Buckingham Palace pushes back against The Crown showing Charles and Diana’s ‘all-out war’
Buckingham Palace has reportedly moved to protect the reputation of King Charles after Netflix released a short teaser of the new season of The Crown.
Season five begins on 9 November and the narrative will largely focus on the bitter divorce between King Charles and the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
A senior royal source has reportedly urged viewers to remember The Crown is a “drama not a documentary”.
The release of the new season coincides with King Charles’ first few months as King and will remind viewers of the darkest years of his life, when he was widely regarded as a villain in the saga of his marriage.
The season will depict the then Prince of Wales’ interview with Jonathan Dimbleby in which he admitted to being unfaithful to Diana with now-Queen Consort, Camilla Parker Bowles.
It will also dramatise Diana’s infamous Panorama interview, as well as Sir John Major’s premiership and Sir Tony Blair’s succession to prime minister.
The death of the Princess of Wales will not be shown until the sixth series.
A friend of the King has described the drama as “exploitative”, saying streaming giant Netflix has “no qualms about mangling people’s relationships”.
“What people forget is that there are real human beings and real lives at the heart of this,” they added.
Another royal source said that due to the King and Queen Consort’s prominence in their new roles, the public will find it easier to compare fiction and reality.
“You will see the King and the Queen Consort on state business in the UK and abroad and people will have more of an opportunity to compare the real people with the fiction they see in The Crown.
“In the past they didn’t get so much coverage, so in that sense it was harder for people to be able to compare and contrast the drama with the reality.”
In the teaser for the new season, we see Diana and Charles, played by Elizabeth Debicki and Dominic West, preparing for TV interviews, as reporters begin to comment on the state of affairs at the palace.
“Buckingham Palace is issuing this statement: It is with regret that the Prince and Princess of Wales have separated.”
“There is uproar in Britain after the Prince Charles bared his soul to the nation, but the Princess of Wales upstaged her husband.”
“…speaking about her broken marriage, her life and her future…”
The teaser finishes with a closeup of Charles and Diana’s eyes, alongside the statement: “This is becoming all-out war.”
Filming for season six, reportedly the final season of the drama, was halted for a single day as a mark of respect for the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
A spokesperson for Netflix has said production on season five was already complete before the Queen’s death, and no changes have been made to the series.
The late Queen will be portrayed by Imelda Staunton, who inherits the role from Olivia Coleman and Claire Foy. Prince Philip and Princess Margaret will be played by Jonathan Pryce and Lesley Manville, respectively.
