Prince Charles' Opinion On His Portrayal In The Crown Is Finally Revealed

Millions of loyal viewers are eagerly awaiting the new season of "The Crown," the award-winning Netflix drama centered around the British royal family. The first four seasons chronicled Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, the early years of her marriage, her relationship with Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher, and her challenges as a wife, sister, and mother (via IMDb). The show's creator, Peter Morgan, announced in July 2022 that the show would be extended to include a sixth season in addition to the previously planned Season 5 (via Town & Country). It's believed that the final two seasons will take the royal family into the early 2000s — early enough to cover Princess Diana's tragic death and Prince Charles's marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles. 

The royal family knows that being portrayed in the media is one of the pitfalls of their fame, and for the most part, they keep their opinions to themselves when it comes to fictional programming. There are exceptions, however. Princess Diana famously said in an interview that she loved the satirical series "Spitting Image," though her in-laws "hated" it (via Express). More recently, the famed royal biographer, Sally Bedell Smith, claimed that Prince Philip was devastated by the "shockingly malicious" portrayal of his relationship with his father in "The Crown," per Page Six. 

Now, an unexpected source has let slip a tantalizing insight into Prince Charles's opinion of the Netflix hit.

The British tabloid Daily Mail has been covering the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, one of the largest cultural and arts celebrations in the world. While speaking at the event, the senior Scottish politician, Anas Sarwar, disclosed a tidbit about Prince Charles' opinion of Netflix's "The Crown." 

Sarwar recounted how the Prince of Wales had attended the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 2021. While attending a pre-opening event, he claimed that Charles approached a group of Parliament members and said, "'Hello, nice to meet you all. I'm nowhere near how they portray me on Netflix.'" Sarwar said that it seemed like a "really interesting way" for the prince to strike up a conversation, adding, "I'm going to get into so much trouble for this, because I don't think you are meant to tell private conversations!"

Although actor Josh O'Connor won an Emmy in 2021 for his portrayal of Prince Charles, some critics have slammed "The Crown" for leaving out factual details and for its characterizations. Charles is shown as a weak, petulant young man forced into a loveless marriage. One expert told Vanity Fair, "They always liked to portray him as a kind of wimp. This time [in Season 4], though, he's not only portrayed as a wimp, but also as a very angry, unpleasant person yelling at his wife."

So, it seems that the prince himself agrees with the media, for once.