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CROWN DUEL
Prince Charles’ aides banned stars of Netflix drama The Crown from event over affair storyline
THE Royal Households are going to war with Netflix drama The Crown over paranoia that its portrayal of Charles’s affair will damage his popularity.
We understand staff who work for the Prince of Wales restricted invites to stars from the show like Helena Bonham Carter and Olivia Colman from an event featuring Charles, William and Harry.
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Instead, other Netflix stars — Sex Education’s Emma Mackey and Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker — were at the April launch of the streaming service’s Our Planet starring Sir David Attenborough at London’s Natural History Museum.
A royal source said: “Charles’s staff are deeply paranoid about The Crown. They are trying to make him a popular king-in-waiting.
“But the next few seasons are going to be increasingly focussed on the Prince of Wales’ behaviour, especially around his marriage to Diana and affair with Camilla. The timing couldn’t be any more disastrous in terms of Charles’s bid for popularity.
“So his staff made it clear he wouldn’t attend the event if Netflix had any The Crown actors there.”
Stories in the global hit are often seen as factual by fans.
Josh O’Connor plays Charles and Emerald Fennell is Camilla in season three from November 17. Diana (newcomer Emma Corrin) will be introduced in next year’s fourth series.
'DEEPLY PARANOID'
A senior Buckingham Palace staffer confirmed that a decision had been made to exclude The Crown stars from the Netflix event — but stressed that Charles was not aware of that decision.
The courtier said: “It was discussed by all the relevant Households and event organisers and agreed that it was hard to see the relevance of attendance by The Crown cast and would be a distraction to the ultimate messages of Our Planet.
“After all, it is a serious documentary about saving the planet not a launch of series three of The Crown.
“The decision was not one at the request of, instruction of, or direction of any of the members of the Royal Family.
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“There is no blanket ban or boycott of The Crown. Olivia Coleman will be at Buckingham Palace for her CBE at some point.”
“It was officials at the Households working with their Netflix counterparts doing their jobs which was to promote the Our Planet documentary, not The Crown.”
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Buckingham Palace said: “The guest list was decided jointly. It is wrong to assert that the Prince of Wales intervened personally.”
As part of the battle against The Crown, last month The Queen’s communications secretary Donal McCabe wrote an extraordinary letter to The Guardian newspaper where he insisted the Royal Family “is not complicit in interpretations made by the programme”.
He added: “The royal household has never agreed to vet or approve content, has not asked to know what topics will be included, and would never express a view as to the programme’s accuracy.”
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Prince Charles admits he had an affair while married to Princess Diana during a TV interview
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