‘The Crown’ Under Fire For Alluding to Yet Another Prince Philip Affair In Season 5
The Crown is causing some serious controversy as season 5 premieres on Netflix. There’s already been pushback about the dramatization of the final days of Princess Diana. And now, the show is coming under fire for implying another Prince Philip affair.
‘The Crown’ implied that Prince Philip had an affair in season 2
Season 2 of The Crown dramatized royal history in the 1950s, during the early years of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign and her marriage. This version of the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh was played by Claire Foy and Matt Smith, and there was an implication that Philip was unfaithful.
In the episode titled “Misadventure,” Elizabeth attempts to remain optimistic about her marriage when she sends her husband on a five-month tour on the royal yacht Brittania. But when she sneaks a gift into his briefcase before he leaves, she finds a photograph of a beautiful Russian ballerina named Galina Ulanova.
As Vanity Fair notes, there isn’t any evidence that Philip actually cheated on the queen with Ulanova. But, it’s true that there were rumors about Philip’s infidelity in the 1950s. Creator Peter Morgan chose to implicate Ulanova as Philip’s mistress to represent those real-life cheating rumors instead of inventing a character who would have been an amalgamation of all of his rumored love interests.
The Netflix series is under fire for alluding to another Prince Philip affair in season 5
Season 5 of The Crown will cover a dark and difficult decade in the royal family — the 1990s. The roles of the queen and her husband are now being played by Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce, and there will be yet another allusion to an alleged affair.
According to The Sun, Prince Philip will be shown in intimate scenes with close family friend Penny Knatchbull (Natascha McElhone). But the queen’s former press secretary Dickie Arbiter says that “this is cruel rubbish” — especially since her majesty was just laid to rest next to her husband.
Penny is a high society beauty who is now known as the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, and she attended the funerals of both Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
In The Crown Season 5, she will reportedly be seen touching hands with Prince Philip as he shares secret details of his marriage. There is also a scene where Philip teaches carriage riding to Penny. But Arbiter insists there is absolutely no truth to this storyline.
“Coming just weeks after the nation laid Her Majesty to rest next to Prince Philip, this is very distasteful and, quite frankly, cruel rubbish,” Arbiter said.“The truth is that Penny was a long-time friend of the whole family. Netflix is not interested in people’s feelings.”
Implying another affair in ‘The Crown’ Season 5 is ‘in exceedingly bad taste’
Royal expert and Majesty magazine editor Ingrid Seward agrees with Arbiter, claiming the false storyline is “in exceedingly bad taste.”
“This is fiction. There’s no way in a million years he’d discuss his marriage with anybody. The royals probably won’t watch it for their own sanity,” Seward said.
The truth is that Philip and Penny were close friends, especially in the early 1990s after her five-year-old daughter Leonara died of kidney cancer. But, there is no evidence that the two were ever more than friends.
Still, Pryce is defending the season 5 storyline. He said, per Express, that Philip’s friendship with Penny is “part of the story that happened.”
“It was a very real, strong friendship, and it tells you a lot about the man and his ability to empathize with people who had suffered a bereavement. And it’s a very good thing that we know more about his emotional life,” Pryce said.
“If people only read the attention-grabbing headlines, they’re not going to get the whole picture. You’ve just gotta watch it, and all will be revealed. It’s not what people think it is.”
The Crown Season 5 drops on Nov. 9 on Netflix.
