Get ready to fill in, Camilla tells Crown alter-ego
HER portrayal in The Crown is not exactly flattering. Fortunately, the Duchess of Cornwall is not one to hold a grudge.
The Duchess has called a Royal family truce with the Netflix drama, inviting her on-screen counterpart to a reception at her home and joking that the actress may have to step in to deliver her speech.
The Duchess, who is played by Emerald Fennell in recent series of The Crown, has become the first senior member of the family to warmly acknowledge the show during an event to celebrate female leaders.
During a reception for International Women’s Day, in which she hosted “ladies and one or two brave gentlemen” at Clarence House to celebrate progress and push for more, she included Fennell on the guest list.
Her speech encouraged women to “share their stories” to bring about a more equal world, and addressed the actress who plays the young Camilla Parker-bowles directly.
“It is reassuring to know that, if I should fall off my perch at any moment, my fictional alter-ego is here to take over,” the Duchess told an audience to laughter. “So, Emerald, be prepared!”
The invitation may prove a relief to makers of The Crown, who have traded off their insider knowledge of Royal family life but were increasingly rebuffed. After writer Peter Morgan said he had met members of the Royal household to discuss storylines, the Palace rejected claims of a royal endorsement, insisting the show was “fictionalised”.
“The Royal household has never agreed to vet or approve content, has not asked to know what topics will be included, and would never express a view as to the programme’s accuracy,” the Queen’s press secretary wrote.
Fennell, a writer and director who won an Oscar for her screenplay Promising Young Woman, said of the Duchess: “She is such an impressive person. It was fittingly nice to meet her today because she does so much for so many particularly female centred charities.
“I was nervous I might be thrown in the Tower but so far so good. She’s been in the spotlight for a long time and has always weathered it with humour and grace.”