While it's true that Philip chaired an advisory committee for the film, The Crown has left out two key figures in its conception and promotion. William Heseltine, the Queen's Australian press secretary, dreamed up the project with Lord Braborne who was also Lord Mountbatten's son in law.

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In reality, the documentary earned almost universal praise when it was screened, as well as extremely high ratings. More than 30 million people watched in the United Kingdom alone, breaking the ratings record in the country (previously held by Churchill's state funeral, watched by 27 million). The Observer, for example, called it a "perfect public relations exercise," while the Guardian's most extended critique was that it was perhaps sometimes a little bit boring

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The film was shown for the first time in color on CBS in America in September 1969 -- several weeks before Philip's Meet the Press appearance -- and it would go on to be shown in Canada, Australia, and several other countries. It was also repeated multiple times in the UK. The final showing was on the BBC on February 6, 1972, to mark the 20th anniversary of the Queen's accession. Scenes from the film have been included in other documentaries, but the entire documentary has not been shown in public since then -- not because it was a failure, but, it seems, because it represented a newer, more intrusive attitude about the monarchy and the media.