The Crown Season 5 Update: Following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the inauguration of King Charles III, The Crown is set to return under what is possibly the highest amount of criticism yet directed at the show’s historical authenticity.
The forthcoming season’s portrayal of former British Prime Minister John Major, Jonny Lee Miller, has been criticized for being “damaging and vicious fiction” and a “barrel-load of rubbish.” His remarks were in reaction to reports in the British media that season five implied Prince Charles aspired to succeed his mother as king and sought Major’s backing.
Judi Dench has also chimed in, writing to The Times of London in a letter that the rumored Prince Charles-Queen Elizabeth plot is “both cruelly unjust to the individuals and damaging to the institution they represent” and requesting that Netflix add more explicit disclaimers to the fictionalized drama.
The Crown has always been marketed as a drama based on historical events, therefore Netflix took the rare step of making a statement defending the show earlier this week.
The Crown Season 5: Every Update
The fifth series is a fictitious dramatization that speculates on what could have transpired behind closed doors during a crucial decade for the royal family that has previously been closely examined and extensively recorded by journalists, biographers, and historians.
Princess Diana tragically passed away in a vehicle accident in Paris while being pursued by paparazzi. The media’s long-term, unrelenting infatuation with Diana has been acknowledged as a contributing factor to her death.
Years of tabloid coverage were devoted to the Princess’ courtship, marriage, and later divorce from the (at the time) Prince Charles. Her choice to quit the Royal Family and her connection with Dodi Fayed, who also perished in the collision, is still hotly debated topics.
The Crown, a Peter Morgan production that spans several decades and centers on Queen Elizabeth II, follows the lives of the British Royal Family members. The plot includes several well-known historical individuals, including John Lithgow’s Winston Churchill, Jared Harris’ King George VI, Gillian Anderson’s Margaret Thatcher, Michael C. Hall’s John F. Kennedy, and many more. Claire Foy and Olivia Colman previously portrayed Queen Elizabeth II in the series.
The Queen will be portrayed in the last two seasons of the show by Imelda Staunton, who steps into the position. Lesley Manville portrays Princess Margaret in Season 5, along with Claudia Harrison portraying Princess Anne, Jonny Lee Miller portraying John Major, Salim Daw portraying Mohamed Al Fayed, and Khalid Abdalla as Dodi Fayed.
The four years between Charles and Diana’s separation in 1992 and their formal divorce in 1996 were chaotic. Diana’s infamous retaliation outfit, which she wore to a Vanity Fair-hosted party at the Serpentine Gallery in June 1994, perfectly encapsulates the “War of the Waleses” that dominated tabloid headlines for half a decade.
She had first declined the invitation, but she changed her mind two days before the event when she realized it would take place on the same night as a documentary about Charles in which he acknowledged having an affair with Camilla.
