Prince Harry Admits ‘The Crown’ Does ‘Give You a Rough Idea’ About the Pressures of Royal Life
“The Crown” came under fire by members close to the British royal family last November following the fourth season premiere of the drama series on Netflix. Royal biographer Penny Junor told The Times of London the series was “the most cruel and unfair and horrible portrayal” of the Royal family. But in a new interview with James Corden on “The Late Late Show,” Prince Harry admitted “The Crown” is mostly accurate when it comes to depicting the lifestyle pressures that come with being a British royal. Harry stressed “The Crown” is a fictional piece of work, and he commended the Netflix program for not acting like it’s fact-based news.
“They don’t pretend to be news. It’s fictional — but it’s loosely based on the truth. Of course it’s not strictly accurate, of course,” Prince Harry said. “But loosely, it gives you a rough idea about what that lifestyle — what the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else — what can come from that.”
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Prince Harry continued, “I’m way more comfortable with ‘The Crown’ than I am seeing the stories written about my family or my wife or myself. Because that is the difference between what is obviously fiction, take it how you will, but this has been reported on as fact because you are supposedly news. I have a real issue with that.”
Shortly after the “The Crown” debuted its fourth season, U.K. Cultural Secretary Oliver Dowden urged Netflix to add a disclaimer to episodes notifying viewers the events depicted in the series are a dramatization of history. “It’s a beautifully produced work of fiction, so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that,” he said, noting that without a disclaimer he fears “a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact.”
“The Crown” cast member Helena Bonham Carter agreed, saying on an official podcast for the series, “It is dramatized. I do feel very strongly, because I think we have a moral responsibility to say, ‘Hang on guys, this is not…it’s not a drama-doc, we’re making a drama.’ So they are two different entities.”
“The Crown” is now streaming on Netflix.
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