Why A Royal Insider Believes Season 5 Of The Crown Would Have 'Destroyed' Queen Elizabeth
In the years leading up to the heartbreaking death of Queen Elizabeth II, the long-reigning monarch was under a significant amount of stress thanks to several highly-publicized scandals. According to royal author Katie Nicholl, the late queen was "very hurt" by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to leave the family. In her book, "The New Royals" (via Vanity Fair), Nicholl claimed a source informed her that the queen "was exhausted by the turmoil" of it all.
After a while, the queen acknowledged, "I don't want to think about it anymore" because Megxit was taking such a toll on her. Likewise, she hated not being able to see her beloved grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet, because the Duke and Duchess of Sussex lived so far away. As royal historian Robert Hardman told People, "It would have been one of her dearest wishes that [the family] patch things up," since she "adored Harry right to the end, and Harry adored her."
Elsewhere, Prince Andrew's sex abuse scandal hurt the queen's reputation after she refused to abandon him, which can't have been easy for her to deal with either. And now, "The Crown" Season 5 is set to tackle one of the most fraught periods in the history of the royal family. Unsurprisingly, Queen Elizabeth probably wouldn't have supported it.
Queen Elizabeth wouldn't have wanted to relive such difficult times
The queen likely wouldn't have appreciated seeing one of the most tumultuous periods in her family's history splashed across the screen in "The Crown." A friend of the royals spoke to The Sunday Times, sharing, "I'm horrified by what is going on with Netflix and how they are vilifying the royal family. It is vicious. It's as if they're trying to destroy the royal family." When questioned about how the queen would've felt about Season 5 in particular, the insider confirmed, "It would have destroyed her."
Netflix finally added an important disclaimer to "The Crown" late last week, clarifying that it's a "fictional dramatization" and is only "inspired by real events," following intense pressure from royal watchers and even Dame Judi Dench herself. The esteemed actor wrote an open letter to The Times, demanding clarity on the depiction of events that didn't happen that long ago. Variety reported that a trailer for the upcoming season notes it's not a historically accurate retelling of the family's history.
Per the official logline, the show is "Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatization tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign." Regardless, this disclaimer wouldn't have made much of a difference to the subject in question.
The Crown has been criticized for its approach to certain events
The backlash to Season 5 of "The Crown" has been swift. Former Prime Minister Sir John Major brandished it a "barrel-load of malicious nonsense," per The Irish Mirror, following reports about a storyline involving King Charles and a plot to force his mother to abdicate the throne much earlier than she wanted to. The first episode shows the two men meeting to discuss the particulars of their dastardly plan, while there have also been rumors about scenes involving Major speaking negatively about the royals.
A spokesman confirmed simply: "Sir John has not cooperated — in any way — with 'The Crown.' Nor has he ever been approached by them to fact-check any script material." He added, "Discussions between the monarch and Prime Minister are private and — for Sir John — will always remain so." Season 5 follows The Firm throughout the '90s, as Princess Diana and Charles' marriage falls apart, among other things.
A damning report in Deadline highlighted growing tensions behind the scenes over the treatment of the beloved royal's death. Even though Diana won't be shown literally perishing onscreen, her untimely demise will be covered regardless, leading to concerns over sensitivity. For once, the queen probably would've agreed.