It is a gray morning in October 1966. A Welsh mining village, Aberfan, is waking up to a day that will change British history forever. If you’ve watched The Crown Season 3 Episode 3, you know the heavy, suffocating feeling that permeates every frame. Titled "Aberfan," the episode doesn't just act as a piece of television; it serves as a haunting memorial to a tragedy that the real Queen Elizabeth II reportedly considered her "greatest regret."
People often ask if the show dramatized the scale of the disaster for effect. Honestly? They didn't have to. The reality was actually worse. When a "tip" of coal waste collapsed and sent 150,000 tons of slurry screaming down a hillside into Pantglas Junior School, it took the lives of 116 children and 28 adults. In the show, we see the Queen—played by Olivia Colman—struggling with a perceived inability to feel grief. It's a polarizing portrayal.
Some viewers felt it made her look cold. Others saw a woman bound by a "stiff upper lip" protocol that had become a cage. But what really happened in those frantic, muddy days in Wales?
The Delay That Defined a Reign
One of the biggest talking points in The Crown Season 3 Episode 3 is the Queen’s eight-day delay in visiting the site. In the episode, Harold Wilson, the Prime Minister, practically begs her to go. She refuses. She argues that her presence would be a distraction to the recovery efforts.
"I will not go," she says in the script. It’s blunt. It’s harsh.
Historically, this is accurate. While Prince Philip and Lord Mountbatten went almost immediately, Elizabeth stayed behind in London. She finally arrived on day nine, just after the last bodies had been recovered. Those who were there say the atmosphere changed when she arrived, but the delay had already sparked a quiet resentment in the press. Sir William Heseltine, who worked in the royal press office at the time, later admitted in the documentary Elizabeth: Our Queen that the delay was a significant mistake. He noted that she was a "late convert" to the idea that her presence could actually offer comfort rather than just logistical chaos.
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Why The Crown Season 3 Episode 3 Feels So Different
Most episodes of this series are about high-stakes politics or royal scandals. This one is different. It’s quiet. It’s loud. It’s muddy. The cinematography shifts to a desaturated, bleak palette that mirrors the coal dust covering everything.
The episode spends a lot of time on the children before the slide happens. We see them practicing "All Things Bright and Beautiful" for their school assembly. It’s a gut-punch. Peter Morgan, the show’s creator, used this to highlight the innocence lost. But he also used it to highlight the government's negligence. The National Coal Board (NCB) knew that Tip 7 was unstable. They knew it was built over a natural spring. They just didn't do anything about it.
The show portrays Lord Robens, the head of the NCB, as a bit of a villain. Truthfully, he was. He didn't even go to Aberfan immediately; he went to his inauguration as Chancellor of the University of Surrey instead. When he finally arrived, he claimed the disaster was caused by "natural unknown springs," despite warnings from the locals for years. It was a cover-up in plain sight.
The "Crying" Controversy
In a pivotal scene of The Crown Season 3 Episode 3, the Queen dabs her eye with a handkerchief after meeting survivors. Later, she confesses to Wilson that she was "faking" it. She describes herself as "deficient" in some way because she couldn't produce real tears.
This is where the show takes its biggest creative liberty.
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We don't actually know if the Queen cried in private. However, witnesses in Aberfan that day say she was visibly moved. Her face was "strained" and "drawn." Whether a literal tear rolled down her cheek is almost irrelevant compared to the fact that she returned to Aberfan more than any other member of the Royal Family. She visited four more times throughout her life. The bond she formed with the "Mothers of Aberfan" was genuine.
It’s also worth noting that the 1960s was an era where the Monarch was expected to be a pillar, not a mourner. Showing emotion was seen as a sign of weakness, or worse, a breach of the "mystique" of the Crown. By showing her struggle with this, the episode humanizes a woman who was often treated as a statue.
The Science of the Slide
To understand why the rescue was so difficult—something the episode portrays with harrowing detail—you have to understand the material. This wasn't just dirt. It was "thixotropic" slurry.
When coal waste gets saturated with water, it behaves like a liquid. But as soon as it stops moving, it solidifies like concrete. This is why the villagers in the episode are seen digging with their bare hands. Buldozers couldn't get in without risking crushing the very air pockets where children might be trapped. The silence that falls over the village when the rescuers listen for survivors is one of the most haunting sequences in TV history. It actually happened. Every few minutes, a whistle would blow, and hundreds of people would go dead silent, hoping to hear a cry from under the black muck.
Historical Realism vs. Scripted Drama
While the episode hits the emotional beats perfectly, it skips over some of the political fallout. The NCB eventually used money from the Disaster Fund—money donated by the public for the survivors—to pay for the removal of the remaining tips. It was a scandal. The government didn't return that money until 1997.
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In the show, the focus stays tight on the Queen’s internal journey. This makes for great TV, but it slightly misses the broader anger of the Welsh people toward the "Establishment" in London. The disaster fueled a rise in Welsh nationalism because the people felt their lives were viewed as expendable by the coal-hungry British economy.
Key Details You Might Have Missed:
- The Song: The hymn "All Things Bright and Beautiful" was actually sung by the children that morning.
- The Clock: The school clock stopped at 9:13 AM, the exact moment the slide hit.
- The Warning: A local councillor had written a letter months prior stating, "I am very apprehensive that the movement could jeopardize the safety of the school."
- The Red Box: The episode shows the Queen working on her red boxes while the tragedy unfolds, emphasizing the "business as usual" mindset that she later regretted.
Why This Episode Matters Today
Decades later, The Crown Season 3 Episode 3 remains the highest-rated episode of the season for a reason. It deals with corporate negligence, government incompetence, and the heavy burden of public expectation. It reminds us that "duty" is a double-edged sword.
The Queen’s regret over Aberfan stayed with her until her death in 2022. It taught her a lesson about the power of "showing up." In later years, she was much faster to respond to national tragedies, likely because the ghosts of 1966 were always in the back of her mind.
If you are looking to understand the real history after watching, your next steps are clear. You should look into the Aberfan Disaster Fund controversy, which is a rabbit hole of government greed. You can also read the "Davies Report," which was the official inquiry into the disaster. It’s a dry read, but it confirms every bit of the negligence hinted at in the show. Finally, if you ever find yourself in South Wales, the Aberfan Memorial Garden stands on the site of the old school. It is a quiet, beautiful place that ensures those 116 children are never forgotten.
The episode isn't just a story about a Queen. It's a story about a village that was broken by the very industry that fed it, and a woman who had to learn how to be a human being before she could be a leader.