Royal fans won’t need to be told twice that The Crown has returned to our screens for a much-anticipated fourth season.
Set between the late 1970s to 1990, the latest depiction of the Palace will see Olivia Coleman return as Elizabeth II with Gillian Anderson joining the cast as Maggie Thatcher.
And Emma Corrin will debut as Princess Diana, with Josh O’Conner returning as Prince Charles.
10 new episodes will be dropped on Sunday for fans to get their teeth into.
But – although it’s a hit with streamers, being one of the most successful series on the platform – what do the real life royals really think of seeing themselves on telly?
The Queen
Olivia Coleman returns as the Queen for series 4 (Image: Netflix)
Well, starting with the Queen – she is more clued up about the series than you might think, the Birmingham Mail reports.
And she isn’t a particularly big fan – in fact, she has been left a little upset by it.
“The Queen realises that many who watch The Crown take it as an accurate portrayal of the royal family and she cannot change that,” a senior royal courtier told Express .
“But I can convey that she was upset by the way Prince Philip is depicted as being a father insensitive to his son’s wellbeing.
“She was particularly annoyed at a scene in which Philip has no sympathy for a plainly upset Charles while he is flying him home from Scotland. That simply did not happen.”
Duke of Edinburgh
Matt Smith said the Duke was not interested in watching (Image: SG)
The Duke of Edinburgh has no time for the show, according to reports.
Matt Smith revealed that his real life inspiration has not tuned in to see himself portrayed.
“A friend had dinner next to [Prince Philip] and asked him if he’d watched The Crown,” Matt Smith told the Mirror. “He turned around to him and went, ‘Don’t be ridiculous.'”
Princess Eugenie
Olivia Coleman has been applauded for her portrayal of the Queen (Image: Daily Record)
Princess Eugenie is much more of a fan, in fact she is reported to have waxed lyrical about the show.
Eugenie commented on the show at a party in 2017. “The music is wonderful; the story is beautiful and you feel very proud to watch it,” she’s quoted to have said.
Sarah Ferguson
Sarah Ferguson is also said to be tuning in, with a pal saying she’s a bit of a fan.
“Sarah has really enjoyed the series – even if it hasn’t gone down well with all members of the royal family,” a source reportedly told The Sun in 2019.
The Cambridge family
Will and Kate are known to be down to earth – and are all too aware of the show’s popularity.
Although they don’t themselves partake.
“[William] asked what I was doing at the moment before he quickly added, ‘Actually, I know what you’re doing,” Olivia Colman said on the Graham Norton Show .
“I was so excited and asked, ‘Have you watched it?’ His answer was a firm, ‘No.’ But he was very charming and very lovely.”
Charles and Camilla
The new series will delve into the 80s with Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister (Image: Des Willie/Netflix)
Charles, and Camilla in particular, are understood to have watched the show.
Camilla Parker Bowles’s nephew, Ben Elliot, told Vanity Fair that his aunt enjoys the series — though she ″wasn’t looking forward to the bits to come.”
Princess Anne
Princess Anne is said to have watched some of the show – but she doesn’t binge it anymore.
Although she is reported to have called some earlier episodes “quite interesting”.
Meghan and Harry
Harry and Meghan watched the show when they started dating, according to one royal expert.
“An accomplished cook, Meghan loved to make extravagant dinners for Harry, and they enjoyed staying in and eating her delicious homemade meals and watching films and TV shows like The Crown on Netflix,” author Kate Nicholl wrote in her book, Harry: Life, Loss, and Love.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
