Buckingham Palace Source Speaks out Ahead of ‘The Crown’ Season 5 Premiere at Netflix

As the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms adjust to life under the reign of King Charles III, Netflix is preparing to take viewers back in time to the 70-year reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II, a period that is worrying to the British royal family. Ahead of the upcoming premiere of The Crown Season 5, sources close to Buckingham Palace and the royals have spoken out against the hit Netflix original series, reminding viewers to take what they see on screen with a grain of salt.

With just over a month to go until the new season arrives on the streaming platform, a “senior royal source” warned that The Crown is “a drama not a documentary,” per The Telegraph. The upcoming season, and the series as a whole, have also raised alarm for those close to the newly crowned king, with one of Charles’ friends calling Season 5 “exploitative” and accusing Netflix of having “no qualms about mangling people’s reputations.” That source added, “What people forget is that there are real human beings and real lives at the heart of this.”

The remarks come just ahead of the Nov. 9 Season 5 premiere of the hit Netflix series, which is set to highlight a tumultuous time within the royal family in the upcoming season. After covering the first several decades of Her Majesty’s reign throughout the first four seasons, Season 5 is set to move into the ’90s, a period marred by the late Princess Diana’s fractured relationship with Charles, who later married Camilla, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom. In 1992, the Queen’s self-proclaimed “annus horribilis,” Charles and Diana divorced.

The comments also come amid a time of change within the royal family. On Sept. 8, the Queen passed away “peacefully” at Balmoral at the age of 96, bringing an end to her history 70-year reign. Upon her death, her son, Charles, immediately became King Charles III. As such, other changes in the line of succession and titles have been made across the royal family.

This is far from the first time concerns have been raised about the nature of The Crown. Back in 2020, it was reported that UK cultural secretary Oliver Dowden was even writing to Netflix demanding for a “health warning” to explicitly state the show is “fiction” be added before each episode. However, the streamer ultimately decided against adding the disclaimer, telling Variety in December 2020, “We have always presented The Crown as a drama – and we have every confidence our members understand it’s a work of fiction that’s broadly based on historical events. As a result, we have no plans – and see no need – to add a disclaimer.” The first four seasons of The Crown are available to stream on Netflix. Season 5 arrives on Wednesday, Nov. 9.