Judi Dench criticized Netflix’s The Crown for portraying the British royal family in a “cruelly unjust” manner. In an open letter to The Times UK, Dench urged Netflix to add an episode disclaimer announcing that the show is a fictionalized account of historical events because she supports artistic freedom. “The closer the drama comes to our present times, the more freely it seems willing to blur the lines between historical accuracy and crude sensationalism,” the Oscar winner’s letter reads. Dench’s letter was published prior to the November premiere of The Crown Season 5. The show will cover some of the most turbulent periods of the royal family’s history in the new episodes, such as Prince Charles’s (Dominic West) bitter divorce from Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki).
“Given some of the wounding suggestions apparently contained in the new series — that King Charles plotted for his mother to abdicate, for example, or once suggested his mother’s parenting was so deficient that she might have deserved a jail sentence — this is both cruelly unjust to the individuals and damaging to the institution they represent,” Dench writes. “No one is a greater believer in artistic freedom than I, but this cannot go unchallenged.” She continues, “Despite this week stating publicly that The Crown has always been a ‘fictionalized drama,’ the program makers have resisted all calls for them to carry a disclaimer at the start of each episode. The time has come for Netflix to reconsider — for the sake of a family and a nation so recently bereaved, as a mark of respect to a sovereign who served her people so dutifully for 70 years, and to preserve their own reputation in the eyes of their British subscribers.”
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The Crown episodes do not include a disclaimer from Netflix, but the company has long stated that it is a drama based on historical events. UK Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said in November 2020 that the streaming platform should add a disclaimer to the series since it is fiction. At the time, the show was in its fourth season. “It’s a beautifully produced work of fiction, so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that,” Dowden said. “Without this, I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact.” In response, Netflix refused to add a disclaimer, issuing the following statement: “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.”
In an exclusive June 2021 interview with PopCulture.com, Stewart Pearce, who served as Diana’s voice and life coach in the final years of her life, weighed in on the debate, agreeing that the content aired to viewers is more fiction than fact. He considered The Crown “a completely fictionalized account of the vicissitudes, opinions, and attitudes of Royal Observers or Biographers.” Pearce said he was “relieved” that Emma Corrin’s portrayal of “Diana’s wrought emotional state was neither trivialized nor vilified.” He added, “perhaps this depiction will assist the awakening support of the Mental Health issues that both Harry and Meghan with Oprah are pioneering.” The Crown Season 5 premieres on Netflix on Nov. 9.
