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The Crown season 3: What happened at Aberfan? Why was it the Queen’s ‘biggest regret’? – Express.co.uk, Express.co.uk

The Crown season 3: What happened at Aberfan? Why was it the Queen’s ‘biggest regret’? – Express.co.uk, Express.co.uk


The Crownwas released in full on Netflix this weekend with all episodes dropping on Sunday, November 17. Season three, episode three chronicles the harrowing Aberfan disaster and how the Queen (played by Olivia Colman) reacted to it at the time. To accompany its release, Express.co.uk exclusively spoke to historian Iain McLean about what happened as well as the director of season three, Benjamin Caron.

What was the real story of Aberfan?

The third season of The Crown charts the royal family from 1964 to 1977, focusing on a number of key events.

Episode three is all about the tragic event which took place in the Welsh mining village of Aberfan in 1966.

This is dealt with through a harrowing depiction of the real events, as well as how both Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Harold Wilson (Jason Watkins) dealt with it.

The real disaster happened on October 21, 1966 at around 9: 15 am when a colliery waste tip slid down a mountain and engulfed Pantglas Junior School.

READ MORE:The Crown season 3: Which events will be covered in The Crown?

The Crown Aberfan

The Crown: Aberfan is the focus of episode 3(Image: GETTY)

After a night of heavy rain, there was a build up water in the colliery slag tip, which then slid down the side of the hill.

The incident directly caused 144 deaths, including the lives of 116 children and 28 adults.

After the week-long rescue efforts, a tribunal was opened on November 2 1966 into the ev

The results of this concluded the National Coal Board (NCB) and nine of its employees were primarily responsible for the incident.

However, there were no prosecutions as a result and the main response was only an offer of £ 500 to each bereaved family.

The Crown Aberfan

The Crown: The Queen visited in 1966(Image: GETTY)

The Crown Aberfan

Crown season 3: Why was Aberfan the Queen’s ‘biggest regret’?(Image: NETFLIX)

This episode in The Crown focuses on the Queen’s response to what happened.

Initially, the monarch did not visit the village and sent her husband Prince Philip (Tobias Menzies) in her place.

Eight days later , she visited the village to speak with survivors and since she has returned to the village more than any other member of the Royal Family.

Her initial response was said to be her “biggest regret”, according to Gyles Brandreth, who learnt this from Lord Charteris, the Queen’s former private secretary.

Iain McLean wrote a book on the disaster with Martin Johnes called Aberfan: government and disasters.

He spoke exclusively to Express.co.uk about what happened during the harrowing disaster.

Revealing he was pleased to see the series depicti ng this part of history, McLean also gave some more details about the history of the event.

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One of the most interesting depictions in The Crown is how it focuses on the Queen’s response to

As McLean explained: “It obviously affected her personally, as it did everyone in the country and beyond.”

The incident was also an avoidable one, according to McLean, who revealed what happened.

He said: “The tragedy was avoidable and should have been avoided. There were decades of warning signals.

“The tips had slipped twice before (which the coal Board attempted to deny at the tribunal).

“They were tipped on springs shown on the Ordnance Survey and Geological Survey maps.”

Speaking at The Crown season 3 premiere in London, director Benjamin Caron also spoke to Express. co.uk and other media about filming the episode.

He revealed it was the hardest moment for him to direct in the third series.

Caron said: “I would say the Aberfan episode was probably the hardest one to film and the hardest of my entire life.

“The subject matter was incredibly difficult for all of us, it was really really hard, emotionally hard.”

Crown season 3 is now streaming on Netflix

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