The Crown Will Reportedly Feature Prince Philip's Relationship with Penny Knatchbull
There's some major drama coming up in The Crown, and royal insiders are, as ever, spiraling. According to new reports from The Sun, the show's fifth season will depict Prince Philip "in intimate scenes" with his close friend Penny Knatchbull. Though apparently said "intimate scenes" merely involve "touching hands as he divulges details of his marriage," so...not sure it's that scandalous!
However, there's already significant backlash. The Queen’s former press secretary Dickie Arbiter tells The Sun that “Coming just weeks after the nation laid Her Majesty to rest next to Prince Philip, this is very distasteful and, quite frankly, cruel rubbish. The truth is that Penny was a long-time friend of the whole family. Netflix are not interested in people’s feelings.”
Video: 10 things you didn't know about 'The Crown'
Meanwhile, royal expert Ingrid Seward said the scenes were "in exceedingly bad taste" and noted that “This is fiction. There’s no way in a million years he’d discuss his marriage with anybody. The royals probably won’t watch it for their own sanity.”
This follows a previous report from The Telegraph, saying that Buckingham Palace is concerned about the upcoming season of The Crown showing the "all out war" between then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Apparently the palace has "moved to protect" Charles' reputation, and a senior royal source told The Telegraph that the show is “a drama not a documentary.” Meanwhile, a friend of the King called The Crown “exploitative” and said that Netflix would have “no qualms about mangling people’s reputations,” adding “what people forget is that there are real human beings and real lives at the heart of this.”
I mean...pretty sure everyone knows the show is fiction, but kay! Anyway, The Crown drops on November 9, and Jonathan Pryce will play Prince Philip while Imelda Staunton will play Queen Elizabeth. Meanwhile, Prince Charles is being played by Dominic West, while Elizabeth Debicki is taking on the role of Princess Diana.
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