Buckingham Palace has moved to protect King Charles’ reputation from an “exploitative” Netflix dramatization of his acrimonious marriage and divorce to Princess Diana, and his affair with Queen Consort Camilla, in the fifth season of “The Crown “.
The popular royal drama will focus on the divorce of the then Prince and Princess of Wales in its final season, which will premiere on November 9. Over the weekend, a trailer released by “The Crown” showed Princess Diana, played by Elizabeth Debicki, and Prince Charles, played by Dominic West, preparing for television interviews about their relationship.
The release will come two months after the start of Charles’ reign, with Buckingham Palace preparing to protect the new monarch’s reputation, as a senior royal source stressed that the series is a “drama, not a documentary”.
A friend of the king said the famed platform “would have no qualms about trashing people’s reputations,” calling the show “exploitative.”
“What people forget is that there are real human beings and real lives at the center of this,” they told The Telegraph.
The latest clip includes a reporter calling the royal couple’s actions “total war” as their marriage deteriorated. The season has not been postponed following the death of Queen Elizabeth II and no changes have been made to its content in light of the events of this month.
The fifth series will span the 1990s, including the events of 1992, the late monarch’s annus horribilis, during which Prince Andrew and Prince Charles separated from their wives, the Princess Royal divorced her husband Mark Phillips, and part of Windsor Castle burned down.
It will begin with Sir John Major as Prime Minister and will end with the arrival of Tony Blair. During this time, Prince Charles admitted to Jonathan Dimbleby that he had committed adultery with then-Camilla Parker Bowles.
He also saw Princess Diana being interviewed by Martin Bashir for Panorama in an interview that has had years of repercussions. Princess Diana’s death, which took place in 1996, will not be covered until the sixth and final series.
The royal aides believe the couple will be better able to counter The Crown’s portrayal of themselves now that Charles is king. A source told The Telegraph that the royal couple’s elevated profile as King and Queen Consort means people around the world will have “more opportunities to compare real people to the fiction they see in The Crown”.
“In the past they didn’t have as much coverage, so in that sense it was more difficult for people to be able to compare and contrast the drama with reality,” they added.
Fans eagerly awaiting the return of “The Crown” got a sneak peek at season five on Saturday when a new trailer was released. The brief 37-second clip portrays when the news of the dramatic breakup of Diana and Carlos’ marriage and the ensuing family drama that took place under the spotlight is revealed to the public.
It was also revealed that the next installment will premiere on Netflix on Wednesday, November 9, where fans will see Imelda Staunton take on the role of Queen Elizabeth II for the first time.
The TV show rose to Netflix’s top 10 following the queen’s death, when it was watched 17.6 million hours. Filming was suspended for a day after the late monarch’s death, with cameras also remaining off on the day of the queen’s funeral.
In season five, Imelda Staunton will take on the role of the queen from Olivia Coleman and Claire Foy. Jonathan Pryce, 73, will play Prince Philip and Lesley Manville, 64, will play Princess Margaret.
ABC