Netflix has been forced into putting a disclaimer onto marketing for The Crown after it received complaints from people such as Dame Judi Dench and former Prime Minister John Major.
As you’ll no doubt be aware, The Crown tells the story of the British royal family and has traced Lizzie and her many relatives through the decades to date.
Right about now, they’re dealing with the breakdown of now-King Charles’ relationship with his deceased ex-wife Princess Diana, as well as his extra-marital affair with the now-Queen Consort Camilla.
Here’s the trailer for the latest series so you can get a flavour of what they’ll be covering.
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Obviously, it’s a bit of a black eye for the royal family at large, because they’re trying to maintain their reputation against the retelling of stuff that they actually did years ago.
Well – as Netflix is now pointing out – it is a ‘fictional dramatisation’ of what actually happened.
Of course, Charles did break up with Diana and was having a relationship with Camilla, and that’s not up for debate.
However, it’s the way that Netflix is telling the tale that has struck a bum note with some royalists.
The show, which is ‘inspired by real-life events’, has been criticised recently, with Dench among those to call for a disclaimer on the series.
She said it poses a risk because ‘a significant number of viewers’ might believe it to be historically accurate, as well as accusing the show of ‘crude sensationalism’.
To be fair, they wouldn’t have a show if they didn’t try to make it more interesting, would they?
As we’ve established, the main components of the story are largely historically true – despite being inconvenient – but some artistic licence has also necessarily been taken.
Former Tory leader and Prime Minister John Major called scenes in which Charles appears to attempt to oust Queen Elizabeth II as ‘a barrel load of nonsense’.
Anyway, now Netflix has moved to clarify its position on it, adding a disclaimer to YouTube, online, and Twitter descriptions of the show that reads: "Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatisation tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign."
One such event that has drawn controversy is the decision to include a Panorama interview that Diana gave to Martin Bashir.
In the 1995 interview, she was quizzed by the journalist on her relationship with Charles, as well as the reasons for their split.
While Netflix has placed some disclaimers around, it isn't going to be branding up individual episodes of the show with such a warning, and states that it won't be changing anything based upon public outcry.
A spokesperson told The Sun: “The episodes that dramatise events surrounding the Panorama interview remain unchanged.”
UNILAD has contacted Netflix for a comment on the matter.
Topics: UK News, Royal Family, Netflix, Film and TV
Tom Wood