‘The Crown’ Season 5 Will Be ‘Damaging’ for King Charles and the Royal Family Says Expert
The Crown Season 5 already has people talking about some of the topics that will be covered. One royal expert says the upcoming season will be “damaging” for King Charles and the rest of the royal family.
The new season of ‘The Crown’ will be ‘damaging’ for the royal family says expert
Daily Mirror royal editor Russell Myers and Heat magazine’s Lucie Cave got a preview of The Crown Season 5. Cave tells host Lorraine Kelly that she “really loved” the latest installment of the series. She says the series picks up with the royal family’s life in the 1990s. According to Cave, this was one of the most difficult times in their life.
During this period, Charles and Diana’s divorce is re-enacted as well as Charles’ affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. Cave notes that The Crown goes into “great detail” when it comes to the affair.
Myers says The Crown Season 5 has the potential to be damaging for the royal family. He says some people feel so strongly about the show’s content and how the characters are portrayed that they’re calling for a disclaimer at the beginning of the episodes. Some want to make sure viewers are aware that some parts of the series are fictional.
“I do think it is quite damaging, really,” says Myers. “Because the king is riding the crest of a wave of public popularity. Everybody thought that he carried himself with such gusto and led the nation in our mourning for the late queen. You’re just talking about the semantics of the ‘90s, so much separates fact from fiction, and that is unfortunately what we’re all talking about. A lot of people are saying that Netflix should come with this warning at the start of it. It isn’t a documentary.”
Myers says a lot of people are getting their firsthand knowledge about the royal family from The Crown. This could create a situation where the public spreads misinformation about the family based on what they saw on a TV show.
King Charles and Camilla’s relationship
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The experts agree that season 5 could be problematic because there is a new generation of people who are just now learning some of the royal family’s history. They are likely not familiar with their life stories and are relying on The Crown to fill in the gaps.
One relationship that will be in the spotlight is the affair between King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort. Kelly says The Crown goes into “toe curling detail” about Charles and Camilla’s relationship. Cave says one royal scandal the series mentions is tampongate, which she describes as “a very intimate call between Charles and Camilla.” Cave says the actors play the scene very well because it causes one to “cringe as you watch it.” Myers agrees that it’s “a very uncomfortable scene for King Charles and the royal family.”
The scene one royal expert finds ‘problematic’
Myers says another scene that could be “problematic” is the fictional situation depicting King Charles (then Prince Charles) plotting to oust the queen. “The scene which I think is quite problematic for Charles is this sort of treasonous aspect of him plotting with John Major, the former prime minister, essentially to oust the queen. John Majors has come out and said that this did not happen.”
Myers agrees that the show could cause confusion. Says Myers, “If you’re blurring the lines, where does it stop?” says Myers. “The only people that come off well are Netflix.”
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