The Crown star Sir Jonathan Pryce has been left “bitterly disappointed” by “fellow artistes” for hitting out at the show.
The actor is set to take over the role of Prince Philip in the forthcoming fifth series of Netflix’s royal drama, which he says has “an enhanced sensitivity” around it due to the Queen’s death last month.
He was reacting to recent discourse around The Crown, including comments made by Dame Judi Dench, who accused it of being “cruelly unjust” to the Royal Family.
Speaking to Deadline, Jonathan – who was knighted in 2021 for his services to drama – said: “The vast majority of people know it’s a drama. They’ve been watching it for four seasons.”
The show was also branded “a barrel-load of malicious nonsense” by former UK prime minister Sir John Major, who will be fictionalised and played by Jonny Lee Miller in the new season.
Jonathan said he could understand Major “voicing his disquiet” about the
series, “because he was there”, but added: “I’m hugely disappointed by my fellow artistes.”
Earlier this month, Dame Judi criticised The Crown in an open letter, saying: “The closer the drama comes to our present times, the more freely it seems willing to blur the lines between historical accuracy and crude sensationalism … no one is a greater believer in artistic freedom than I, but this cannot go unchallenged.
“The programme makers have resisted all calls for them to carry a
disclaimer at the start of each episode.
“The time has come for Netflix to reconsider – for the sake of a family and a nation so recently bereaved, as a mark of respect to a sovereign who served her people so dutifully for 70 years, and to preserve their own reputation in the eyes of their British subscribers.“
Following her comments, Netflix added a disclaimer to a trailer for the fifth season of The Crown, stating the show is fiction.
The description reads: “Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatisation tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign.”
Lesley Manville, who plays Princess Margaret in season five, has also defended The Crown, insisting the Queen’s death has ”heightened” any hostility towards the show.
She said: “There is, and for my part as well, a great deal of compassion towards the queen, and depths of feeling that she is no longer with us. That has certainly heightened it all.”
Imelda Staunton takes over from Olivia Colman as the Queen in the forthcoming fifth series of The Crown, which lands on Netflix on 9 November.