UK culture ministry calls on Netflix to recognize 'Crown' plot as fiction
'30.11.2020'
Source: with the BBC
UK Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has called on Netflix's hit drama series The Crown to warn viewers that the story of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer's relationship revealed in its fourth season is fiction, not an accurate account of real events. with the BBC.
The last season of Crown, which tells the story of the British royal family during the reign of Elizabeth II, is dedicated to the 1980s. In Britain and around the world, it has generated a lot more controversy than previous seasons, including because it shows relatively recent events, which many people remain witnessing. And, of course, because in the series, Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, is presented in a rather unattractive light.
Another important motive for the series is the profound social changes and crisis in British society associated with the rule of Margaret Thatcher, as well as the uneasy relationship between Elizabeth II and her first female prime minister.
“I’m afraid that now a whole generation of viewers who didn’t live in the times when these events took place may mistake fiction for facts,” Dowden told the Mail on Sunday newspaper. He added that the authors of this "beautifully filmed work of art ... should make it as clear as possible at the outset that it is just that."
The minister added that he intends to write a letter to Netflix this week asking for an explanation.
The Crown writer Peter Morgan (who also wrote the popular Hollywood movies The Queen and Frost vs. Nixon, based on historical events) called his latest work “an act of artistic imagination”. He insists on a historically accurate spirit of storytelling and says that the study of real events and their deliberate dramatization constantly helped each other when writing the script.
Netflix has not yet commented on Dowden's statements.
On the subject: Prince William calls for an investigation of Princess Diana's most controversial interview
"All this is not true"
The Mail on Sunday is publicly campaigning to warn before each episode of Crown that the film does not purport to be historical.
Fears that some viewers may perceive the on-screen version of the story of Charles and Diana's breakup as historically accurate were also expressed by the brother of the late princess, Earl Spencer. In a recent interview with the British broadcaster ITN, he stated: “I think the Crown would benefit tremendously if at the beginning of each episode it was said:“ This is all not true, but based on some true events ”.
Actor Josh O'Connor, who played Prince Charles in the third and fourth seasons of The Crown, told the BBC: "Peter [Morgan] is beautiful when he takes historical facts and puts his colors in between." “Sometimes people want to believe that everything was exactly like that. But we must always check it and remember that we are actors, we are not real, this is not a real story, ”added O'Connor.
However, former spokesman for the British royal family, Dickie Arbiter, believes that the authors of Crown have abused their right to artistic interpretation of historical facts.
"Prince Charles was smashed to smithereens, and to a certain extent Diana was smashed to smithereens," the Arbiter told the BBC. A former correspondent at the royal court, Jenny Bond, expressed concern that some of the viewers might perceive the series "as a documentary."
What was wrong in “Korona” as in reality?
A meeting during which Prince Charles' private secretary asks Diana if she has a strong psyche to travel to New York on her own. According to the Arbiter, this meeting did not actually take place.
“I was present at these events. John Riddell, who was then Charles's secretary, would never have said that in his life, ”he says.
The way Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles are shown. “It's just a sensation chase, trying to portray Charles and Camille as villains. Charles is shown to be a malevolent person. And he is not malicious. "
Actor Josh O'Connor constantly slouched over when he played Charles.
“Charles never slouched. Look at him even now - he is 72 years old and always keeps upright posture, ”says Arbiter.
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The presence of the Queen's private secretary Martin Charteris in the fourth season of "The Crown", which tells about the events from 1977 to 1990, is also not true. He left the post in 1977.
In addition, Sarah Horsley, the wife of Major Hugh Lindsay, expressed a sharp dissatisfaction with the fact that the death of her husband was shown in the series. The latter died after an avalanche at a ski resort, where he was with Prince Charles in 1988.
Horsley said she asked the show's authors not to show the episode, but received a "very polite letter" from them. According to the widow, it said that “they understand my concerns, but they hope that I will feel their desire to tell about difficult events with great tact and adherence to ethical principles.”
According to the British press, 29 million people have already watched the fourth season of "Crown" around the world.
