‘The Crown’ shows young Prince William as ‘sad,’ ‘melancholy’: Royal expert
“The Crown” and all its latest controversies are finally coming to light next week.
Season 5 for the British royal family-inspired drama premieres Nov. 9 on Netflix. And, as is trending these days, yet more criticism has surfaced regarding the show’s historical inaccuracies. This time, over its portrayal of young Prince William.
The upcoming season features the Firm throughout the tumultuous early to mid-1990s, introducing adolescents William and Prince Harry.
William is played by relative newcomer Senan West — the 15-year-old son of actor Dominic West, who, in fact, will be stepping into the role of then-Prince Charles this season.
Early reports of the 10-episode season describe Senan’s portrayal of William as “sad, unfulfilled and melancholy,” according to royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams.
He told Daily Mail recently, “Those watching what ‘The Crown’ shows should also bear in mind that there were, even in the ’90s, happy times for William, too.”
“Whereas many of the events it portrays were indeed grim, it should surely also show how William was loved as a child,” Fitzwilliams added.
Together, West, 53, and Elizabeth Debicki, 32, are playing the boys’ parents, Charles and the late Princess Diana.
The author warned that while the series will show William in a certain light, he was loved by his family, especially Diana.
“It was from Diana that he learnt to care for the less fortunate, especially the homeless and those in hospital and that has benefited them both in later life,” he went on. The expert explained how the Princess of Wales, who died in 1997, “was more casual than Charles.”
He continued, “A trip to the cinema, skiing or, most famously, to an amusement park, was more her style. She wanted her sons to have as normal an upbringing as they possibly could under very trying circumstances.”
Imelda Staunton is stepping into the role of Queen Elizabeth, as the part was previously played by Olivia Colman and Claire Foy.
Other Season 5 cast members include Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret and Jonny Lee Miller as former Prime Minister John Major.
Pryce, 75, addressed the recent backlash against the series and assured viewers that it’s simply a fictionalized drama and is not to be taken too literally.
He told Deadline ahead of the premiere that he’s ”bitterly disappointed” by those who shamed the Peter Morgan series. “The vast majority of people know it’s a drama. They’ve been watching it for four seasons,” Pryce said.
He believed that the recent public disapproval arose due to an “enhanced sensitivity because of the passing of the queen.” Elizabeth died at the age of 96 on Sept. 8.
Manville, 66, echoed Pryce’s sentiments and also told the outlet her thoughts about the show.
The “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” actress stated how how the anger towards Netflix is “certainly heightened” after the death of the monarch.
“There is, and for my part as well, a great deal of compassion towards the queen, and depths of feeling that she is no longer with us,” she said.
