Princess Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, has explained why he isn’t a big fan of The Crown.
The latest series of the huge Netflix hit drama charts the royal family’s lives between 1977 and 1990, including Diana’s marriage to Prince Charles.
The fourth season features scenes dramatising the royal couple’s marriage as well as their extra-marital affairs and Diana’s bulimia.
Although many of the plot lines are based in fact, some royal commentators have been quick to deride the series for its portrayal of some of these events – despite writer and creator Peter Morgan’s repeated defence of his right to creative freedom.
It’s an issue that also bothers the Earl who believes that some people will believe everything they see in the show.
Speaking to Alan Titchmarsh on Love Your Weekend, he said: “The worry for me is that people see a programme like that and they forget that it is fiction.
“They assume. Especially foreigners – I find Americans tell me they watch The Crown as if they’ve taken a history lesson. Well, they haven’t.”
He added: “It is very hard. There is a lot of conjecture and a lot of invention, isn’t there? You can hang it on fact but the bits in between are not fact.”
He also revealed he turned down producers’ request to film at the Spencer family home.
Emma Corrin, who plays Diana, has spoken out about claims that the real-life royal family are unimpressed with the events depicted in the Netflix drama.
“It’s a difficult one,” she told Tamron Hall’s US talk show. “I think for everyone in the The Crown, we always try and remind everyone that the series we are in is fictionalised, to a great extent.
“Obviously it has its roots in reality and in some fact, but Peter Morgan’s scripts are works of fiction.”
Emma continued: “At the same time, I understand why people would be upset, because this is history… and even with Diana, you know, it’s still very much fresh, I suppose, everything that happened. So I do really understand if people would be upset.
“But obviously, for all of the cast, we just want to constantly remind people that we approach these people that we play as characters, which is why it’s such a joyous job, because Peter writes such rich and complex characters, and as an actor it’s such a joy to be able to really bring a lot to them.”