Harry and Meghan ‘can’t comment’ on ‘The Crown’

Royals don’t often comment publicly on portrayals of themselves in the media, but sources close to the royal family have suggested they’re not pleased with the most reason season of The Crown.

The latest instalment of the Netflix drama covers the early years of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s relationship, as well as her struggles with bulimia and his infidelity, so it’s not shocking that the royals wouldn’t love the show right now.

Prince William is definitely not a fan of the series, a royal source told the Daily Mail.

‘The Duke of Cambridge [Prince William] is none too pleased with it. He feels that both his parents are being exploited and being presented in a false, simplistic way to make money,’ the source said.

While it’s likely Prince Harry feels similarly about the series and its portrayal of his late mother in particular, his and Meghan Markle’s opinions about the show may never really be known, thanks to their production deal with Netflix.

Royal commentators have suggested that the couple’s Netflix affiliation could mean they aren’t allowed to publicly criticise the series. According to the Mirror, talkRADIO host Mike Graham and journalist Olivia Utley discussed this very issue earlier this week.

‘Meghan and Harry are in a bit of trouble with this over the fact Harry has said nothing about the way in which his mother and father have been portrayed in this series,’ Graham said.

Utley agreed, saying that she thinks Harry ‘can’t really say anything’ about The Crown because of his and Meghan’s Netflix deal. What’s more, she doesn’t think this will be the last time the deal results in a conflict of interest for the couple.

‘Netflix is where their next paycheck is coming from,’ she explained. ‘There are going to be massive conflicts of interest all the time.’