The Crown is tarnished
THERE is a problem with the Netflix series The Crown blurring fact and fiction, namely that many of those featured are alive, and most of us recall the story. It is quite incredible that the King is portrayed as devious and uncaring and plotting with the thenPrime Minister Sir John Major behind his mother’s back, to try to force her to abdicate. Sir John has rubbished these claims as “a barrel load of malicious nonsense”. He should know. Jonathan Dimbleby has described it as “nonsense on stilts”. Dame Judi Dench damned it as “sensationalism”, adding that the series is “cruelly unjust to the individuals”.
Netflix has now, grudgingly, added a disclaimer to the trailer saying it is fictional dramatisation inspired by real events. The Queen’s former press secretary, Dickie Arbiter, has described as “distasteful rubbish” nonsense about Prince Philip’s affair with Countess Mountbatten. Ingrid Seward, author of royal biographies, has called this “exceedingly bad taste”.
Meanwhile, in the United States, the media report that Netflix may postpone or even boot into the long grass the Harry and Meghan fly-on-the-wall documentary. This may be because
Netflix is wary of being seen to have a vendetta against the British royal family or because some of his comments in his memoir, allegedly, contradict what he has said in the documentary (quelle surprise). It is all the more remarkable that Harry has been mute in criticising The Crown, given painful episodes in Princess Diana’s life are being exaggerated and his determination to protect the memory of his mother. He has had no such hesitation suing newspapers in the past. Of course, Netflix is his paymaster and that, evidently, trumps any sensitivities. John V Lloyd, Inverkeithing.