by Elena Donatone
Although the brand-new season of The Crown has already been praised by both fans and critics, reliable sources claim the Palace is even less happy about this series than the last ones.
This is because Season 4 focuses on a dark and sensitive chapter of the Royals’ history, the infamously unhappy marriage of Prince Charles and the much beloved Lady Diana.
Close friends of Prince Charles have affirmed “fiction is presented as facts” and have accused the writer Peter Morgan of tampering with real people’s stories and painful experiences for financial gain.
Prince Charles is painted in a bad light by a script that focuses on his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, and his mistreatment of Diana.
Royal experts have stated that Prince William and his brother Harry “will undoubtedly detest” the new season, also because of the way that its depiction of their father will damage both his reputation and the future of the monarchy.
Prince Harry, who with his wife Meghan has signed a Netflix deal to produce a wide range on content, is being attacked and asked to pull out of the deal.
But does The Crown really deserve this Royal backlash?
As a fan I’d like to remind everyone that this not a documentary – and should not be taken so seriously. Over the years Peter Morgan has constantly reminded viewers that The Crown is a dramatised version of heavily-edited reality that aims to explore themes rather than present documentary fact.
The Royals are also public figures and must be used to having things imagined about them by now. I can’t see The Crown affecting their reputations at all. People who weren’t fans of the Royals will take what they want from it and continue to dislike them, and those who admired them will not change their minds because of a Netflix show.
Furthermore, given how much Lady Diana was loved here and abroad, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that The Crown centres around her struggles as a Royal outsider.
It’s no secret that the Diana was made unhappy by the Royal family, and so even if some of the detail is wrong, surely it is right to acknowledge that.
Yes Prince Charles comes off as “the villain”, but if you liked him before the show you will just say the show has got it wrong. And if you didn’t like him, then you’ll like the show even more!
Overall, I think season 4 of The Crown is beautifully produced and intelligently written, and should be judged not on its attention to historical detail, but on its great story telling.
