What the royal family really think about The Crown including King Charles

Publish date: 2024-06-02

Since its premiere on Netflix in 2016, The Crown has given fans a fictional yet fascinating look into the world of the British royal family. But it's also left us all wondering the same thing: did the late Queen and the rest of the royal family watch the popular show?

While we doubt they obsess over it as much as we do there is a chance one or two of them have added the award-winning series to their Netflix queue.

WATCH: The Crown drops teaser trailer for season six

And now that the new episodes of The Crown are just around the corner, we're more intrigued than ever about which royals have tuned in.

Ahead of the sixth and final series, which will air in two parts across November and December, find out more about what the royals have said about the show over the years...

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The Queen

Would you be able to resist watching a fictionalised version of your life? According to Vanessa Kirby, who played Princess Margaret in seasons one and two, she has it on good authority that the late Queen had indeed tuned in.

Chatting to Harper's Bazaar, she previously said: "A friend of mine was at a party and didn't know anyone, so he sidled up to this group who were talking about The Crown. One girl said, 'Well, my granny watches it and really likes it'. It slowly dawned on him that the girl was Eugenie and her granny was the Queen."

Jason Watkins, who played Prime Minister Harold Wilson in season three, also told HELLO! that he suspected the monarch watched it before her death in 2022. He said at the time: "She must watch it! But I'm sure she knows it's a drama and although it's based on real events, it's a dramatic interpretation. But it's an affectionate portrayal, so I hope she enjoys it."

According to actor Matt Smith, the late Queen used to watch episodes of The Crown via a projector on Sunday nights. Speaking to NBC's Today Show in 2021, he said: "I heard the Queen had watched it, and she used to watch it on a projector on a Sunday night apparently. I know that Philip definitely didn't."

MORE: The Crown faces backlash over controversial Princess Diana scenes 

MORE: The Crown Season 6: The fashion moments we can't wait to watch 

Prince Philip

Matt Smith played Prince Philip in the first two series, and revealed to the Guardian that a friend of his asked the Prince about the royal drama. According to the star, the friend was at a dinner at Buckingham Palace when he couldn't resist asking the late royal about the show.

According to Matt, his friend, "a man of prominence in the film world" sat next to the late Duke for the dinner, and the Prince asked him: "What do you do? Are you involved in this… Crown thing?" After he confirmed that he wasn't involved in the series, he asked Prince Philip: "Philip, I'm just wondering, because I have some friends who made The Crown, have you watched any?" to which the royal replied: "Don't be ridiculous." Matt added: "Whether it's true or not, I don't know, but I just think he's a bit of a cool cat."

Prince William

Olivia Colman, who played the Queen in seasons three and four of the Netflix show, admitted that she couldn't resist asking Prince William if he had seen it when she met him. Chatting on The Graham Norton Show in 2021, she said: "I met Prince William at a dinner and he asked what I was doing at the moment before he quickly added, 'Actually, I know what you're doing.' I was so excited and asked, 'Have you watched it?' His answer was a firm, 'No.' But he was very charming and very lovely."

Prince Harry

Prince Harry finally broke his silence over whether he watches The Crown during his appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden in February 2021. While he didn't say how much he had watched, it seems like the Duke was pretty familiar with the show from his comments. "It's fictional. But it's loosely based on the truth," he said.

"Of course, it's not strictly accurate, but loosely... it gives you a rough idea about that lifestyle and what the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else - what can come from that. I'm way more comfortable with The Crown than I am seeing the stories written about my family, or my wife, or myself." He even provided producers with a casting idea if the show does eventually tell the story of himself and Meghan stepping back from royal life - get Damien Lewis to play him!

The Crown season five recap

Season five began with Princess Diana devastated that their second honeymoon was halted abruptly by Princes Charles. 

Prince Charles met with the Prime Minister after a published poll about the public's opinion of the monarchy. The idea of The Prince's Trust was born. 

Princess Diana was approached by journalist Andrew Morton to write the book, In Her Own Words. 

The Queen's 'Annus Horribilis' was in 1992 following a fire at Windsor Castle, and the breakdown of two of her son's marriages. 

A phone call between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles was intercepted by journalists and published in a newspaper. 

The infamous and now suspect Panorama interview with Princess Diana by Martin Bashir aired much to the royal family's dismay. 

King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla

Camilla's cousin, Ben Elliot, revealed that she enjoys watching the programme, so chances are that the King joined her on occasion! According to Vanity Fair, he said she was a fan of the show, but added that she "wasn't looking forward to the bits to come". Her character was introduced in season three, played by Emerald Fennell, as Prince Charles' first girlfriend, who eventually marries Andrew Parker Bowles after the royal family intervenes. 

In an interesting turn of events, in 2022, Camilla met the star who played her on-screen persona. Emerald spoke about their interaction, but remained tight-lipped. "I was nervous I might be thrown in the tower but so far so good," the actress and Oscar-winner told PA at the time. "She's been in the spotlight for a long time and has always weathered it with a lot of grace and good humour. I'm going to be very discreet, because if I've learnt anything it's 'loose lips sink ships'."

Sarah Ferguson

Though she only features as a minor character in the Netflix drama, Sarah, Duchess Of York, admitted last year she was impressed by the series and "loved" that her 1986 wedding to Prince Andrew was included.

"I thought it was filmed beautifully. The cinematography was excellent," the new grandmother said of the show in an interview with US Weekly, adding that she was also quite the fan of one of Netflix's other big shows. "I adored Bridgerton so much that I watched it twice, deliberately. I'm obsessed with it."

Princess Eugenie

Princess Eugenie has previously revealed that she is "very proud" to watch The Crown. Chatting to HELLO! previously, she said: "It is filmed beautifully. The music is wonderful, the story is beautiful. You feel very proud to watch it. I can't speak for everyone, but that's how I felt when I watched it." She also admitted that she would eventually like Kate Beckinsale to play her in any future royal adaptations!

Princess Anne

Princess Anne, the Queen's only daughter, divulged that she had watched some of the show in the past in an interview for ITV's documentary Anne: The Princess Royal at 70. While she said she found the episodes "quite interesting", she did take issue with actress Erin Doherty's confession that the royal's signature coif took hours to replicate.

"Actually, I read an article the other day about The Crown, the actress was talking about how long it took them to do their hair like I did. And I'm thinking, 'How could you possibly take that long?' I mean it takes me 10 or 15 minutes."

Zara and Mike Tindall

Although Zara didn't reveal whether she actually watched The Crown, she and her husband Mike revealed who they would like to play them in future series' of the show. 

Chatting to JOE UK, Mike joked: "Series 35. Jason Statham, you're welcome." He added that Charlize Theron would play Zara, who added: "Or Justin Timberlake's wife, Jessica Biel. Obviously, I look very similar to all of them!"

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