The Crown’s ‘sinister’ portrayal of Royals is ‘highly sophisticated propaganda’, says friend of Charles
NETFLIX'S "sinister" portrayal of the Royal family in The Crown is "highly sophisticated propaganda", a friend of Charles has said.
It comes amid concerns fictional scenes written by the show's creator Peter Morgan are doing damage to the monarchy because viewers believe them to be true.
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, a friend of Prince Charles is reported to have said: "It is quite sinister the way that Morgan is clearly using light entertainment to drive a very overt republican agenda and people just don’t see it.
"They have been lured in over the first few series until they can’t see how they are being manipulated.
"It is highly sophisticated propaganda."
The fourth series of The Crown, which was released earlier this month, portrays Princess Diana's eating disorder and Prince Charles' affair with the then Camilla Parker Bowles.
As her marriage to the heir to the throne crumbles, Diana, played by Emma Corrin, 24, is seen violently vomiting into a toilet on multiple occasions.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has demanded Netflix make clear that The Crown is "fiction" and is said to be writing to the production.
Speaking to the he said: "It's a beautifully produced work of fiction so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that.
"Without this, I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact."
Mr Dowden is expected to write to the streaming service to request that it adds what others have called a "health warning" to the start of each of the ten episodes.
Meanwhile, two Royal Navy commanders who fought in the Falklands War accused the show of "offensively misrepresenting" the Queen's attitude toward the 1982 campaign.
'FANCIFUL AND OFFENSIVE'
Their fury has risen from a fictional scene in which the Queen, played by Olivia Colman, appears to be unaware of the victory parade to mark the end of the war.
Last night Admiral Lord West said: "The depiction of the Queen in relation to the Falklands War is absolute rubbish.
"Any suggestion the Queen would have required the Prime Minister or anyone else to remind her a victory parade was taking place is fanciful and offensive.
"The Crown has reduced an important chapter in British military history to cheap soap-opera fodder.
"I dread to think anyone would take this portrayal of the Queen seriously."
'DISHONEST AND EXPLOITATIVE'
Rear Admiral Parry also revealed multiple factual inaccuracies in the scenes surrounding the war.
He told the Mail on Sunday: "Prince Andrew wasn't qualified to fly the Wessex rescue helicopter used in The Crown. And his uniform and equipment are wrong.
"But these errors pale into insignificance when compared to the depiction of Her Majesty, which is disgracefully dishonest and exploitative.
"The Queen was fully engaged with all matters regarding the Falklands campaign.
"It was also understood and accepted by the Royal Family that Mrs Thatcher would attend the parade because the campaign was her victory and she had provided such remarkable political leadership.
"Viewers should be told The Crown is heavily dramatised. Yet presently there is no such disclaimer before each episode."
'TROLLING ON A HOLLYWOOD BUDGET'
Friends of Charles slammed the series ahead of its airing, noting that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex recently signed a £75million contract with the streaming giant.
The pair quit as senior royals earlier this year and "shopped themselves around" for a big money TV deal before settling on Netflix, the firm's boss Reed Hastings revealed.
One insider : "There are raised eyebrows about Harry taking millions from the company that’s behind all this.
"After all where do much of Netflix’s profits come from? The Crown."
And another accused the streaming heavyweight of "trolling on a Hollywood budget".
They said: "The Duke of Cambridge is none too pleased with it. He feels that both his parents are being exploited and being presented in a false, simplistic way to make money.
"In this case, it’s dragging up things that happened during very difficult times 25 or 30 years ago without a thought for anyone’s feelings.
";That isn’t right or fair, particularly when so many of the things being depicted don’t represent the truth.
"The new series paints the Prince and Duchess in a very unflattering light but at least at the start of reality shows like The Only Way Is Essex they admit that some scenes have been invented for entertainment."
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The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are thought to also have been unhappy with the previous series of the hit show.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
In the second series, Prince Philip was depicted as having an affair, while in the third he was seen ignoring his elderly mother while she was living at Buckingham Palace - both of which are said to be untrue.
And in this series, Philip is seen threatening Princess Diana when she wants to leave Charles, which some have said is a reference to unproven conspiracy theories about her death.