What The Crown taught me about love, marriage, and commitment
Watching the Netflix series The Crown felt less like entertainment and more like a mirror reflecting real-life lessons about relationships, especially for singles in their 30s and beyond. Beneath the glamour and royal duties, the show reveals truths about love, marriage, and the pressures society places on couples.
Here’s what stood out for me:
1. Commitment Is Serious Business
A committed relationship is not just about two people “being asked” to be together. It’s about two individuals choosing to love, support, and walk alongside each other.
Yes, earlier generations managed with arranged introductions and family-driven decisions. But they lived in joint families and had wider social circles where the spouse wasn’t expected to be the only source of emotional, financial, and social support. Today, in nuclear setups, the pressure on one partner to “be everything” is unsustainable.
Lesson: Commitment works only when both people choose it, not when it’s imposed.
2. “Till Death Do Us Part” Requires Work
The phrase sounds romantic, but in reality, long-term relationships demand realignment, acceptance, and compromise. It’s not about changing your partner for society’s sake, but about working around each other’s weaknesses while celebrating strengths.
And if a couple decides to part ways, society often labels them as “failures” or “unworthy of love again.” But divorce doesn’t erase one’s worth — it simply means that particular relationship wasn’t the right fit.
Lesson: Long-term love isn’t about perfection. It’s about adaptability and resilience.
3. Finances Matter - But Not in the Way We Think
Financial independence is important, period. But choosing a life partner solely based on personal wealth is like entering a tunnel with little chance of light.
Earlier, men were breadwinners and women homemakers, so shared finances made sense. Today, independence means wealth doesn’t guarantee security in a relationship. Still, families often obsess over income and property. “How much does the boy earn?” or “Does he own a house?” become the first questions — overshadowing character and compatibility.
Lesson: Financial stability matters, but personality, values, and character matter equally if not more.
4. Beauty Bias Hurts
Not everyone is born with “traditional good looks” or fair skin. Yet, in India, being fair-skinned is often prized above all else. Prospects with darker complexions face rejection, no matter their personality, achievements, or kindness.
The painful question asked too often: “Is she fair and pretty?”
Lesson: Lasting love cannot be built on skin tone or looks — it rests on emotional connection.
5. The Crown’s Biggest Lesson - not respecting love breaks people
In the series, the royal family’s obsession with appearances destroyed personal happiness:
Princess Margaret was denied love because he was divorced.
Prince Charles was kept away from the woman he loved because she was older and had past relationships.
Both Charles and Diana knew they weren’t compatible, yet married for “duty,” resulting in pain, infidelity, and public disaster.
Diana herself craved love so deeply that she bent over backwards for attention, forgetting that love is a two-way street.
Lesson: When society forces people into relationships against their truth, it damages not just two lives but generations.
The Crown may be a story about royals, but its lessons are universal. Real commitment isn’t about duty, appearances, wealth, or skin tone. It’s about two individuals who choose each other and put in the work to grow together.
For singles today, especially those in their 30s and beyond, the takeaway is clear: don’t settle for what looks right to others choose what feels right for you.
