Does The Queen watch The Crown on Netflix?
The Crown has returned to Netflix and is currently its most-watched title– but has the Queen herself watched the show?
Peter Morgan’s hit drama charts the life of Queen Elizabeth II from her rise to power, her relationship with Prince Philip and her dealings with several prime ministers over the past 75 years.
The new season, set between 1977 and 1990, introduces Margaret Thatcher, in a performance from Gillian Anderson that is leaving viewers “conflicted”, as well as Princess Diana (Emma Corrin).
It is particularly damning of the Queen’s son, Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor).
While Charles’s friends have criticised the show for “presenting fiction as fact”, it was reported in 2017 that the drama has been a hit with the sovereign, who is said to have watched the first season after being encouraged to do so by her son and daughter-in-law, the Earl and Countess of Wessex.
According to The Sunday Express, the couple arranged for Saturday night screenings of the show in Her Majesty’s private apartments at Windsor Castle.
“Edward and Sophie love The Crown,” a senior royal source said.
The source confided: “It has been a longstanding arrangement that they drive to Windsor at the weekend to join the Queen for an informal supper while watching TV or a film. They have a Netflix account and urged her to watch it with them.
“Happily, she really liked it, although obviously there were some depictions of events that she found too heavily dramatised.”
When it first began in 2016, The Crown was the most expensive TV series of all time, with its first season costing $130m (£101.5m) to produce.
It’s currently unknown if she has watched any of the new season.
The Crown is available to stream on Netflix now, and you can find a rundown of the show’s accuracy here.
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