The final instalment of Netflix’s hero royal drama The Crown has finally arrived and it’s likely to ruffle some swan feathers. Where the first part of the series, released in November, depicted just eight weeks of history (Princess Diana’s whirlwind romance with Dodi Fayed and the lead up to her tragic death), part two examines the young princes in the aftermath of losing their mother.

In the series, as Princes William and Harry mourn their mother, the family say goodbye to two more of their own (Princess Margaret in 2002 and the Queen Mother later that same year), and the Queen deals with growing discontent toward the monarchy. In need of support, the family members turn to each other. Prince William, in particular, appears to benefit from his close relationship with his grandparents (spoilers below).

His character, played by Ed McVey, is comforted by his grandfather, Prince Philip, after William has an explosive row with Prince Charles. The imagined argument sees William blame his father for Princess Diana’s death. During the series, William also enjoys quality one on one time with his grandmother, the Queen.

Indeed, one of the most stirring moments from the series sees Prince William race to be with the Queen for her balcony appearance during her Golden Jubilee, an emotionally-charged moment for the monarch in the series, who fears she could be booed when the palace doors open.

Below, we fact check a few of the show’s major moments and delve into the truth behind Prince William’s touching relationship with his grandmother.

Did the Queen ask Prince William to join her on the balcony?

The fate of the royal family hangs in the balance in the penultimate episode of The Crown. Or, at least, the Queen appears to think it does. Fearful of the response she’ll receive at her Golden Jubilee (if indeed anyone turns up – she also worries nobody will bother to show), the Queen initially wants William to get stuck in with the celebrations, hoping his youth and charisma will help to win people over.

But she soon changes her mind, instead giving William a pass to skip most of the Jubilee, when she learns everything is getting to be too much for her shy, young grandson. The Queen’s thoughtfulness – in face of her own apprehension – makes it all the sweeter when William has a last-minute change of heart and dashes to be by her side for the balcony appearance, keen to support his beloved gran.

While we might never know if the behind-the-scenes conversations depicted in the show happened IRL, we do know William’s balcony appearance was just as popular as it appears to be in the series.

As it turns out, the Queen need not have worried. In the drama, just as in real life, she is greeted by cheering fans. She was right about William, however, who is greeted with shows and cheers from the crowd when he, Harry, and other family members emerge onto the balcony.

There are heaps of IRL videos (including fan edits on TikTok) of the very moment depicted in the show, when William’s appearance is met with deafening screams. Footage from Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002 capture some sense of the scale of ‘Willsmania’, or the mania that surrounded the young Prince wherever he went as a teenager.

How close were the Queen and Prince William?

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By all accounts, the Queen enjoyed a close relationship with her grandson, Prince William. Their tight-knit bond is referenced in The Crown, both through the balcony scene and William’s visits to see his gran – visits we know happened in real life.

The pair will have also spent lots of time together during the holidays, including summertime visits to Balmoral Castle and Christmas vacations spent at Sandringham.

One Christmas the Queen even gifted the young Prince an advent calendar, complete with a handwritten note ‘from Granny’.

Later, when Princess Diana tragically died in 1997, while the young Princes were in Scotland with the royal family, the Queen famously stayed with the boys instead of immediately returning to London.

Her decision was judged to be a mistake by several royal commentators, either at the time or in retrospect, though Princess Anne said it was the right thing to do to keep the boys in Scotland with “people around them who could understand, give them the time, little time that they had, which was never going to be very much, to try and come — even in a fleeting sense — to terms with what had happened.”

In the years that followed, a grown-up Prince William, and later his own family, continued to enjoy a strong relationship with his grandmother, whose lifelong guidance he said he cherished, when speaking after her death.

How did Prince William pay tribute to the Queen after her death?

In a touching statement shared after news broke of Queen Elizabeth II’s death, Prince William said: “While I will grieve her loss, I also feel incredibly grateful. I have had the benefit of The Queen’s wisdom and reassurance into my fifth decade. My wife has had twenty years of her guidance and support. My three children have got to spend holidays with her and create memories that will last their whole lives.

“She was by my side at my happiest moments. And she was by my side during the saddest days of my life. I knew this day would come, but it will be some time before the reality of life without Grannie will truly feel real.

“I thank her for the kindness she showed my family and me. And I thank her on behalf of my generation for providing an example of service and dignity in public life that was from a different age, but always relevant to us all.”