Netflix has made a U-turn and agreed to add a disclaimer to its marketing for the next series of The Crown, despite initially refusing to do so. The decision comes following an outcry from national treasure Dame Judi Dench and the former prime minister Sir John Major.
The award-winning series will now include a disclaimer that it is "a fictional dramatisation" that is "inspired by real-life events". The disclaimer also appears under the trailer on YouTube and Netflix, and on the series' social media pages.
“Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatization tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign,” the disclaimer reads. Previous trailers or seasons did not carry the disclaimer, but following the recent outcry, the streaming giant has been forced to change tack.
Read more: Netflix releases statement after new series of The Crown slammed by former Prime Minister
The decision comes following criticism from Dame Judi Dench. The Oscar-winning actress accused producers of blurring “the lines between historical accuracy and crude sensationalism".
In a letter to The Times, Dame Judi confessed she was worried that as the series caught up to the present day, it was in danger of convincing viewers, especially its international audience, that the dramatisation was a “wholly true” version of history. Dame Judi took issue with reports that season five will imply that the then Prince Charles plotted to oust his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, as monarch during the early ’90s.
She said a disclaimer should be added by Netflix “for the sake of a family and a nation so recently bereaved, as a mark of respect to a sovereign who served her people so dutifully for 70 years, and to preserve its reputation in the eyes of its British subscribers”. The letter also said: "Given some of the wounding suggestions apparently contained in the new series – that King Charles plotted for his mother to abdicate, for example, or once suggested his mother’s parenting was so deficient that she might have deserved a jail sentence – this is both cruelly unjust to the individuals and damaging to the institution they represent."
Meanwhile, Sir John Major, the former prime minister, told the Mail on Sunday that the scene between his likeness and the then-Prince Charles was "a barrel-load of malicious nonsense".
A statement released by Sir John's office read: "Sir John has not cooperated in any way with The Crown. As you will know, discussions between the monarch and prime minister are entirely private and – for Sir John – will always remain so.
"But not one of the scenes you depict are accurate in any way whatsoever. They are fiction, pure and simple.”
In response to Major’s comments, a spokesperson for The Crown said: "The Crown has always been presented as a drama based on historical events. Series five is a fictional dramatisation, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors during a significant decade for the royal family – one that has already been scrutinised and well-documented by journalists, biographers and historians."
The fifth season of The Crown is on Netflix from 9 November.
Read next:
-
Harry Styles' My Policeman slammed by critics as 'underwhelming' and 'overhyped'
-
The chilling true story that inspired the Netflix film The Good Nurse
-
Charlize Theron's The School for Good and Evil: Plot, cast, runtime and how to watch in the UK
-
Netflix viewers are secretly excited as Teletubbies makes its return
