There’s no doubt that Netflix’s The Crown has been a hot-button topic for royalists around the world. On one hand, the show’s fans wholeheartedly embrace it as a fictional take on the lives of British royalty. However, many insist that the show is disrespectful—fictional or not. Here’s what two key British political figures have had to say about the show’s latest season.
Sir John Major Condemns ‘The Crown’ As ‘Utterly Untrue’
Two former prime ministers, Sir Tony Blair and Sir John Major, have now spoken out against Netflix’s original series, The Crown. The show’s latest season sees Prince Charles devising a plot to take the throne out from under his mother. In fact, the fictionalized prince even enlists the help of Blair and Major to do so—a detail that the politicians’ real-life counterparts are condemning with enmity.
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Per The Telegraph, Sir Tony Blair has called the show’s depiction of himself and the monarch “complete and utter rubbish.” In a letter to the publication, Sir John Major echoes this sentiment. According to Major, the show’s latest season “will be profoundly hurtful to a family who are still grieving for the very person on whose life the entire drama was founded.”
Major continued: “Netflix may well take the view that any publicity is good publicity. But I assure them it is not—most especially when it disrespects the memory of those no longer alive, or puts words into the mouths of those still living and in no position to defend themselves. Fiction should not be paraded as fact.”
Of course, Netflix and the show’s creators have defended the series with the blanket insistence that they are not in the business of historical accuracy. However, the creators have repeatedly refused to include any kind of disclaimer before or after the episodes reminding viewers that what they’re watching is fiction.
The Show Is Untouchable At This Point
While the show has certainly been a gray area for royalists ever since its premiere in 2016, fans and critics alike have braced themselves for this fifth season. This is largely due to two factors. Firstly, as the show’s plot inches closer and closer to the modern day, the characters’ real-life counterparts are finding the dramatization less and less forgiving.
Secondly, there’s no doubt that the royal family is in a state of flux at the moment. As The Firm and its allies settle into a new era following Queen Elizabeth’s passing, it’s never felt like a worse time to play make-believe about turmoil within the royal family and British government.
So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that political figures like Blair and Major are speaking out against the series. However, the show must go on. The Crown has struck a winning formula that’s unlikely to change now. The show’s fifth season is available to stream on Netflix on November 9.
