Dominic West reveals what he almost gave up for ‘The Crown’

Dominic West almost gave up a prestigious real-life position to be a fictional king in The Crown.

West, 53, takes on the role of Prince Charles in Season 5 of the hit Netflix series, which dramatizes the recent history of the British royal family. West also happens to be an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust (a charity of which King Charles is president) – but when he offered to quit in the event of a conflict of interest, he told Radio Times Magazine the king took a surprising way.

West received a letter from King Charles’ private secretary, who declined his offer of resignation and read: “You do what you like, you are an actor. It has nothing to do with us.”

The Prince’s Trust is a youth charity founded by the then Prince Charles in 1976 to help people between the ages of 11 and 30 find work and education.

“I think that’s probably the case [Charles] respected,” West said. “I’ve lined up to shake his hand a couple of times and it’s fascinating. Of course, it’s very useful to get to know the character you’re playing.”

Season 5 of The Crown follows the royal family into the 1990s as Charles and Princess Diana’s (Elizabeth Debicki) marriage falls apart, the infamous Tampongate incident happens and Queen Elizabeth (now played by Imelda Staunton) pulls it all together. The season will come close to depicting Diana’s tragic death, but Season 6 will cover that territory, and there has been some behind-the-scenes controversy over how the show might depict it.

West further shared that Queen Consort Camilla seemed to give her approval of his casting as he met her at a party in 2021 and she called him “Her Majesty”.

Season 5 of The Crown will be the penultimate season of the series and will be released on Netflix on November 9th.