Conflicted Consorts: Prince Albert and Prince Philip's Crisis of Masculinity as Presented in Victoria and The Crown

This thesis explores how ITV’s Victoria (2016 - ) and Netflix’s The Crown (2016 - ) present Prince Albert and Prince Philip as feeling conflicted in their position of royal consort, a role more commonly occupied by a woman, due to their preconceived ideas of masculinity. It looks into the historical background of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1840 – 1861) and Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark (1921 - ). Albert and Philip both married into the British royal family and became the consorts of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II, respectively. The essay also discusses biopics, their credibility, and how the biopic series Victoria and The Crown showcase the public and private lives of these royals in a credible way and portray the princes’ masculinity crises in their roles as consorts. Masculinity is learned by children through their society’s rules of behavior, and Prince Albert and Prince Philip grew up in a hegemonic masculine society that taught them that the husband should be the provider of the family. Victoria shows how this drives Albert to struggle with his image as a man since his wife is richer and more powerful than he, and has to solve problems on behalf of both of them. Albert slowly grows to resent his position and becomes cold and distant towards his wife and children. The Crown shows how Philip struggles with becoming the less powerful party in his marriage when Elizabeth becomes queen and he loses his naval career and his preferred home, while also learning that his children will not carry his name. He gradually becomes bitter and spiteful towards his wife and oldest son. Both princes show signs of having disassociated themselves from behavior stereotypically considered feminine, such as being scared and admitting to shortcomings, and instead they act aggressively towards their spouse and family