental derangement – insanity 

Suffering from mental derangement. 

Episode 4 Anus Horribilis

The next episode of The Crown tells us about the events of 1992 when the marital problems in Windsor's family picked up steam. First, Prince Andrew separated from Sarah after scandalous photos of his wife in the press. Next, Princess Anne intended to marry Timothy Laurence, and Prince Charles again asked the Queen for a divorce from Princess Diana. Then, on top of all difficulties with her children, Her Majesty was accused of prohibition Princess Margaret from marrying Peter Townsend 40 years ago. Because of all that, giving a speech at a luncheon for her Ruby Jubilee, the Queen described 1992 as an "annus horribilis."

Princess Margaret

Exertion – effort

In any case, such exertions are best left to the young. 

To embark – to begin doing something

One reaches a certain age, one cannot help embarking on an audit of the heart. 

Dashing – stylish, attractive, and confident (for a man)

I was losing my senses on early morning rides with Papa's dashing equerry. 

Diminutive – small

Prune – a dried plum

Mercifully – luckily 

I would say keep your eyes open for a diminutive, 60-year-old prune, but mercifully time hasn't touched me at all, and I'm entirely unchanged since our last meeting in 1955. 

Prince Andrew

Bloke – a man

I mean, all things considered, Steve was actually a pretty decent bloke. 

Salvation – rescue

They'll be our salvation, our secret weapon. 

Queen Elizabeth II

To carry on – to be in a sexual relationship

Who was carrying on with your wife. 

Oath – a solemn promise

At my coronation, I took an oath that you will one day take at yours to maintain the laws of God. 

Grave - serious

It begins to look like parental failure of the gravest kind. 

To blow a fuse – to become very angry

A spotlight blew a fuse or something. 

By some margin – by some years

It has been, by some margin, the worst year of my reign. 

Princess Anna

Riveting – fascinating

So many other riveting things to read too. 

To endow – to provide

Fate has endowed you with this one, with everything that goes with it. 

Prince Charles 

Amid – surrounded by

Calumny – a false statement about someone that is made to damage their reputation

Amid endless other calumnies and lies. 

Infidelity – a state of being unfaithful in a sexual way

Vindictiveness – a need for revenge

Temerity – audacity 

If it was just incompatibility or infidelity, that would be one thing, but the sheer vindictiveness of that Morton book. And then the temerity to insist that she had nothing to do with it. 

Prince Philip

Immaculately – flawlessly, without mistakes

She's done God's will about as immaculately as any human for the past 40 years. 

Non-royals 

Hoarse – croaky, harsh, and rough

Her voice still hoarse from inhaling smoke and laboring under the weight of a cold, she delivered an unprecedentedly Frank expression of personal sadness and regret. 

Stark – complete

The stark admission of failure and a horrible year for the Royal family could be seen as a plea for sympathy and forgiveness after what can only be described as a turbulent 12 months. 

Reconciliation – a process of rebuilding friendly relationships

There is still hope of reconciliation. 

To ravage – to cause extreme damage 

The entire north terrace is ravaged by flames.

Episode 5 The Way Ahead 

In episode 5, Prince Charles and Princess Diana finally formally separate. Shortly after, the press leaked the intimate telephone conversation between Charles and Camilla. Charles's reputation was at the bottom. However, royal advisors managed to cope with the scandal with the documentary "Charles: The Private Man, the Public Role." It is 1994 when Princess Diana wore her "revenge dress" to show her real attitude towards the relationship between Charles and Camila. 

Prince Charles

Dissipation – a wasteful living

Previous Princess of Wales have been happy to misspend their lives in idle dissipation, but my problem is, I can't bear idleness or dissipation. 

Astounding – shocking 

It is quite astounding to think that in England, we have produced one of the world's most beautiful languages. 

To bow – to make a reverence (for men)

To curtsy – to make a reverence (for women)

Making the requirement to bow or curtsy to some members of the Royal family optional. 

To abolish – to cancel something formally

I say why not abolish it altogether?

Assassination – a murder by a sudden attack, usually for political reasons

It's an assassination. 

To flourish – to prosper

I hope it can flourish. 

To nurture – to cultivate

And, even within a marriage, one must still nurture outside friendships. 

Princess Anna

Subsequent – following, coming next

First, that phone recording, subsequent humiliation. 

Non-royals

Filthy - dirty

The tapes are filthy. 

To deluge – to overwhelm with water

Palace officials said they'd been deluged with calls of support.

To revive – to bring back to life, to give the energy to live

I know what would revive me. 

Gratuitous – unnecessary 

That's no excuse for gratuitous, sadistic exhibitionism. 

Episode 6 Ipatiev House

This episode throws the Royal family back to 1917 when King George V and Queen Mary refused to rescue the Romanov family in Russia from the Bolsheviks. Because of that decision, the whole Tsar's family was murdered in the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg. Decades later, after Russian president Boris Yeltsin came to Buckingham Palace, the Queen paid a visit to Russia. She wanted the remains of her relatives, the Romanovs, to be found and buried with dignity. To identify the remains of the tsar's family, Prince Philip as the closest relative, gave his DNA sample. On that very trip, Philip confessed to Elizabeth II his intellectual companionship with Lady Romsey, his godson's wife. 

Queen Elizabeth II

Coup – a sudden change of existing government

The first Western leader to visit Moscow since the coup. 

To pop back – to return quickly

I'll pop back in tomorrow. 

Asylum - shelter

Giving asylum to The Romanovs presented a much greater threat. 

To nip – to pinch, bite

In the bud – in an early stage 

To nip all that in the bud. 

Princess Margaret 

Mongrel – a person with mixed or uncertain origin

He's always been something of a mongrel. 

Disenchantment - disappointment

My disenchantment long predates that. 

Non-royals

To herald – to be a sign of something

The trip heralds a new era of strong ties and cooperation. 

Demolition – destruction

Yes, its demolition was a shameful piece of communist barbarism. 

Slaughter - kilingl in a violent manner

After the slaughter, it's seen the Bolsheviks doused the bodies in acid, burned their clothes, and buried them in a mass grave. 

Preordained – predestined

Or is it somehow all preordained?

Rivalry – competitiveness 

You see, there was a rivalry between the two women.

Episode 7 No Women's Land

In the next episode of the Crown season 5, Diana fell in love with the cardio surgeon Dr. Khan, while her son, Prince William, started attending to Eton College. At that time, Martin Bashir, a BBC journalist, reached Earl Spencer, Diana's brother. He said that the security services were spying on Diana and asked the Princess for an exclusive interview. 

Princess Diana

Dishy – sexy (for a man)

Quit dishy, wasn't he?

To have cross with – to be angry or annoyed with someone

I think she has cross with me. 

To fiddle – to change something dishonestly

I think they fiddled with brakes on my car now, as well. 

To mend – to repair

You've just mended my heart. 

Prince Charles 

To smother – to choke, to make someone lack air

Smothering him. 

Non-royals

To have a word – to talk to someone

I'll have a word with his headmaster. 

Juggernaut – a sizeable heavy track

Crushed, once again, by the juggernaut of commercial television. 

To throw one's hat into the ring – to announce that someone is going to try to win something

We should throw our hat into the ring. 

Plummeting – crashing

A monarchy is plummeting in public esteem and credibility, destroying one of their own. 

To vouch – to give a guarantee

And I just wondered to what degree you could vouch for him. 

Surveillance – supervision

He came to talk to me about the surveillance of public figures by the security services. 

Episode 8 Gunpowder

In episode 8, Diana discovered that people on behalf of the Royal family were spying on her. So, Princess agreed to conduct her famous interview on BBC called "An Interview with HRH The Princess of Wales." The whole Royal family observed Diana crashing them on-air. 

Queen Elizabeth II

Hostility – unfriendliness 

Figment – a belief that is not true or real

The enemy you imagine I am, the hostility you imagine we all feel is a figment of your imagination. 

Princess Diana

To envisage – to view in a certain way

But I don't envisage muse ever being Queen of this country. 

Non-royals 

Stipulation – a condition as a part of the agreement

Her only stipulation was she be allowed to speak to the Queen before it airs. 

To intertwine – to unite by twisting together

In that way, the two institutions, Crown and BBC, are inherently intertwined. 

Traitor – a betrayer 

Maybe, England's most famous traitor. 

To rekindle – to start again

Your husband is said to have rekindled his relationship with Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowles around 1986.

Episode 9 Couple 31

In the ninth episode of season 5, the Queen agreed to let Charles and Diana end their marriage after the Panorama interview. However, soon after the divorce, Charles, and Camilla, with the help of public relations executive Mark Bolland, started working on their public image. 

Queen Elizabeth II

Inevitable - unavoidable

The termination of your marriage is not only inevitable but preferable. 

Fervent – passionate, hot, burning

Swiftly - quickly

My fervent wish is that by reaching an agreement swiftly, you will restore a dignity that in recent years has so regrettably been lost. 

Prince Charles

Ghastly – unpleasant, gloomy

Those ghastly people gone from the end of your drive?

Magnitude – a size

An opening demand of this magnitude is clearly designed to ruin me. 

Non-royals 

To put off – to postpone

Don't let his youth to put you off. 

To cut out – to not be good or suitable for something

Do you ever feel that some people just aren't cut out for marriage?

To diminish – to reduce

If I let this situation, this predicament I'm in diminish me, destroy me….

To clamp – to officially set punishment for something

Diana would never be clamped, would she?

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Episode 10 Decommissioned

The final episode of season 5 shows us what happened with the Royal family in 1997. After Tony Blair from Labour Party became Prime minister, he met with Prince Charles during their trip to Hong Kong due to the handover of the country. The future King tried to convince a new leader that it was wise to bring a modern monarch to the throne. And after rejecting the proposal for private financing of her royal yacht Britannia, the Queen went on the last voyage before decommissioning her "home." 

Queen Elizabeth II

Forthright – direct

I shall miss your calm, forthright, dependable presence. 

To mean the world – to be very important, to care about something or someone a lot

That would mean the world to me. 

To decommission – to remove from service

And before she is decommissioned, do you think I might be allowed to say my own private farewell to Britannia?

Princess Diana 

To inflict – to cause suffering

No, I wouldn't inflict all this on you. 

Prince Charles

To preserve – to protect

By preserving these liberties, we are not merely protecting a people's way of life. 

Discretion – a common sense

Camilla has remained a model of discretion and decency and dignity. 

Non-royals 

Dawn – a beginning

A new dawn has broken, has it not?

Stranglehold – a grip around the neck

Feat – an achievement

He's broken the stranglehold the unions had over his party and made Labour electable again, which is no mean feat.

Comments

0
Deanna Oct 11th, 2023
I loved reliving some of the most powerful moments from The Crown through these memorable quotes))
PromovaJul 11th, 2023
"The Crown" on Netflix showcases various interesting phrases and idioms that reflect the historical era it portrays. Some examples include "putting on a brave face," "toe the line," "playing second fiddle," and "keeping up appearances." These expressions provide glimpses into the language and culture of the time, adding authenticity and depth to the show's storytelling.
LILYJul 11th, 2023
What are some interesting phrases or idioms used in "The Crown" that reflect the historical era it portrays?