Imelda Staunton says The Crown creator has “great affection” for the royal family despite criticism

The crowna Netflix drama that chronicles the lives of the British royal family decade after decade has been controversial on television since it premiered in 2016.

Critics have long argued over the facts. Some have objected to series creator Peter Morgan’s portrayal of certain central characters, most notably Prince Phillip and the Queen.

Ahead of the release of the show’s fifth season, which is set in the ’90s, the show encourages speaking openly about the extent to which real events are fictionalized.

On October 19, Dame Judi Dench requested episodes of The crown with a preceding disclaimer.

Netflix has responded by adding such a disclaimer to the series’ most recently released trailer.

Well, members of The crown‘s cast speaks out for Morgan and her show.

Bafta-winning actress Imelda Staunton, who plays Queen Elizabeth II in the upcoming series, spoke of the showrunner’s “affection” for the royal family.

“Peter Morgan obviously developed a great affection for this family after making the film The Queenthen The audiencethen The crown“, She said diversity in an interview published on Thursday (October 27)..

“I don’t think he would have bothered to move on if he hadn’t been very emotionally, I think, involved in it.”

Other season five cast members — like Oscar winner Jonathan Pryce, who plays Prince Phillip — have addressed the criticism more directly.

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Speak with meetingPryce said that while he understood that former Prime Minister John Major was “expressing his concern that he was there” at the time, he was “very disappointed in my fellow artists”.

He also said of The crownthat “the vast majority of people know it’s drama” because “they’ve been watching it for four seasons”.

Dench isn’t the only player publicly addressing this issue. She is joined by Helena Bonham Carter, who played Princess Margaret in seasons three and four.

In 2020, Carter said, “It’s being dramatized. I feel very empowered because I think we have a moral responsibility to say, ‘Wait a minute guys, this isn’t… it’s not a drama doc, we’re doing drama.’ So they are two different entities.”