The Crown to look at Duke’s dealings with the Nazi Party

SO FAR The Crown has taken no prisoners when it comes to depicting the secret life of the Royals, from the blazing arguments between the newlywed Queen and Prince Philip to the love life of Princess Margaret.

Next series, it is to go one step further: exploring the relationship between the Windsors and the Nazis.

The Netflix drama will dedicate a future episode to Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor, and his dealings with the Nazis, in scenes set after he abdicated to live in exile.

Robert Lacey, historian and author of the show’s companion book, said the second series would embrace the difficult topic, exploring the “subtle points” of European politics and royalty.

The Duke’s memory has long been tainted by his association with Nazis, with him photographed making a salute.

Earlier this year, National Archive papers revealed details of how Sir Winston Churchill attempted to suppress secret Second World War documents detailing a Nazi plot to offer the throne to the Duke of Windsor in the event of Britain’s defeat.

Speaking at Cheltenham Literature Festival, Lacey said he had heard criticism of the first series of The Crown for its portrayal of Edward VIII.

The portrayal of the Duke in the next series, a panel said, had attempted to be as accurate as possible, taking influence from his own letters despite problems with copyright.

Annie Sulzberger, researcher for The Crown, disclosed that while scriptwriters had tried to make dialogue as close to the real thing as possible, the words of the Duke and Sir Winston Churchill had to be adapted extremely carefully so as not to fall foul of their estates.

The Churchill Estate did not respond to a request for comment. The book is out now, with the new series out in De

cember.