‘The Crown’ Season 5: Prince Philip Really Did Advance DNA Testing
The Crown is one of the hottest shows on Netflix. With the fifth season new to the streaming platform, more fans than ever are diving deep into the historical drama. The show uses a backdrop of reality, telling the story of the royal family and their trials and tribulations. But it’s been known to take some liberties from time to time. However, when it came to one specific storyline in The Crown Season 5, one involving Prince Philip providing his DNA to help identify some tragically murdered family members, writers kept things pretty factual.
‘The Crown’ Season 5 is streaming on Netflix
The fifth season of The Crown highlights some difficult times in the lives and fortunes of the royal family. Set primarily during the mid-90s, the season tackles the growing marital problems of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. It culminates in their contentious divorce and Princess Diana’s bombshell television interview. The season also deals with the relationship between Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, including what happens when he seeks to console his godson’s wife after a family tragedy.
One episode of The Crown Season 5 invites viewers to examine the murders of the Romanov family in 1918. The queen and her husband are brought on the mission of identifying the deceased family’s remains.
Prince Philip is involved in one crucial storyline in ‘The Crown’
In The Crown, viewers watch as the then-unidentified bodies of the Romanovs are discovered in 1991. Since Prince Philip shared a family connection to the Romanovs through Queen Victoria, according to a video on the MsMojo YouTube channel, he was invited to provide a DNA sample in order to help identify the family. In real life, as well as in the show, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip traveled to Russia as guests of Russian President Boris Yeltsin. There Prince Philip dove deeper into his family connection to the Romanovs and learned about his own history as well.
Did Prince Philip really help advance DNA testing?
Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction — and this is one case where the reality of the situation might shock fans. Prince Philip did indeed contribute his DNA to the hunt for the Romanovs. And the sample that he provided ultimately helped to identify the family. According to PopSugar, his DNA was compared to that of the remains as well as other family members. This allowed researchers to confirm that the bodies were indeed that of the murdered Romanovs — the Czar, his wife, their four daughters, and their young son.
In the mid-90s, the science behind DNA testing was very new. Prince Philip’s contribution to the investigation helped to advance the cause of DNA testing. It lended more credence to the practice and raised awareness of DNA testing as a viable way of solving true crime cases and resolving cold cases. Still, the mystery of the Romanovs would continue long after Prince Philip’s DNA was matched to the remains.
Over the years, many have speculated that one of the bodies is still missing. They believe one of the Romanov daughters managed to escape the slaughter in 1918. While scientists dispute that anyone could have survived the carnage, according to The Sun, that hasn’t stopped those with a mind for romance from speculating about the possibility of the Grand Duchess Anastasia somehow surviving the events that killed her entire family.
