Imelda Staunton has stressed that the creator of The Crown has ‘great affection’ for the royal family, despite the controversies that swirl around the Netflix drama.
Next month, the award-winning show is set to return for season 5, with Elizabeth Debicki taking on the role of Princess Diana opposite Dominic West as Prince Charles and Imelda as the Queen.
Ahead of the new episodes coming out, celebrities such as Dame Judi Dench have called out the series, with the Oscar winner criticising the ‘crude sensationalism’ of the narrative before a disclaimer was added to the trailer outlining that the story is a ‘fictional dramatisation’ that’s ‘inspired by real events’.
Despite the furore that continues to surround The Crown, Imelda, 66, has emphasised that creator Peter Morgan has deep admiration for the royal family.
When asked if there were any particular royal moments she was hoping Peter might write into the script, the actress responded to Variety: ‘No. Because one knows that they can’t do everything because this is a sort of stock cube, if you like, of the last – whether it’s a decade or shorter than that, or slightly longer than that – so they can’t tick every single box.
‘Also, Peter Morgan has obviously got a huge affection for this family having done the film The Queen, then The Audience, then The Crown. I don’t think he would have bothered to keep going if he wasn’t quite emotionally, I think, involved with it.’
Lesley Manville, who’s playing the older version of Princess Margaret, added that she feels the show is ‘very sensitive’ towards the royal family.
Addressing whether the fact that Princess Margaret’s children are still alive ‘inhibits’ her at all, she replied: ‘No, it actually doesn’t inhibit me at all. But I think that we’re very sensitive to the royal family.
‘I can see nothing on the page or what we’ve done that would be – I’m sure Margaret’s children know that their mum liked to have a nice time, she liked to party, she liked to sing and mess around. I’m representing her hopefully sensitively and truthfully, underneath the umbrella of it being a drama, let’s not forget.’
Sir Jonathan Pryce, who stars as Prince Philip in the new season, recently admitted he feels ‘hugely disappointed’ by the criticism levelled at the drama by ‘fellow artistes’.
‘I’m hugely disappointed by my fellow artistes,’ he told Deadline.
‘The vast majority of people know it’s a drama. They’ve been watching it for four seasons,’ told Deadline.
The Crown season 5 premieres on Wednesday November 9 on Netflix.
