‘The Crown’: How Accurate Is Netflix Series About the Royal Family? A Historical Consultant Shares the Truth
With less than one day left until The Crown season 5 debuts on Netflix, fans are excited to see how the series tackles the most troubling years of the House of Windsor. However, The Crown has taken some past liberties regarding the accuracy of the stories profiled. A historical consultant spoke out about the series and the truth regarding its accuracy.
‘The Crown’ season 5 highlights the story of the royal family in the early part of the 1990s
As The Crown season 5 unfolds, Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) approaches the 40th anniversary of her accession and reflects on her reign. However, she faces an uncertain future as the United Kingdom’s monarch.
Then-Prince Charles (Dominic West) pressures his mother to allow him to divorce Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki), throwing the monarchy into a tailspin. Diana breaks with family protocol to publish a book that undermines public support for Charles and exposes the cracks in the House of Windsor.
Also introduced this season is Mohamed Al Fayed (Salim Daw), whose introduction into the royal family ushers in perhaps one of the most heartbreaking moments to come in the life of Princess Diana and his son Dodi (Khalid Abdalla).
How accurate is ‘The Crown?’ A historical consultant shares the truth
In a story published by Town & Country, The Crown‘s historical consultant Robert Lacey admits, “there are two sorts of truth. There’s historical truth, and then there’s the larger truth about the past.” Lacey is the author of The Crown, The Official Companion, Volume 2.
However, the series loosely interprets actual events. Lacey claims “all the lives and loves and experiences and tears and smiles” are featured. However, the story becomes somewhat muddled as no one person is privy to what occurs in conversations between royal family members behind closed doors.
Incidentally, there is much truth to the dramatized version of the events depicted in The Crown.
“When history gets departed from, it’s not done casually. It’s done based on wanting to convey a particular message that can only be conveyed by invention,” Lacey concludes. And just because a scene or a bit of dialogue is invented doesn’t mean it doesn’t illustrate something true.”
When does ‘The Crown’ season 5 begin?
New episodes of The Crown will arrive on Netflix on Wednesday, November 9, at 3 a.m. EST. Subsequently, there will be 10 episodes for season 5, as there have been with other seasons.
Netflix put a disclaimer in the description of its YouTube trailer for the fifth series of The Crown, saying the production is a “fictional dramatization” and “inspired by real events.”
However, the royal family is reportedly displeased about how they are portrayed in the Netflix series. Speaking to the A.V. Club, Royal Author Tina Brown said the clan shut down filming using their influence when they could.
Basically, Brown says the royal family is “very unhappy about this season moving forward. Whenever they can, they stop The Crown filming in locations where they have an influence,” Brown continued.
