<P> Foy and Smith both earned significant praise from critics . Chancellor Agard of Entertainment Weekly wrote "As always, Claire Foy turns in an amazingly restrained performance ." Gabriel Tate of The Daily Telegraph wrote "Matt Smith, too, has seldom been better . If the scripts do them justice, we could be in for another memorable series ." Hugo Rifkind of The Times said "While ardent monarchists might bristle at the way this is going, for the rest of us it's getting better and better ." </P> <P> Alison Keene of Collider said "Like its first season, each new episode makes its mark and tells its own complete story, all while staying linked to Elizabeth's journey as a monarch, mother, and wife . It's another exceptionally strong season of television, full of compelling drama and sweeping grandeur ." Krutika Malikarjuna of TV Guide wrote "Season 2 is centered on why the public - at - large (especially those outside of Britain) still engage with the royals at all: celebrity and star power . The brilliance of this framing becomes clear as the show evolves into The Real Housewives of Buckingham ." Sophie Gilbert wrote for The Atlantic "This personal, complex portrayal of a monarch who by her own admission in the show would rather be living any other life is riveting enough . But The Crown is also a history lesson, as my colleague David Sims has put it, albeit a selective one . It's gorgeously shot, with flawless re-creations of everything from the Throne Room in Buckingham Palace to a 1950s hospital ward . And it's surprisingly funny ." </P> <P> The Wall Street Journal critic John Anderson said "The Crown attains genuine sexiness without sex . Margaret, à la Ms. Kirby's interpretation, smolders, as does Elizabeth, at least on occasion ." Meghan O'Keefe of Decider wrote "Season Two of The Crown continues to romanticize the British royal family, but the romance comes from how they're normal, not divine ." </P> <P> Less complimentary reviews saw the season criticized for what some regarded as failing to meet the emotional intensity of the first . John Doyle wrote for Globe and Mail "Yes, it is still so lavishly made that it is breathtaking . But The Crown now leans toward a three - hanky weeper about marriage . It is less than it was, like the monarchy itself, and of interest to monarchy fans only ." Alan Sepinwall of Uproxx added "Many of the season's wounds are self - inflicted, in particular Morgan's mystifying fascination with Prince Philip, who despite Matt Smith's best efforts still comes across as a whiny man - child ." Phil Owen of The Wrap described the season as "trashy" and saw dry comedy in Northam's portrayal of Prime Minister Anthony Eden: "I'm assuming that creator Peter Morgan meant for it to be comedy . There's really no other explanation for why Jeremy Northam played Prime Minister Anthony Eden like he's having a nervous breakdown in every scene ." </P>

When did season 3 of the crown start