‘The Crown’ Star Jared Harris Says Royal Family Would Be “Delighted” With Netflix Show

“The Royal Family would be delighted with The Crown because it is humanizing them,” Jared Harris has said.

Harris, who played Queen Elizabeth II’s father King George VI in the first two seasons of Netflix’s royal smash, was speaking as the latest and final season in which Princess Diana dies continues to attract controversy, but he denied that the UK’s most famous family would take issue with the show.

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“There’s always a question of whether you should be doing this or telling this tale or whether it is in some way disrespectful and my opinion is that I think the royal family would be delighted because it is humanizing them,” he told the BBC’s Today program this morning.

While The Crown has attracted more criticism as the series has moved through the years, coming now to a time more rooted in the public’s collective consciousness, Chernobyl star Harris said there was a spotlight even when he was starring in the show.

“There was a lot of a scrutiny back then about royal watchers and so on,” he added. “Everyone knew there would be a tremendous amount of interest [when it started]. Vogue did a photo spread and whenever fashion mags are interested in your show you know it’s going to elevate to a different level.”

Harris’ character King George VI appears in multiple Season 1 episodes and several in Season 2 via flashbacks. He was BAFTA-nominated for the turn.

The first four episodes of The Crown Season 6 dropped 10 days ago including Diana’s death and they have continued to generate headlines. On Friday, the Queen’s former press secretary described Season 6 to Deadline as “dramatic license gone bonkers.”

Creator Peter Morgan, who has penned every episode of The Crown, has always acknowledged that his writing infuses “acts of imagination” with real-life events.

Harris was appearing on Today to discuss his new play, Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming, which opens this week at the Young Vic.

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