The Crown is one of the most popular shows on Netflix and chronicles the reign of Queen Elizabeth II and her family over the course of many decades. Every few seasons, new actors are recast to play the subjects of the monarchy to show the different eras of the familiar faces within the British Royal Family. The extent to which the real-life royals have seen the streaming show has much been speculated about. Though a new report now suggests that the recently installed King Charles III did tune in but stopped at a point.
It would seem that the British monarch isn't the only member of the family to have watched the show, either. Royal author Katie Nicholl, while appearing on True Royalty TV claimed that King Charles' wife, Camilla, Queen Consort, has watched every season of the acclaimed Netflix drama. However, her husband opted to stop watching it after Season 4 due to personal reasons. Nicholl said (via Express):
I’m told that Camilla has watched all of them. Whether or not she’s watched this latest series, I’ll have to come back to you. [King] Charles watched it and stopped watching it at the last series because he felt that it got too close to the bone.
For context, the first two seasons of The Crown followed the early days of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign and her marriage to Prince Phillip, as she navigated life as a young monarch in the early 20th century. Over the last three seasons, the series has shifted much focus to King (then-Prince) Charles himself. This includes his early boarding school days, his marriage to Princess Diana, and his alleged affair with Camila Parker-Bowels. The King was portrayed by Josh O’Connor in previous seasons, who received an Emmy for his performance and is currently being played by Dominic West during the recently released fifth season.
The show has been a subject of much controversy, given that many of the people it portrays are still active members of the royal family. The latest season in particular came under fire and was accused of “vilifying” the monarchy by a friend of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Previous seasons also received backlash from friends of King Charles and more who are close to the Royal Family.
However, the blowback certainly hasn’t hindered the Netflix show’s popularity, as remains an in-demand series. Details about casting for The Crown Season 6 are already being released, and you can bet that avid fans are already awaiting the new episodes. Even Prince Harry and Megan reportedly watch the show together, although neither have commented on how they feel about the show’s fictional portrayals of their family members. The couple don’t have to worry about their own royal drama being cataloged on screen, as creator Peter Morgan has stated the show won’t move into Meghan and Harry's present-day drama. With that, it seems that things will likely end by focusing more on the romance between King Charles and Princess Diana. And if that proves to be the case, it's likely that the former won't tune in, should this latest report be true.
Fans of The Crown, and the Royals themselves, can watch Season 5 by using a Netflix subscription. For more information on what other series are returning to streaming this year, make sure to check out our 2022 TV premiere schedule.
