‘The Crown’: Netflix Drops First Season 5 Trailer as Controversy Surrounds Depictions of Charles in the Series

A fire rages through Windsor Castle, illuminating the night sky, while the Queen — as played by Imelda Staunton — is heard declaring, “In light of the events of the last 12 months, perhaps I have more to reflect on than most.” This is how the trailer for the upcoming fifth season of The Crown begins — one royal disaster serving as a harbinger of more to come.

The Windsor Castle fire, of course, occurred on Nov. 20, 1992. Just four days later, during a speech celebrating her 40th year on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II called 1992 her “Annus Horribilis.”

That’s because 1992 also saw the breakup of the marriages of three of the Queen’s children — Prince Andrew, Princess Anne and, most famously, Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, culminating with the tell-all book, Diana: Her True Story by Andrew Morton, later revealed to have been written with the help of Diana herself.

Royal Family scandals became tabloid fodder, and the fallout of that trying decade — the affairs, heartbreaks, calls for divorce and tragedies — is the focus of the penultimate season of the Emmy-winning Netflix series.

 

 

The fifth season trailer packs a lot into two-and-a-half minutes, from glimpses of Diana’s controversial 1995 Panorama interview with Martin Bashir to the ongoing affair between Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles and the Queen’s attempts to stabilize a monarchy in crisis.

In one scene, Charles (Dominic West, 53) tells the Queen (Staunton, 66) that, “For years I’ve called for a more modern monarchy that reflects the world outside.” The Queen shoots back, “I don’t think it’s my behaviour that’s threatening its survival.”

In another scene, Prince Philip (Jonathan Pryce, 75) implores Diana (Elizabeth Debicki, 32) to “Remember the one condition, the one rule. You remain loyal to this family.” When Diana replies, “You mean silent?,” the Duke of Edinburgh affirms it. “Yes. It’s a system. For better or for worse, we’re all stuck in it.”

Elsewhere, Diana notes, “I won’t go quietly. I’ll battle ’til the end.”

 

 

The trailer also offers a look at Princess Margaret (Lesley Manville, 66) and former British Prime Minister John Major (Jonny Lee Miller, 49).

The official synopsis for the season adds that, “Tensions are set to rise further, as Mohamed Al Fayed (Salim Daw) arrives on the scene. Driven by his desire for acceptance of the highest order, he harnesses his self-made wealth and power to try and earn him and his son Dodi (Khalid Abdalla) a seat at the royal table.”

Dodi Fayed was Diana’s boyfriend who died alongside her in a Paris car crash in 1997.

Last week, Netflix revealed new images of the various royals from the upcoming fifth season.

 

The Crown Under Attack

 

The fifth season of The Crown, however, has come under scrutiny by some high-profile critics before it even debuts.

Both former British PM Sir John Major, 79, and British actress Dame Judi Dench, 87, have objected to one of the season’s plot lines, which reportedly involves Charles and Major discussing the possibility of forcing the Queen to abdicate the throne so that the Prince of Wales can take over.

A statement issued on Major’s behalf says that he did not co-operate with the series and wasn’t approached for fact-checking purposes. It adds that, “There was never any discussion between Sir John and the then Prince of Wales about any possible abdication of the late Queen Elizabeth II — nor was such an improbable and improper subject ever raised by the then Prince of Wales (or Sir John).” It goes on to say that, “if the scenes you describe are broadcast, they should be seen as nothing other than damaging and malicious fiction. A barrel load of nonsense peddled for no other reason than to provide maximum — and entirely false — dramatic impact.”

 

 

Dench, meanwhile, penned a letter to The Times saying the series “seems willing to blur the lines between historical accuracy and crude sensationalism” while voicing her concern that some viewers may believe the depictions to be true.

Netflix responded to the criticism with a statement defending the series as “a fictional dramatization, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors during a significant decade for the Royal Family — one that has already been scrutinized and well-documented by journalists, biographers and historians.”

In addition, Variety noted that “a friend” of King Charles told the British Daily Telegraph that Netflix has “no qualms about mangling people’s reputations,” while calling The Crown “exploitative.”

Peter Morgan, the series creator, responded in the same Variety story, saying, “I think we must all accept that the 1990s was a difficult time for the Royal Family, and King Charles will almost certainly have some painful memories of that period. But that doesn’t mean that, with the benefit of hindsight, history will be unkind to him, or the monarchy. The show certainly isn’t. I have enormous sympathy for a man in his position — indeed, a family in their position. People are more understanding and compassionate than we expect sometimes.”

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