The teen Queen Netflix chiefs hope will heal The Crown’s royal rift
THE Crown is set to soften its approach to the British royal family with a final series celebrating the life of the Queen.
In a series of flashbacks, teenage actress Viola Prettejohn will play the late monarch in her youth, including scenes portraying her wartime service.
The plot may help to mollify the royal family and its supporters, after Netflix sparked outrage in some quarters for storylines that deviate from the truth.
Sources say that 19-year-old Viola will get more airtime than initially intended because the streaming service wants the sixth series to become a ‘love-in’ to the Queen following her death on September 8.
The actress, who attended £30,000-a-year St Paul’s Girls’ School in West London, is filming scenes set in London around the end of the Second World War, when the then-princess Elizabeth was serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. One source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Netflix has come under so much scrutiny for not just avoiding the truth but also causing upset from retelling hurtful events such as Princess Diana’s funeral.
‘They always wanted to go back and show the Queen as a younger woman but now there will be more of it.
‘Producers know their older audience in particular enjoyed watching the early days of the Queen, so putting a bit more of that in and taking some of the nasty stuff out might make a big difference and allow the show to end on a high.
‘By having these flashback scenes, it is hoped that things will end in a much warmer tone, portraying happier times for the Queen.’