‘The Crown’: Did Britain want Queen Elizabeth to abdicate to Charles?

So did that really happen? Did the public really want the queen to abdicate? And was there really a “second honeymoon” to Italy?

There really was a Sunday Times poll with the abdication question, but most of the details have been changed, no doubt to add Hollywood drama.

The poll came out in January 1990, not August 1991 as it does in the show, and nearly half said the queen should consider abdicating in favor of Charles. But, importantly, they said she should consider “eventually,” not necessarily at that very moment. The “eventually” has been left out in the show.

Other things left out: The real poll was largely positive about the royal family — only 6 percent thought abolishing the monarchy would leave Britain better off — and…