Has The Crown lost all credibility? FEMAIL sorts fact from fiction amid the new series

The creators of the Crown have insisted the latest series is an ‘interpretation’ of real events within the royal family – yet the first five episodes of the new season go far beyond just ‘dramatising’ factual events, with wildly sensationalised plotlines, imagined conversations, altered speeches and falsehoods throughout.

Peter Morgan has been known for taking liberties with the truth and bending facts to create drama in the series. The previous fourth series of the drama was criticised for not doing enough to tell viewers it was a work of fiction. 

The streaming giant was recently forced by the row to add a disclaimer to its trailer for season five saying it was a ‘fictional dramatisation… inspired by real events’.

However there is concern Netflix has not done enough to make it clear to viewers that what they’re watching has been contorted and bent to fit the purpose of entertainment. 

With many of the events appearing behind-closed-doors in the royal household, it’s almost impossible to know what truly happened – and there has long been concern that Morgan presents the show as fact, not as the fictionalized drama it is. 

 Viewers were left shocked to find the explosive fifth series – introducing fans to key royal events from the 1990s – open with Prince Charles lobbying John Major to pressure the Queen to abdicate the throne. 

Further episodes depict Prince Philip growing close to Penny Knatchbull after the death of her daughter Leonora from cancer, while Princess Margaret is shown kissing Peter Townsend in the gardens of Windsor Castle after the 1992 fire. 

Other falsehoods presented as truths include Prince Philip learning of Diana’s explosive book with Andrew Morton, with scenes showing the Duke visiting the princess at Kensington Palace to warn her ‘not to rock the boat.’

Meanwhile, broadcasts have been completely altered, including the Queen’s Annus Horribilis speech and Charles’ interview with Jonathan Dimbleby. 

The programme also appears intent on feeding into unfounded conspiracy theories about the royals – including the idea that Andrew Morton’s home was broken into in an apparent attempt to stop Diana’s book from being published, and the royal family’s involvement in the starting of the Windsor Castle fire.

The Crown’s claim:  Prince Charles lobbied John Major to encourage the Queen to abdicate

The central plot in the first episode of the new series, and a theme which runs throughout the programme, sees Prince Charles lobbying Prime Minister John Major to encourage the Queen to abdicate the throne.

The now-monarch is portrayed as extremely ambitious, and frustrated with his position as Prince of Wales.  

In the storyline the new monarch is portrayed as pleading his mother to abdicate so as not to stand in the way of a more popular, younger heir. 

The fifth series, set in the 1990s, opens with the then Prince of Wales lobbying Sir John in a bizarre attempt to force the Queen’s abdication.

The prince, played by Dominic West, actively briefs against the Queen, whom he believes is out of touch.

Charles is buoyed by the Sunday Times poll showing support for abdication among 47 per cent of the Queen’s subjects. 

Charles travels to Italy with Diana and his children for a family holiday, before the paper is published. 

The royal’s press secretary says he has gained ‘advance sight’ of the Sunday Times and calls the story ‘pretty punchy’ – with the headline stating the Queen should abdicate in favour of the Prince of Wales.

Meanwhile the Queen’s press secretary is shown hiding papers from the monarch, but showing Prince Philip.

Charles questions his press secretary about the Queen’s reaction, and he is informed the papers are being kept hidden, he says: ‘They’ve kept it from her to protect her feelings.’

Such is his determination to draw the Prime Minister into his conspiracy that he is shown cutting short a holiday with Princess Diana and William and Harry to race back to London.

Summoning Mr Major, played by Trainspotting star Jonny Lee Miller, to a private meeting, he asks him to keep their discussions secret.

Upon his return to the UK, Charles meets John Major in a secret meeting at Highgrove, asking if his office has let anyone at Buckingham Palace know about their meeting.

When he learns that he has not, Charles says: ‘Probably for the best.’

He goes on to ask the Prime Minister if he has read his recent book, and if he has seen the article in the Sunday Times.

Major tells Charles it’s ‘just a poll and that polls come and go’, Charles tells him it is ‘dangerous to ignore them.’ 

Major replies: ‘It’s equally dangerous to be guided by them.’ 

In their exchange, Charles hints that the monarchy should follow the lead of the Conservative Party which a year earlier had ousted Mrs Thatcher in favour of the younger Major. He says: ‘What makes the Conservative Party the successful electoral force that it is? ‘Its instinct for renewal and its willingness to make way for someone younger.’

He draws a parallel between himself and his great-great grandfather, Edward VII, the son of Queen Victoria, who was Prince of Wales for almost 60 years.

Charles is depicted as saying: ‘It was said that Queen Victoria had no confidence in him, thought him dangerous, free thinking. He longed to be given responsibilities, but his mother refused. Even forbad him from seeing State papers.

‘Yet when his time came, he proved his doubters wrong and his dynamism, his intellect, his popular appeal made his reign a triumph.’ 

When Mr Major asks what he is driving at, Charles replies: ‘I am saying what a pity it was, what a waste that his voice, his presence, his vision, wasn’t incorporated earlier. It would have been so good for everybody.’

Charles tells Mr Major that if he joins the Queen at an upcoming Ghilles Ball at Balmoral he will be able to judge for himself ‘whether this institution that we all care about so deeply is in safe hands’. 

Later in the episode, Charles talks to Mr Major about the Queen wanting taxpayers’ money to repair the Royal Yacht Britannia. 

He tells the PM: ‘Sometimes these old things are too costly to keep repairing. I’ll leave you with that thought.’ 

Major goes on to tell his wife the senior royals are ‘seriously deluded and out of touch’ while the junior royals are ‘feckless, entitled and out of touch.’  

The facts: John Major’s spokesperson has gone on record to call the storyline ‘nonsense’ and the poll was incorrectly portrayed 

The storyline about the paper’s poll is based on a genuine poll from 1990, but one with a crucial difference.

In the real one, 47 per cent said the Queen should hand over the Throne ‘at some stage’ in the future. 

Meanwhile it also suggested that nine in 10 were largely pro-monarchy.  

After learning of the plotline, Former Prime Minister Sir John Major launched a blistering attack on The Crown, describing an abdication storyline in the latest series as a ‘barrel load of malicious nonsense’. 

Sir John’s spokesman told The Mail on Sunday: ‘If the scenes you describe are broadcast, they should be seen as nothing other than damaging and malicious fiction.

‘A barrel load of nonsense peddled for no other reason than to provide maximum – and entirely false – dramatic impact.’

Sir John, an ardent royalist, insists he did not co-operate – in any way – with The Crown. ‘Nor has he ever been approached by them to fact check any script material in this or any other series,’ said his spokesman.

The spokesman added: ‘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. There was never any discussion between Sir John and the then Prince of Wales about any abdication of the late Queen Elizabeth II – nor was such an improbable and improper subject ever raised by the then Prince of Wales (or Sir John).’

Royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith said: ‘The problem is that the programme is so well produced, so well written that people forget that it is fictional. I give talks all over the US and so many people – well-educated people – believe that absolutely everything in The Crown is real. They need to have an advisory at the start of the programme that it is a fictional adaptation of historical events. People need to know that the things that happen in The Crown are made up.’

Broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby, a friend of King Charles, said: ‘I gave up watching it years ago but I would say, if you are going to bother watching it, just have a good laugh at how ridiculous it is.’

Sir John, who was Prime Minister between 1990 and 1997, has been close to the Royal Family for decades, and was the only British politician invited to attend Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in 2018. Following the death of Princess Diana in 1997, Mr Major, as he was then, was appointed special guardian to Princes Harry and William.

His appointment was reported to have been made at the suggestion of the princes’ father, who asked the politician to protect the interests of Harry and William in negotiations over their mother’s will. When the Queen died last month, Sir John paid tribute to her as ‘selfless and wise, with a wonderful generosity of spirit’.

He wrote: ‘Behind the public figure lay an intensely private woman, dignified and dutiful but blessed with empathy, pragmatism and a delicious sense of humour.’ 

A former member of John Major’s cabinet slammed The Crown’s fictitious series plot which suggests King Charles – then Prince of Wales – had encouraged the ex-prime minister to convince the Queen she should abdicate.

David Mellor, who was Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Secretary of State for National Heritage, insisted the ex-PM would not have been party to ‘what he would have regarded… as a treasonous discussion’.

The former MP expressed his concern that people would ‘believe every word’ of the dramatised show, which could ‘harm the King’s reputation’.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Mr Mellor called the plotline ‘trashy fiction’, adding: ‘Prince Charles has had a pretty rough ride through his life… I’m not saying that some of that isn’t of his own making but he’s been a controversial character.’

Mr Mellor said: ‘He’s done very well since he’s become King and I think its a shame if he is tarnished by this. I mean, you could argue the truth is bad enough without the fiction.’ 

Mr Mellor explained that he was ‘extremely close’ to Sir John, and was sure he would have ‘gotten a hint of this if it had happened’.

‘John is a man of great rectitude,’ he added. ‘And he would not have been a party to what he would have regarded… as a treasonous discussion.’

He added: ‘I don’t think that Peter Morgan [creator of The Crown], who’s a very good writer, needs to resort to obvious trashy fiction in this.

‘I don’t think Charles has any right to have all the things that he did airbrushed out of history… I knew the Princess of Wales very well, I was very fond of her actually… she obviously had a rough old time and that is history.’

Sir Malcom Rifkind, Foreign Secretary under Mr Major, said the implication that the Prince was pressing the PM to encourage the Queen to make way for him was ‘pathetic and absurd’, adding: ‘At the time, the Queen was in her 60s – younger than the King is today. It’s pure fantasy which is what we have come to expect from this particular programme.’

David Mellor, who also served in Mr Major’s Government, called the episode ‘bunkum’.

He added: ‘To conspire with the heir to the throne to try to force a monarch he had sworn to serve to stand down is simply not something [Major] would ever have contemplated. No one in their right mind would have suggested it and no one as sensible as Charles would ever have imagined that this was possible or desirable.’

A spokesman for the Majors said: ‘What you report as depicted in the script has never been their view, never would be their view, and never will be their view.’ 

The verdict: False 

The Crown claims: Staff would hide newspapers from the Queen if they contained stories she wouldn’t like 

During the first episode of the new series, Charles is shown speaking with his press secretary about a poll from the Sunday Times.

Charles is told: ‘It’s interesting. When talking about the Queen, again and again, the same words come out – irrelevant, expensive, old, out of touch. Quite distinct from the way people talked about you.

‘They describe you as young, energetic, modern, emphathetic, and when asked, half believe you would make an excellent King and would support an early abdication of the Queen in your favour.’

Charles asks when the story will run, and the press secretary says the ‘timing of the story is ideal’ because Charles will be away with Diana. 

While on holiday, he is shown carefully studying a copy of the newspaper.

Meanwhile, the newspaper is shown being delivered to the Queen’s boat of Britannia, where she is staying along with the Princess Royal. 

The Queen’s press secretary Robert Fellowes is phoned, and he tells staff to ‘make sure the Sunday Times is removed, better still thrown away’ before the Queen can see it.’

He says: ‘Under no circumstances can the Queen or the Princess Royal be allowed to see it.’

As the pair arrive at breakfast, a member of staff promptly removes the Sunday Times when a line-up of newspapers.

Tim Laurence picks up the paper and whisks it away before the pair can see it, saying: ‘Sorry ma’am you can’t read that, it’s Saturdays paper.’

Back in Italy, Charles asks if there is ‘any reaction from the Queen’ while his press secretary tells him: ‘My understanding is she hasn’t seen it. They’ve kept it from her to protect her feelings.’

Charles responds: ‘Doesn’t that tell you everything?’ 

The facts: The Queen received the papers every day, as well as listening to Radio 4 in the morning and receiving  a media briefing from her people 

It appears extremely unlikely staff would hide a story of this kind from the Queen, or that they would be able to. 

Every day, the Queen would receive a cup of tea in her room, while a maid would also switch on the radio.

The Queen’s preference was BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme because the Queen liked to wake up to the sound of John Humphrys and his colleagues grilling unfortunate politicians on the Today programme.

Meanwhile she would also scan all the morning papers daily, including the Daily Telegraph as well as the Racing Post.

She would also receive a batch of press cuttings each day. 

Her press secretary would have prepared a digest of the day’s news from the early morning radio and television bulletins. Once she had read this and any other papers, she pressed a button on the console in front of her. 

She would then have a meeting with her private secretary. 

 Carrying a small wicker basket containing the documents the Queen has to read and initial, he enters the room, gives a brief neck bow and says: ‘Your Majesty.’ Thereafter, he addresses her as ‘Ma’am’. 

The verdict: False 

The Crown claims: Princess Anne met Tim Laurence through the Queen when he worked as her equerry 

During the first episode, which is understood to have taken place in the 1990s, Princess Anne is shown smiling coyly as she meets Tim Laurence for the first time aboard the Britannia. 

He is the one who hides the Sunday Times from both Anne and the Queen.

Later, the two are shown having a conversation in which Anne asks her mother: ‘New equerry?’

The Queen responds: ‘Tim? No he’s been with us for a while.’

When Anne asks ‘how come I never noticed’, the Queen tells her: ‘Because you’re married!’

Anne says: ‘Only technically. What’s he like?’ 

The Queen calls him ‘reliable, sensible and agreeable’. 

The facts: Tim and Anne met in the 1980s, years before he served as an equerry for the Queen 

The beginning of Princess Anne’s relationship with Tim appears to be another instance where the Crown has manipulated the timeline in order to fit with the drama’s narrative.

Tim is believed to have first met Anne when he was serving as a navigating officer of the Royal Yacht Britannia from 1980 to 1982, although details of the start of their relationship are not known.

That being said, Tim did work for the Queen as an equerry. However it was from 1986 to 1989 and not in the 1990s, as is presented in the programme.

In his role, the senior member of the British Armed Forces was appointed to assist members of the Royal Family. 

In 1989, the existence of private letters from Laurence to the Princess was revealed by The Sun newspaper, though it did not name the sender.

In October 1989, Laurence was posted to the new frigate HMS Boxer, and took over as commanding officer on 30 January 1990, at age 34.

Between 1992 and 1994, Laurence served on the naval staff in the Ministry of Defence, London.

His close relationship with the late monarch was apparent throughout the Queen’s life. She invited Sir Tim, as a non-working royal, to join the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace as part of the Platinum Jubilee Trooping the Colour ceremony this year. 

The verdict: False 

The Crown claims: Charles was cruel to Diana in front of the children

During Prince Charles and Diana’s ‘second honeymoon’ to Italy, Diana and Charles are joined by a group of friends, including Norton and Penny Knatchbull, as well as their children Prince William and Prince Harry.

It’s one of the first real instances where the family are shown on screen in the new series.

Charles is shown excitedly discussing his plans for the holiday, describing his desire to sight-seeing. However Diana interrupts, telling him she wants to go ‘shopping, beaches and watersports’.

Charles embarrasses her in front of the group by snarkily saying: ‘Would anyone else like to go shopping?’

After a moment of silence, Prince William and Prince Harry speak up in defence of their mother, saying: ‘Me! I’d like to go shopping’.

Later, Diana tells Harry and William: ‘Thanks for sticking up for me! That was brave.’ She goes on to present them both with Gameboys to play with.

Elsewhere in the episode, when Charles tells Diana he is planning on cutting their trip short due to having a ‘meeting’ in London, the two end up screaming at one another on the deck of the yacht. 

The facts: William and Harry were ‘largely oblivious’ to issues between Charles and Diana  

Ken Wharfe, a former Royal personal protection officer previously told The Mail on Sunday that Diana and Charles were intent on keeping their children out of any drama between them. 

Speaking of periods working within the family, Mr Wharfe, 73, said: ‘They were such happy times. Yes, there were all the issues of the Royal marriage, but the Prince and Princess did their very best at that time to keep their children out of it.

‘They were largely oblivious and they had great fun with their mother.’

The verdict: False 

The Crown claims: Prince William had a miserable childhood 

A young Prince William appears melancholy and troubled in the new series of The Crown, which shows him reaching adolescence while dealing with the public separation of his parents.

In the young prince’s first scene, in which Prince Harry is also present, Charles embarrasses Diana by mocking her desire to go shopping – but both young princes say they are desperate to head to the shops with their mother. 

The future king played by Dominic West’s son Senan, 15, cuts a miserable figure as he navigates growing up in the public eye in the first episode. 

He is also tuned into his mother’s pain, and is pictured comforting Princess Diana during difficult moments with Prince Charles.

He watches as his mother storms off to speak to Charles after he cuts their holiday short, and comforts her by holding her hand as they return from the trip.

She then tells William and Harry: ‘Thanks for sticking up for me! That was brave’ before presenting them both with a GameBoy each. 

The facts: Diana was determined to give her children the happiest childhood she could 

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams previously told FEMAIL how Princess Diana ensured her boys had the happiest, most normal upbringing possible.

Meanwhile, they also had the support of his loving grandmother the Queen, while Prince Charles taught them sports such as polo.

‘Those watching what The Crown shows should also bear in mind that there were, even in the nineties, happy times for William too,’ Richard said. ‘Whereas many of the events it portrays were indeed grim, it should surely also show how William was loved as a child.’

Although The Crown fictionalises some aspects of the Royal Family and their lives, fans will no doubt be disappointed to see the depiction of William as an unfulfilled teenager given the close relationship he had with his mother in real life.

He said: ‘William, it has been reported, is portrayed as sad, unfulfilled and melancholy in the fifth series.

The royal author added: ‘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.

‘William later said what an eye-opener seeing a different side to life was and, when he turned 40, reportedly became a Big Issue seller in memory of what his mother taught him.

‘She was more casual than Charles, 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 as upbringing as they possibly could under very trying circumstances.’

Diana was known for her affectionate approach towards motherhood as her sons were growing up and was often pictured in public embracing Prince Harry and Prince William.

One of the earliest examples of her dedication to motherhood above all other duties was when she broke royal protocol to bring her eldest son, who was nine months old at the time, on a tour around Australia. In setting a new precedent for royal engagements, she made it clear her children were her top priority.

‘Taking William, aged nine months, on a trip to Australia was controversial at the time but much later William and Kate took George at that age too so this was a game changer,’ Richard said.

As the children were growing up, Diana showed the world she was a ‘fun mother’ who got involved in silly activities with her sons and their friends.

In one of her most famous outings with the boys, Princess Diana was pictured allowing herself to get absolutely soaked on the log flume at Thorpe Park in 1993.

The late Princess of Wales is pictured beaming from inside the cart while Princes Harry and Prince William howl with laughter. In 2017, a Radio 5 Live show celebrating Princess Diana’s life examined the photo in more detail and revealed what it was the young princes had found so funny.

The photographer who took the picture said that the Royals’ security team, a group of burly royal protection officers, came down the water ride after Diana and the boys and, due to their weight, caused a huge splash at the bottom.

The boys were grinning at the soaked policemen following them in another boat.

Other photos from the day show Princess Diana guiding her sons and other guests on the river rapids ride – in which they are all wearing ponchos and waterproof cover-ups to try and shield themselves from the water seeping in.

As the boys were growing up, their mother remained a fun presence in their lives and was also pictured taking part in the parents’ race at their school sports day on more than one occasion.

While on family holidays, the Princess of Wales showed that entertaining her children was her top priority, often shunning sunbathing for fun activities with the boys – which sometimes included being buried in the sand, as she demonstrated on a trip to the Virgin Islands.

Even on her last holiday with the boys in St Tropez in July 1997, shortly before she died in a car crash in Paris, Princess Diana was pictured larking around with Princes William and Harry on jet skis.

Aside from their doting mother, Richard also noted how other royal figures doted on them when they were children, including their father and their grandmother.

He said: ‘Charles taught William polo and traditional country sports.

‘The Queen played a particularly important role in his life, helping to prepare him for the future, notably when he was a pupil at Eton when he visited her at weekends.’ 

The verdict: False 

The Crown claims: The Queen’s favourite home was Britannia and she lobbied John Major for funds to repair it  

The first episode is largely dedicated to the Queen and Prince Charles’ relationship – however the backdrop to the conflict for the monarch is her royal yacht Britannia.

The series even begins with the moment the Queen announced the name of the royal yacht as Britannia.

Upon being asked if Balmoral is her favourite home, she confesses it is her second and says: ‘There is another which is even more special to me.’

However it’s not long before Prince Philip and the Queen realise the ship needs some crucial repairs – with the Duke of Edinburgh even saying the ship is ‘falling apart’ and at risk of becoming ‘obsolete.’

He suggests the Queen ask the Prime Minister for funds to fix the ship, which she later goes on to do when John Major and his wife arrive at Balmoral. 

The Queen says she needs ‘a small refit’ in order to ‘keep the yacht in tip top shape.’

And when Major says it won’t be possible, the Queen pushes him – telling her the ‘connection is deeper’ than that with other royal posessions, and the boat is ‘a floating, sea-going expression of me.’

Later, Charles asks Major about the Britannia, telling him: ‘Sometimes these old things are too costly to keep repairing.’  

The facts:  The Queen did love Britannia, even shedding a tear when she bid her farewell, but it’s unlikely she would have lobbied for funds to fix her 

Designed to be the Queen’s floating residence as she travelled the world, Britannia was launched in 1953. It covered more than a million miles on 968 state visits.

Rear Admiral Sir Robert Woodard remembers the Queen’s passion for the boat well. 

‘People who know us at all know that Buckingham Palace is the office,’ she began, ‘Windsor Castle is for weekends and the occasional State thing and Sandringham and Balmoral are for holidays. Well, they aren’t what I would call holidays. For example, there are 90 people coming to stay with us at Balmoral this summer.

‘The only holiday I get every year is from Portsmouth the long way round to Aberdeen on the Royal Yacht, when I can get up when I like and wear what I like and be completely free. And if you as Flag Officer Royal Yachts can produce the Royal Yacht for my summer holidays, that’s all I ask.’

For the person with surely the most abnormal position in British national life, the Yacht offered the one thing the Queen craved — a spot of normality. Britannia would be a place for fun, for mischief and — in a world governed by ritual and tradition — for the spur-of-the-moment. 

Meanwhile, as is depicted in the programme, Britannia was the nearest the Queen has ever had to her ‘own’ home. All the other palaces and castles were inherited. All had been furnished and equipped by her predecessors over 40 reigns. 

However, the idea that the Queen would lobby John Major for a refit, or that the yacht was falling apart in the early nineties, appears unlikely. 

In the mid-Nineties a substantial refit was required. However it wasn’t till 1994 that John Major gave a government announcement that there would be no refit for HMY Britannia as the costs would be too great.

His decision and dithering came in the late 90s, amid fears of a backlash in the wake of two high-profile Royal divorces.

Documents from the National Archives show that the Major administration was concerned at potential public anger over the cost of a replacement vessel.

In March 1996, Sir John’s private secretary, Alex Allan, described his boss’s rationale in a note marked ‘Confidential’: ‘In the light of the current debate about the Royal Family and the Monarchy, the Prime Minister did not feel it was the right time to take a decision on a new Royal Yacht.

‘The matter should, however, be kept under regular review: once the divorce between the Prince and Princess of Wales had been completed, for example, public sentiment could turn quickly.’ 

The Queen’s vessel being decommissioned three years later.

In an extremely rare public show of emotion, Her Majesty shed a tear on the day she had to finally bid farewell to a ship that had served her family for over forty years.

But it has always been assumed that the Queen would never put pressure on the government over an issue which was very politically sensitive at the time.

In 2003, a place spokesman told The Sunday Telegraph: ‘Neither the Queen nor the Duke of Edinburgh have ever expressed an opinion on the way the issue was handled and nor would they do so.’ 

The verdict: Mostly false  

The Crown claims: Prince Philip’s friendship with Penny came from comforting her while grieving 

The main plotline in the second episode of the programme shows Prince Philip developing a close friendship with Penny Knatchbull after the death of her daughter from cancer. 

The programme introduces the Duke of Edinburgh through his love of carriage driving, where he tells a journalist that at the ‘age 50 he decided to give up the big love of his life and look for some fun.’

The royal family are shown attending the funeral for Leonora Knatchbull, with Prince Charles, Diana and the Queen all attending alongside Prince Philip.

The Duke takes it upon himself to offer some comfort to Norton to ‘see how the couple are coping’, and visits the Knatchbull’s home to offer his condolences.

However when he arrives, he finds it is Penny who is home alone. The two discuss grief with Philip presenting her with a posy of flowers.

Penny invites the royal out into the garden to visit the grave of their daughter, where she lays his flowers. 

Discussing marriage, Philip hints he and the queen have ‘grown in separate directions.’ 

Philip encourages Penny to take up a hobby to distract her from the grief, before she reveals she has an old carriage in the garage of her home. 

Penny shows Philip a carriage in the garage – ‘Norton wouldn’t to sell it, we’ve been told it’s beyond repair.’

Philip makes it his pet project to renovate the carriage back to it’s former glory, before presenting it to Penny and inviting her along for a ride.

The two laugh and joke with one another on an intimate ride through the countryside, with their hands touching on multiple occasions.

Upon their return to Penny’s home, they discuss setting up a charitable foundation in memory of Leonora, which Philip has drawn up plans for.

He tells Penny about feeling a heavy grief for his ‘favorite’ sister Cecil after her death in a plane crash, and says it has ‘become a part of his skin.’

At the end of the episode, The Queen and Prince Philip discuss the idea of having ‘secrets’ from one another. 

The facts: Philip did have a close friendship with Penny  

Penelope (Penny) Knatchbull, also known as Countess Mountbatten of Burma, was indeed a close friend of Prince Philip.

After first meeting Prince Philip in the 1970s, like the programme depicts, mother-of-three Penny is said to have leaned on the Duke and the Queen in 1991 after her five-year-old daughter Leonora tragically died from kidney cancer.  

Also known as Lady Romsey and Lady Brabourne, Penny, 69, bonded with the late Philip over their shared love for the equestrian sport of carriage-driving.

When she met the Duke, Penny was in a relationship with Earl Mountbatten’s grandson Norton Knatchbull, whom she eventually married.

Norton, 73, is the grandson of Lord Mountbatten – who was famously close to his nephew Prince Philip. Philip was Norton’s godson, while Norton is the godfather of Prince William. 

The wedding was delayed for five after Earl Mountbatten was murdered in an IRA bombing in Co. Sligo, 1979.

In 1992, after becoming irritated by the suggestions of infidelity, the Duke told a journalist: ‘Have you ever stopped to think that, for the last 40 years, I have never moved anywhere without a policeman accompanying me?

‘So how the hell could I get away with anything like that?’ 

It’s also true that Philip taught the Countess carriage-driving in 1994 and she became his regular companion for the sport.

Royal insiders say her enthusiasm for carriage-driving is one of the reasons he continued to take the reins into his late 90s. He was pictured carriage-driving in the grounds of Windsor Castle as recently as 2019.

After the Duke of Edinburgh retired to Sandringham after stepping down from royal duties, Penny was a regular visitor to Wood Farm on the Norfolk Estate.

Over the years, the Duke and Penny’s friendship had become so close that she was one of just 30 mourners invited to his funeral in April 2021 after he passed away at the age of 99.

After the funeral, The Mail on Sunday’s Caroline Graham reported Penny looked ‘heartbroken’ as she said goodbye to her best friend of nearly five decades.

She quoted a royal aide who said Penny was a ‘keeper of secrets’ for the late Duke who had confided in her throughout their friendship.

The aide said: ‘Penny was one of the few friends that Philip continued to see regularly after 2017 and his withdrawal from Royal duties.

‘They were brought together by tragedy but were there for each other through thick and thin. He trusted her implicitly and she adored him. She never betrayed him.

‘She was a keeper of not only his secrets but those of the entire family.

‘Theirs was a deep and lasting friendship. Penny was always jokingly referred to as ‘and also’ because whenever a list was being drawn up for a family event, be it private or public, it would be ‘let’s invite X and Y’ and then Philip would insist ”and also Penny…”

The rumours of a romance between the pair were somewhat quietened after Penny also developed a close relationship with the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Penny and Her late Majesty are said to have bonded over their mutual love of horse riding.

In 2010, after her husband left her for a new life and lover in The Bahamas, Penny is reported to have earnt enormous respect from the Queen, who reportedly admired how she had kept their historic estate, Broadlands in Hampshire, running as normal despite her personal turmoil.

In July 2021, while the Queen was grieving for her husband who had died a few months earlier, Penny was spotted with the late monarch at the Royal Windsor Horse Show sharing a joke with her.

The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden reported at the time that the pair remained ‘incredibly close’ and that Penny was a ‘comfort’ to Her late Majesty.

She was also present at the funeral of the Queen at Westminster Abbey in September. 

A source who knows the family said the Crown’s portrayal of Countess Mountbatten is ‘deliberately cruel’ and ‘unnecessarily unsympathetic’ by a source.

The insider has dubbed the upcoming series as ‘republican fiction’.

An acquaintance of the family – who has yet to see the series set to air next month – told The Telegraph: ‘It is one thing for a script to be drivel, another to be so deliberately cruel. I think maybe they have shot themselves in the foot rather with this but for the majority, it will simply pass them by.’

The verdict: Partly true 

The Crown claims:  Prince Philip confronted Diana about her involvement in Andrew Morton’s book 

Elsewhere in the second episode of the drama, Prince Philip is shown learning of Andrew Morton’s book from Penny Knatchbull during a visit to her home.

She tells him: ‘Something Norton wanted me to pass on. Apparently there’s a book being written about the Princess of Wales, with her cooperation. 

‘One that claims how badly she’s been treated by the family.. Everyone’s failure to understand her. The jealousy everyone feels about her popularity and success. Norton said he’d had several calls from people who said they’d been approached or knew someone who had.’

Prince Philip dismisses it as ‘gossip’, telling Penny that ‘Norton should know better.’

However he takes the comments from Penny seriously, and immediately requests a meeting with the Princess of Wales at Kensington Palace. 

Diana is seen hiding documents about the book in her desk and around the room, before Philip enters and asks her about living at the palace.

He says: ‘Is there any privacy at all? Because privacy is so important isn’t it. Confidentiality too. I suppose that’s what I have come to see you about today.’

He refuses her offer of sitting down, telling her he has ‘always had a soft spot for her’ because she is ‘young and beautiful’ but also he ‘often shares frustration of her husband.’

Philip tells her he feels ‘protective and fond of her’ – saying: ‘When I see you’re making  errors of judgement, I wanted to lean across the table and remind you, I’m on your team.

‘What am I trying to say? You’re not a novice anymore, you’re long past the pojnt of thinking of us as a family. That’s the mistake people make in the beginning, but you understand, it’s a system. We’re all in this system – you, me, the boss, the cousins, the uncles, the aunts, for better or for worse. We’re all stuck in it.

‘We can’t just air our grievances and throw bombs in the air as in a normal family or we end up damaging something much bigger and much more important. The system. The tip I want to give you is this, just be creative. You can break as many rules as you like, you can do whatever you like. You can make whatever arranegemnts you need to find your own happeiness – as long as you rememebr the one condition.

‘You remain loyal to your husband and loyal to this family in public.’

Diana says: ‘You mean silent?’

Philip responds: ‘Yes, don’t rock the boat. Ever. To the grave.’

Diana nods, saying she ‘doesn’t think there is anything to say, to which Philip responds: ‘I think that’s the wisest thing I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth.’

In the next scene, Philip tells the Queen that Diana ‘will be fine’, adding: ‘I told her that if she were a little more clever, a little more strategic, she could find all the happiness she needs in the system, without anyone being any near the wiser.’

However Diana is seen drinking a glass of wine at the palace, before Andrew Morton is showing being interviewed about the book.

The facts: The book was a complete secret and a total bombshell to the royal family when it was released 

The idea that Prince Philip knew about Diana’s involvement in Andrew Morton’s biography before it was published is completely fictionalised – as is the idea that he confronted her about the book and tried to warn her off her participation. 

Morton has previously told Daily Mail that all the correspondence with the Princess was undertaken with the utmost secrecy.

He said: ‘Naturally, I was keen to talk to the Princess directly, but this was simply out of the question. At 6ft 4in tall and as a writer known to Palace staff, I’d hardly be inconspicuous.

‘So I interviewed her by proxy — giving my questions to Colthurst, who then conducted six taped interviews with her in her sitting room at Kensington Palace.’

‘ She read my book in chunks as I wrote it and on one occasion was so moved by the poignancy of her own story that she confessed to weeping tears of sorrow.

‘And, shortly before her father Earl Spencer died, she sent him a note asking for photos for the book from the family’s albums.

‘I would like to ask you a special favour. In particular, I would like you to keep that as a secret between us. Please will you do that,’ she wrote.

‘An author who has done me a particular favour is now writing a book on me as Diana, rather than POW (Princess of Wales) . . . It is a chance for my own self to surface a little rather than be lost in the system. I rather see it as a lifebelt against being drowned and it is terribly important to me.’ 

The book was crafted under such secrecy that it is hard now to convey the shock, disgust and astonishment that greeted the first instalment. 

The Archbishop of Canterbury condemned it and the chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, Lord McGregor, accused the media of ‘dabbling their fingers in the stuff of other people’s souls’.

The book was banned by numerous bookstores and supermarkets. Ironically, a biography written and produced with Diana’s enthusiastic co-operation was being piously boycotted on the suspicion that it was a pack of lies.

Philip is understood to have read the book on an overnight flight from Boston, on July 17 and 18, 1992. 

He then sent a number of letters to Diana in which he looked for ways to keep the marriage going in the public eye- these are understood to have been sympathetic, as opposed to the anger of Philip’s reaction shown in the programme. 

The verdict: False  

The Crown claims: Diana says her wedding was ‘like a bad dream’ and she was ‘traumatised’ by the engagement interview in her tapes to Andrew Morton 

In the second episode of the drama, Dr James Colthurst and Andrew Morton are seen collaborating with Diana on the explosive book. 

Colthurst delivered the tapes from Diana to Morton via bicycle. 

In the series, Diana is recorded saying: ‘I had a very unhappy childhood. My parents were always wrapped up in their own problems and my mother was always in tears.

‘My father was never telling us what was going on. There was always a succession of nannies, who I hated.’

And when Morton asked how she felt when Charles responded: ‘Whatever love means’ when asked if he was in love with her, she says: ‘Absolutely traumatised, my self worth was cut in two. But I was too scared to ask him what he meant, and then it was too late.’

Meanwhile she also calls the wedding ‘like a bad dream’ and says she ‘was sick everywhere’ the night before.

She says she felt ‘overwhelmed with love’ for her husband on her wedding day, but was left devastated when she saw Camilla was there. 

The facts: Diana did work with Colthurst and Andrew Morton on the tapes, where she spoke extensively about her relationship with her family and Charles 

Dr James Colthurst, whom Andrew Morton met in 1986 when the princess opened a new CT scanner in his X-ray department at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, was the one who initiated the book.

After meeting Morton, over tea and biscuits, he questioned him about Diana’s visit and soon realised he had known her for years.

Gradually, James and Morton became friendly, enjoying games of squash followed by large lunches and talking about everything but the princess.

As her friend, of course, James was well aware that her marriage had failed and that her husband was having an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles.

Diana had a nagging fear that, at any moment, her enemies in the Palace would have her classified as mentally ill and locked away. Where to turn?

It had dawned on her that unless the full story of her life was told, the public would never understand the reasons behind anything she decided to do.

She knew Morton researching a book about her and she had been reasonably pleased with an earlier work of mine, mainly because it irritated Prince Charles with its detailed description of the interior of Highgrove.

One day, she asked Colthurst: ‘Does Andrew want an interview?’ The author was keen to talk to her directly but this was out of the question. 

So, as shown in the programme, he interviewed her by proxy, giving his questions to Colthurst, who then conducted six taped interviews with her at Kensington Palace.

Diana was secretly working with Morton — via an intermediary — on a no-holds-barred biography of her life in which she openly discussed her eating disorder, her half-hearted suicide attempts and her husband’s adultery. 

The dam burst in June 1992 with the publication of the book, Diana: Her True Story.

When it was first serialised — under the front-page headline ‘Diana driven to five suicide bids by ‘uncaring’ Charles’ — the response was explosive.

Diana refused to put her name to a palace statement denouncing the book as inaccurate and distorted.

Yet at the same time she lied to the Queen’s private secretary, denying she’d had anything to do with it. 

Morton has previously shared a transcript of the tapes to MailOnline. While she says she found the engagement interview ‘traumatising’, her words were also changed by The Crown.

In the tapes, she actually says: ‘And this ridiculous [reporter] said, ‘Are you in love?’ 

‘I thought, what a thick question. So I said, ‘Yes, of course, we are,’ and Charles turned round and said, ‘Whatever love means.’ And that threw me completely. I thought, what a strange answer. It traumatized me.’

Speaking in the audio tapes about her wedding day, she didn’t describe it as ‘a bad dream’ as the programme shows – but actually says: ‘I don’t think I was happy. I never tried to call it off, in the sense of really doing that, but I think [it was] the worst day of my life.’ 

Meanwhile Camilla did attend the wedding, and did wear a grey suit – according to Morton, Diana was devastated when she saw her at the event. 

The verdict: True 

The Crown claims:  Nazis wanted to install Duke of Windsor as a ‘puppet King’ 

In the third episode of the series, the royal family are shown gathering around the grave for the Duchess of Windsor following her death.

Mohamed Al-Fayed is shown buying 4 route du Champ d’Entraînement, also known as Villa Windsor, and all of the contents within it.

Among the items in the property are letters written by the Duke of Windsor following his abdication, as well as his personal diaries.

Meanwhile the Queen is also shown being told that there is correspondence which shows the Duke and his wife Wallace Simpson were ‘frequently in contact with Nazis who hoped to install him as a ‘puppet king’.

The facts: Edward VIII was in close contact with the Nazi regime and they did consider installing him as a puppet king 

It’s long been known that the former Edward VIII had close contact with the Nazi regime. 

Edward VIII’s mother, Queen Mary, was almost entirely German and his father, George V, partly German.

Edward was born in 1894, and when he was growing up, he recalled how older members of his family would lapse into German as soon as any English-speaking courtiers left the room. Edward himself was so fluent in the language that he regarded it as his ‘Muttersprache’ — his mother tongue.

In addition, Edward — who was known as ‘David’ by his family — would often visit Germany, both immediately before and after World War I and throughout the Twenties and Thirties.

He would reside with family members, although when they came to stay with him in Britain, Edward ensured that their names did not appear on the public Court Circular.

Edward certainly felt at home in Germany and with all things German. It therefore comes as little surprise that he once told his great friend Diana Mosley, the wife of the British Fascist leader, Sir Oswald Mosley, that ‘every drop of blood in my veins is German’.

Clearly, a fondness for Germany should not be equated with a fondness for Nazism.

Many sympathetic biographers of Edward are adamant that his love for the land of his forebears has been misinterpreted, and that he really was no closet Fascist.

Such biographers dismiss claims that he was a ‘fellow traveller’ as conspiracy theories and tittle-tattle.

When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Edward was delighted. As he revealed to a senior Austrian diplomat, he saw Nazism as necessary for Germany. ‘Of course, it is the only thing to do,’ he said. ‘We will have to come to it, as we are in great danger from the Communists, too.’

There can be no doubt what Edward meant by these words — he wanted Britain to be governed by some form of Fascism.

Even one of Edward’s equerries, Sir Dudley Forwood, was later to report: ‘We were none of us averse to Hitler politically. We felt that the Nazi regime was a more appropriate government than the Weimar Republic, which had been extremely socialist.’

Back in 1936, when Edward became King, the Nazis were delighted. They had been in power for three years and now, finally, Britain was to be ruled by a man who understood not only Germany, but also had a penchant for Nazism.

‘I am convinced his friendly disposition towards Germany will have some influence on the formation of British foreign policy,’ observed the German ambassador to Britain.

In addition, Edward is supposed to have told his cousin such an alliance was a political necessity, and that he wanted to meet Hitler as soon as possible.

That time would come, but not while he was King.

Whatever the truth behind the Naval Agreement, it is clear that when he came to the throne, Edward had direct links with the Nazis that circumvented formal diplomatic channels.

Edward was invited to tour Germany in October 1937, just ten months after he had relinquished his crown. 

Of course, there was one Nazi above all whom Edward wanted to meet — Adolf Hitler. That dubious privilege was extended to him on October 22, when he and the Duchess of Windsor visited the dictator at his mountain retreat above Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps. Unfortunately, no transcript of this fascinating meeting exists, but we do have some tidbits.

According to equerry Dudley Forwood, who accompanied the Duke on the tour, Edward said to Hitler: ‘The Germans and the British races are one. They should always be one. They are of Hun origin.’ Doubtless Hitler agreed.

The British, meanwhile, were seething. There was no doubt in the minds of many diplomats what Nazi intentions were for the Duke. The Germans clearly hoped that Edward would ‘come back as a social-equalising King’, one British official reported, in order to establish an ‘English form of Fascism and alliance with Germany’.

Quite how the Nazis thought Edward would reclaim the crown is not clear. The only way it could have happened would have been following a successful German invasion of Britain.

It has long been speculated that if this had taken place, Edward would have accepted the role of some form of puppet king under the Nazi jackboot. 

The verdict: Partly true 

The Crown claims: Al Fayed modelled himself on King Edward and was a massive social climber

The entirety of the third episode of the drama is dedicated to Mohamed Al-Fayed’s life story, following the businessman from his years selling coca-cola on the streets of Egypt to meeting the Princess of Wales.

In the programme, he is depicted as relentlessly ambitious, constantly seeking to move up in terms of social class and reputation in Britain.

After buying The Ritz in Paris, he asks Dodi to fire one of the waiters who is a person of colour – before learning he was once the valet to the Duke of Windsor, and hiring him to be his own personal assistant.

The valet, Sydney Johnson, goes on to teach Al-Fayed about ‘how to be a gentleman’, even helping him to get his suits tailored in the exact same way that Edward would.

Upon visiting Windsor Horse Show, Al-Fayed is determined to be seated next to the Queen – a seat held by the owner of Harrods.

The programme shows this as his primary motivation in buying Harrods.

He is also shown buying and restoring Villa Windsor in Paris, saying it will be ‘a gift to the British royal family’. 

The facts: Al-Fayed was interested in the royal family, and did move to England 

In the ’70s, Fayed moved from Egypt to England, where he would spend much of the rest of his life.

According to Vanity Fair, he has long been ‘obsessed with the royal family’. 

His determination to buy Harrods was in part because it had been serving them for decades.

After the death of Wallis Simpson, Fayed took over the lease of the Villa Windsor in Paris, the former home of the Duchess of Windsor and her husband, the Duke of Windsor, previously Edward VIII.

He spent years renovating it to it’s former glory, before inviting the Queen to visit. 

In an article published in 1995, Vanity Fair detailed that the British upper class were ‘who Al-Fayed wanted to most impress’ but they had long ‘given him the cold shoulder.’

A friend of his, Alan Frame, told the magazine: ‘We’re still a class-ridden society. He sponsors lots of things involving the royal family, and he’s still not accepted.’ 

The verdict: Partly true 

The Crown claims: Diana was introduced to Dodi at the Windsor Horse Show in the nineties 

At the end of the third episode of the series, The Queen arranges for the Princess of Wales to be seated next to Mohamed Al-Fayed at Windsor Horse Show. 

In the episode, Diana stunned in a lilac jacket and matching skirt. In the scenes, the pair could be seen taking their seats at what appeared to be a polo match. 

Diana tells Mohamed: ‘I’m afraid you’ve got me. I’m afraid I’m a substitute for the big chief.’

She goes on to joke with him about the Queen being ‘allergic’ to them both, saying: ‘I’m here today to try to get back into her good books. I’m trying to get into her good books.’

Mohammad asks Diana to call him ‘Mou Mou’ which he says came from his father. 

He also says he was ‘great friends’ with Lord Spencer and Lady Raine, whom Diana called ‘my wicked stepmother.’ 

Mohamed goes on to introduce Diana to his son Dodi, in what is apparently the first meeting between the two.  

The facts: Diana met Mohamed at Harrods, while she met Dodi at a polo match in 1986  

The meeting between Mohamed, Dodi and Diana appears to be completely fictionalised for the purpose of the TV show. 

Firstly, Diana is known to have met Mohamed at the Harrods store in London, rather than at a horse show. 

And rather than meeting at Windsor Horse Show in the nineties, it has been reported Diana first met Mohamed’s son Dodi at a polo match against Prince Charles in Windsor in 1986, while the royals were still married, rather than the nineties as is portrayed in the show. 

While it is unknown exactly the timing of the scene in the hit drama, Diana was spotted speaking with Mohamed on multiple occasions at the polo, including meetings in 1987 and 1988. 

She was photographed with the former Harrod’s owner at a match in 1987, and later snapped in 1988 alongside Dodi and Prince William at a match in Windsor.  

In the summer of 1997, the millionaire son of former Harrods owner Mohamed entertained the former Princess of Wales on the yacht.

Dodi and Diana were photographed enjoying each other’s company on his boat, named ‘Cujo’, in July 1997, just weeks before their deaths in a Paris car crash on August 31st the same year.

The pair were photographed kissing and embracing on the deck almost a year after Diana and Prince Charles’s divorce was agreed upon. Diana, then 36, was spotted strutting on the deck, making the most of the Mediterranean sun and her new romance.

The couple also spent most of their time of Dodi’s father Mohamed’s super yacht the Jonikal (now known as the Sokar) that same summer.

A snap of the former royal gazing into the distance from the yacht’s diving board was one of the last pictures ever taken of Diana. 

The verdict: False 

The Crown claims: Margaret was angry about Peter Townsend until her death and the two continued their affair into the nineties 

The fourth episode of the series focuses on The Queen’s famous Annus Horribilis in 1992 – and Princess Margaret’s ongoing bitterness over the end of her relationship with Peter Townsend is among those difficult encounters.

Margaret calls him ‘the love of her life’ and agrees to be reunited with Peter at an event in London, appearing nervous as she gets ready for the event and writing him a flirtatious letter in response.

The pair meet, and dance together. Margaret tells Princess Anne that she must ‘fight’ for her love with Tim Laurence, in an apparent reference to the fact she was unable to fight for hers with Peter. 

Margaret attempts to leave but Peter intercepts her, and the two discuss their personal letters to one another.

Peter says he plans to return Margaret’s letters to her which he ‘kept’ – he says he has become concerned they would ‘fall into the wrong hands.’ 

The episode goes on to see Margaret re-reading older letters which she had written to Peter, while showing scenes of Vanessa Kirkby and Ben Miles embracing and riding together.

Following the fire at Windsor, the two appear to grow closer. They are shown walking with one another in the grounds of the castle.

Peter says he wrote to Margaret after being told he was unwell by his doctor.

He says: ‘Around the same time I heard a radio interview with you, and I suppose I wanted to know, if our love, if the context of a whole life, had been a fleeting one, or a lasting one.’ 

Peter goes on to kiss Margaret, and she reciprocates. 

She goes on to fight with the Queen about it, telling the Queen she remains ‘bitter’ about the fact she was unable to marry Peter, calling him her ‘sun’.

She says she would have reason to set fire to Windsor Castle, saying: Me, you don’t think I have reason to burn down my sister’s home? Because of what she denied me. Peter Townsend.’

Margaret appears devastated by the fact they were unable to be together.

The facts: Margaret did not go to the London reunion, and ended her relationship with Peter after she fell out of love with him 

The timeline of the relationship between Margaret and Townsend in the later years of their lives is yet another moment which has been manipulated by The Crown.

The Crown has long depicted the Queen as standing in the way of Margaret’s love for Townsend. However historical records have proven different time and time again.

Last year, royal biographer Andrew Morton told how he believed Princess Margaret, a beautiful young woman of 25 with the world at her feet, had ended the relationship because she simply fell out of love with her older fiance.

In the most intriguing twist, she may even have been involved in another intimate relationship at the same time – with Eddie Fisher, the 1950s singer and future husband of Hollywood legends Elizabeth Taylor and Debbie Reynolds.

As Reynolds said: ‘The Queen and Prime Minister Eden were working to facilitate Margaret’s romance with Townsend, not destroy it. 

‘The pervasive idea that Margaret was forced to give up her fighter pilot lover by the Queen and her advisers is a myth perpetuated in TV shows such as The Crown.’ 

Her official biographer Christopher Warwick observes: ‘Indeed, in light of what we now know, the most obvious conclusion to be drawn is that her love for Townsend – and in all probability his love for her – was no longer as strong as it had once been and marriage was no longer an issue.’

Meanwhile, when Margaret and Townsend met again 37 years after their split, he was happily married to Belgian Marie-Luce Jamagne (with whom he lived in France and had a daughter) and they could talk with the same intimacy as they had before.

It was 1992 and he was in London to attend a reunion of those who had travelled with the Royal Family in 1947. However unlike the depiction in The Crown, Princess Margaret declined the invitation to avoid Press attention.

Instead, she invited Townsend to tea.

Three years later he was dead, but Margaret still had his letters, which she decreed could not be read until 100 years from her birth — in 2030.

Meanwhile there is no suggestion that Margaret was pining for Townsend up until his death in 1995. 

The verdict: False 

The Crown claims: Margaret appeared on Desert Island discs

The fourth episode begins as Princess Margaret appears on Desert Island discs, where she selects Swan Lake and a hymn to be played.

For her final song, she goes on to choose ‘Stardust by Hoagy Carmichael’ and says it has ‘special meaning’. However when pressed to elaborate, she refuses. 

The scene flashes between Margaret in the studio, and an elderly Peter Townsend relaxing in his home and listening to the interview on the radio.

It appears to prompt Peter to write to Margaret to attend a reunion in London of those who had travelled with the Royal Family in 1947. 

The facts: Margaret appeared on the show a decade earlier- but didn’t play the songs depicted  

While the Princess did appear on Desert Island Discs, it was a decade before it was depicted in The Crown.

The royal was interviewed for an episode which aired Fri 23 Jan 1981. 

And the Netflix drama also fabricates the royal’s song choice for the episode – while she did choose Swan Lake, the decision to include ‘Stardust by Hoagy Carmichael appears completely fabricated.

It means that the connection between the episode airing and a possible reunion between Margaret and Townsend the same year is completely false in the programme. 

The verdict: Mostly false  

The Crown claims: Andrew was sympathetic to Fergie over scandals and told his mother of them

The Duke, and Duchess, of York barely appear in the first few episodes of the new series of The Crown.

There is just one scene in which Prince Andrew makes a prominent appearance, as he visits his mother to tell her he hopes to officially seperate from Fergie. 

The year is 1992 and Andrew discusses Fergie’s various affairs, telling his mother: ‘I actually had some sympathy for her regarding Wyatt, who was rough around the edges’.

He goes on to say: ‘It’s not surprising Sarah felt a bit neglected. Steve was actually a pretty decent bloke.’

However he goes on to break the news to his mother that there have since been other affairs, adding: ‘There’s another one now…a financial advisor John Bryan. With more photographs to come – in Saint Tropez, doing something unmentionable. Sucking Sarah’s toes, Mummy.

‘People tell me I put my foot in it from time to time, but at least I don’t put it in someone’s mouth.’ 

The pair have a laugh together and make a joke about the photos, before Andrew comments he feels bad about ‘the sheer humiliation of it all’.

He confesses he feels it has left him with ‘no option’ but to mention ‘D word.’ 

He says: ‘She’s had enough. I don’t blame her, I blame us. We all knew what we were getting into when we bought Sarah into the family, everyone was so pro. You more than anyone.’

Queen goes on to say Sarah was a ‘breath of fresh air’ initially, with Andrew saying she is ‘modern, relatable, buckets of fun.’ 

The facts: Fergie was in Balmoral when the Queen learnt of the toe-sucking photos

While Sarah Ferguson and Andrew did divorce in 1992, the way in which their marriage fell apart – and the release of the scandalous paparazzi photographs – appears to have been manipulated by the series to fit in with Netflix’s narrative. 

In reality, it was January 1992 when Fergie and Andrew made a formal appointment with the Queen to discuss their failed five-year marriage.

Somewhat reluctantly, the Monarch read the pair the riot act and convinced them to give their marriage another six months.

They agreed — in part, Fergie reflected later, because they’d never seen her looking so sad.

Unfortunately, Her Majesty’s desire for a reconciliation was thwarted within weeks when photographs were published of the duchess on holiday with her lover Steve Wyatt.

For his part, Prince Philip made it clear he never wanted to be in the same room as Fergie again.

Later, some long-range paparazzi pictures of a topless Duchess of York having her toes sucked by her ‘financial adviser’, John Bryan, while her daughters looked on.

The story broke while Fergie — now formally separated from Andrew — was at Balmoral to discuss access arrangements for the children.

As she came down for breakfast, the rest of the Royal Family were studiously examining the tabloid story at the table.

It was a moment of excruciating embarrassment, even by her own standards.

As she recalled in her autobiography: ‘It would be accurate to report that the porridge was getting cold . . . I had been exposed for what I truly was. Worthless. Unfit. A national disgrace.’

Furious, her mother-in-law summoned her up to her sitting room.

It hardly mattered that Andrew and his wife had separated; what concerned the Queen was that while Fergie still had a royal title, and the appellation ‘Her Royal Highness’, her behaviour was exposing the monarchy to contempt.

As she listed the duchess’s transgressions and the damage she’d done to the institution, the Queen’s tone was ice-cold.

She was also deeply upset on behalf of her son, who, according to one person close to her, had been made ‘to look such a cuckolded fool before the entire world’.

Fergie later recalled that the Queen’s anger — so rarely expressed — had ‘wounded me to the core’. 

The verdict: False 

The Crown claims: Philip comforted the Queen after the Windsor Castle Fire 

Standing in the charred ruins of Windsor Castle, and comforted by Prince Philip, the Queen is moved to tears in the scene in the fourth episode of the drama. 

The Netflix show recreates the blaze of November 20, 1992, when 115 rooms were destroyed in a fire started by a faulty spotlight in Queen Victoria’s private chapel. It took five years to rebuild the castle.

The scenes shows the Queen, played by Imelda Staunton, and Philip consoling each other is another example of fictionalisation by The Crown.

Burghley House near Stamford in Lincolnshire stood in for Windsor in the fire episode and the burnt-out shell of the castle was recreated at Elstree film studios in Hertfordshire.

Sources say the challenge of depicting the blaze required smoke and fire simulations and ‘real elements’.

It was filmed over two days with around 60 extras playing firemen and soldiers, carrying works of art and furniture to safety.

The scene of the aftermath was shot at Elstree, in a set based on the Great Hall at Burghley House, with the burned walls, windows and roof created as computer-generated special effects.

The facts: Andrew was the one who joined the Queen at Windsor after the fire  

It was reported at the time that the Queen visited the scene with Prince Andrew on the night of the blaze and returned the next morning, but it is doubtful she embraced Philip amid the ruins.

Prince Andrew was the only member of the Royal Family present when the fire started and helped to organise a human chain to save precious paintings. 

The fire came at the end of a tumultuous year for the Royal Family following a series of scandals. The Queen famously dubbed 1992 an ‘annus horribilis’.  

The verdict: False 

The Crown claims: Queen paid tribute to her family, calling them her ‘sun and water’ in a deeply personal Annus Horribilis speech 

At the end of the fourth episode of the drama, the Queen is shown delivering a speech about how difficult 1992 has been for her.

In the programme, she is reeling over the Windsor Fire, Andrew suggesting he hopes to divorce Fergie, Anne asking to marry Tim and Princess Margaret’s devastation over Peter Townsend. 

The speech is given at the Guildhall in London, in a speech marking the 40 year of her reign.

She says: ‘1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an ‘Annus Horribilis’.

‘No institution is beyond reproach, and no member of it either. The high standards we in the monarchy are held to in the public, must be the same benchmark to which we hold ourselves personally. If we can’t admit the errors of our past, what hope for reconciliation can there be.

‘Today, I’d like to pay tribute if I may to my family. Throughout the four decades I have been on the throne, they have, quite literally been, my sun and water.

‘For all the sacrifices they have made, indeed, to all of you who, whose prayers and wellwishes have been a source of strength to me this last 40 years. I say thankyou.’ 

The crowd is then shown raising to their feet and offering a toast to the Queen, before the speech is met with applause.  

The facts: The Queen did call 1992 her Annus Horribilis but did not make such personal reference to her family  

In November 1992 her Majesty spoke at London’s Guildhall after a number of scandals and just four days after the fire which burnt down part of her home at Windsor Castle.

At the time she was celebrating her Ruby Jubilee and admitted in the speech that it was not a year ‘which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure’.

She thanked the public though for their continued support over the years to her and husband Prince Philip. 

The show does not portray the Monarch delivering the same lines she did and instead acknowledges ‘the errors of the past’. 

The Queen’s speech is available to read in full on the royal family’s official website, and the monarch said nothing as personal as is depicted in the programme. 

Rather than commenting on ‘members’ of her family, she said: ‘There can be no doubt, of course, that criticism is good for people and institutions that are part of public life. No institution – City, Monarchy, whatever – should expect to be free from the scrutiny of those who give it their loyalty and support, not to mention those who don’t.

‘But we are all part of the same fabric of our national society and that scrutiny, by one part of another, can be just as effective if it is made with a touch of gentleness, good humour and understanding.’

She went on: ‘Forty years is quite a long time. I am glad to have had the chance to witness, and to take part in, many dramatic changes in life in this country.

‘But I am glad to say that the magnificent standard of hospitality given on so many occasions to the Sovereign by the Lord Mayor of London has not changed at all. 

‘It is an outward symbol of one other unchanging factor which I value above all – the loyalty given to me and to my family by so many people in this country, and the Commonwealth, throughout my reign. 

The verdict: False 

The Crown’s claim: Prince Charles saw his role of Prince of Wales as ‘hardly a job’

In the opening scene of the fifth episode of the drama, Prince Charles questions his role as Prince of Wales.

He is seen holding court at an invented dinner party complaining about his ‘predicament’. 

He says: ‘It’s hardly a job, still less a vocation…more of a predicament. Previous Prince of Wales have been happy to misspend their lives in idle dissipation, but my problem is I can’t bear idleness or dissipation.

‘Every day I’m meeting people from all walks of life, men and women my age who have gone out into the world and made their mark. It’s preciously the thing that I’m not allowed to do. 

‘In any other professional sphere, I’d be at the peak of my powers. Instead, what am I? I’m just a useless ornament, stuck in a waiting room, gathering dust.’

He leaves the table to call Camilla Parker Bowles who, given that it is Christmas 1989, is at home with her own family.

The facts: Charles was dedicated to his role as Prince of Wales throughout his life  

The idea that Prince Charles disliked being Prince of Wales is striking, particularly because the royal held the title of Prince of Wales for the majority of his life.

He was created the Prince of Wales by the Queen when he was only nine years old on July 26 1958.

His time as Prince of Wales wasn’t without controversy. A then-20-year-old Charles wore a bulletproof vest for his formal investiture  with the title by his mother on July 1 1969 at Caernarfon Castle in north Wales due to fears of nationalist violence.

In preparation, he spent ten weeks learning about Welsh culture, history and language, and during the ceremony he gave his replies in both English and Welsh. He also gave his speech in Welsh. 

In the years since then, Charles has continued to visit the country, both on official engagements and for holidays.  

In 2007, he bought the £1.2 million Llwynywermod estate in Camarthenshire, close to Llanymddyfri, after years spent trying to find ‘the right place’. 

He and Camilla now tend to spend a couple of weeks a year at the secluded and fully sustainable three-bedroom farmhouse. 

He has since shown his dedication to the country, with ongoing engagements and visits, as well as spending a couple of weeks a year at his £1.2 million Llwynywermod estate in Camarthenshire, close to Llanymddyfri, which he bought in 2007.

In 2019, he celebrated 50 years since his investiture as the Prince of Wales with a five day long tour of the country. 

The Queen and senior royals including William and Kate, and Harry and the Duchess of Sussex gathered in March for a Buckingham Palace reception marking the prince’s 50th anniversary of his investiture. 

Speaking about spending time in the country last year, Charles said told Poet Laureate Simon Armitage on BBC Radio 4 culhe enjoys spending time in the country and stomping around the Brecon Beacons, especially during the winter months.

Speaking of his Welsh home, he said: ‘I now, at last, have somewhere in Wales to base myself, from time to time.

‘Rather 40 years too late, probably. But it’s been a wonderful opportunity, at last, to have somewhere in Wales. I come whenever I can… I’ve always felt that it’s an important part of holding this particular title.

‘It took me years to establish somewhere, it wasn’t through want of trying but it was difficult to find the right place.

‘I used to go to different other houses which was very kind of people to lend them for a week or something, but it wasn’t the same thing obviously until finally we found this, which has been a Godsend really.’

Charles added that part of the joy of owning the home has been getting to know some of the local people, adding that there are some ‘wonderful characters’ who are ‘very special’.

‘There’s always one trying to get me to buy his farm,’ he joked, putting on his best Welsh accent. ‘[He says] ‘you must buy my farm’ – he’s a lovely character, we do have a good laugh.’

He told how over the years he has collected some ‘marvellous’ Welsh objects and quilts which he’s kitted the house out with so it feels ‘incredibly cosy’.

The grounds of the estate have been a ‘labour of love’ to try to ‘bring back to life’, Charles said.

‘I’ve tried to plant many more trees and generally love it back to life again, it was a bit battered,’ he explained.

‘There was an old estate here with a house that now is a ruin; I’m trying to grow things up it, apart from anything else it might hold it upright for a bit longer, but it also had an original old park so I’ve been trying to replant some of that, but it’s all been split up years ago.’

 Meanwhile last year, it was Wales he chose to privately retreat to after the death of his father Prince Philip.

The verdict: False 

The Crown’s claim: Charles wanted a more radical monarchy and even set up his own court at St James Palace 

Charles is also seen throughout the ten-episode series as a divisive figure, repeatedly being negative about a committee known as ‘The Way Ahead’ group of senior family members and advisers to formulate plans in the wake of one of the most damaging periods in royal history. 

In the fifth episode of the drama, Charles talks about his ambition and hopes and dreams for the future of The Firm.

He talks about wanting the monarchy to ‘fund itself’ and also argued to ‘end the bar on the eldest daughters inheriting the throne.’

He tells the committee that their ideas ‘don’t reflect a modern Britain, and didn’t focus on education, the environment.

He wants it to be ‘more practical’. 

He later dismisses them as a ‘lagging behind group’ and suggested the team should ‘do the opposite of what the group should do.’  

Charles appears obsessed with the idea of modernising the monarchy and works relentlessly at pursuing his own ideas by which to do so.

He discusses the idea of setting up a ‘rival court’ with Princess Anne, saying it would have been perfectly normal in the 18th century to set up a ‘shadow monarchy.’ 

Princess Anne says her brother should ‘close ranks’ around the Queen, instead of ‘criticizing her.’

She tells her parents: ‘For the past year, possibly more, Charles has been slowly but surely setting up his own court at St James. 

‘His own advisors, his own progressive agenda. He knows one day he will be King Charles III and if we want to know what that will look and feel like, he’s starting to show us.’ 

The facts: Charles wanted to modernise the monarchy – but so did the Queen  

It is well known that Charles has always believed he should be able to speak his mind on matters important to Britons and to himself – from the environment to bettering the lives of young people across the country.

Some may even have accused him of meddling in political and social matters that may not concern him.

In a 2015 biography, author Catharine Meyer said some courtiers were concerned Charles would pursue a radical style of monarchy.

‘Some courtiers — and the sovereign herself — fear that neither the Crown nor its subjects will tolerate the shock of the new,’ Mayer wrote.

‘They feel he puts his more cerebral passions — his activism — before his royal job. They are a long way from being persuaded of Charles’s evolving view: that campaigning and kingship can be synthesised.’

For years reports were made that King Charles III wanted a ‘slimmed down’ monarchy which would cut down the number of working royals from eleven to 7.

Experts suggested this would make his operation a ‘leaner machine’ with ‘less to gossip about’.

There would also be ‘no hangers-on’ in the Firm, with each member expected to pull their weight in a new and more streamlined monarchy.

Speaking to the Express, Neil Wilkie appeared to confirm Charles did feel some ‘frustrations’ about his position as heir-to-the-throne, saying: ‘Prince Charles has been in the very uncomfortable position for many years as the King-in-waiting, waiting for his mother to die.

‘And she’s outlasted many expectations, so he’s in a very frustrating position that he probably felt he was ready for the role about 20 years ago and it never happened.’

However, the Queen is also understood to have been keen to forge ahead and modernise the institution. 

The verdict: Mostly false  

The Crown’s claim: Transcript of Camilla and Charles’ dirty phone-call in which the Prince said he ‘wanted to be a Tampax’ was released in the paper  

The fifth episode of the drama focuses on the moment Charles and Camilla engage in a dirty phone-call in which they flirtily tell one another what they hope the other will do.

Charles leaves a dinner with friends to call Camilla, who is shown as being at home with her family. Her husband Andrew picks up the phone, before handing it over to Camilla, who swiftly heads to the bedroom.

The pair are shown chatting with one another, before it emerges a amateur radio-airways enthusiast has managed to listen in to their phone call through the radio.

The conversation begins with Charles telling Camilla about a speech he is planning to give, while the person listening in realises he is hearing royalty. 

He immediately begins recording, and is shown growing agog with shock as the conversation continues. 

He is then shown trying to sell the tapes around to newspapers – however, he struggles to find a buyer, because the editors think it will be too much of a risk to publish before the divorce between Charles and Diana is announced.

Years later, shortly after the separation is announced in Parliament, Charles is told by his press secretary about the recording.

He says: ‘Having correctly identified your voices, he sold them to the Daily Mirror. At the time, the paper decided not to go ahead with it due to the damage it could call to the royal marriage…but now you have separated, the newspaper is to go ahead.’

Charles asks: ‘How can they get away with this? It’s a private conversation, between two adults! No one else’s business.’  

The full transcription is then printed in the paper, with the scenes switching between the royal family’s reactions, and clips of Camilla and Chalres on the phone to each other.

In the call, they become more breathy as Camilla, who is lying on her bed, tells Charles: ‘You’re awfully good at feeling your way along.’

Meanwhile Charles tells her: ‘Oh stop! I want to feel my way along you, all over you and up and down you and in and out…’

The couple go on to discuss how they can’t start the week without each other, with Charles saying: ‘I fill up your tank…then you can cope….The trouble is I need you several times a week.’

During the call, the then prince referred to being reincarnated as the tampon brand Tampax, and told Camilla that he wanted to ‘live inside’ her as they fantasised about being intimate with each other.

Meanwhile royals are shown reacting to the shocking clips and the ongoing media coverage. 

Princess Anne is shown supporting Prince Charles over the tapes, going to visit him in his home of Highgrove to offer some words of comfort.

Others aren’t so supportive – with Prince Philip among Charles’ loudest critics, and accusing him of humiliating the family with his behaviour.

The facts: A steamy phonecall between Camilla and Charles was released to the press – and did cause scandal 

The phonecall was recorded in 1989 while the Prince and Princess of Wales were still married. 

However a transcript of the ‘Camillagate’ call was only public in 1992, weeks after news had broken about the ‘Squidgygate’ tapes involving Diana and James Gilbey – of which no mention is made in the series. 

It caused huge embarrassment to the Royal Family as it included details of how the prince had told his lover that he wanted to be her ‘tampon’.

The audio recording along with a transcript of the six-minute call was sold to a tabloid and published. 

It was circulated again in 1993 by The People, following the separation of Charles and Princess Diana. 

When discussing how much they ‘need’ each other, Charles said during the 1989 conversation: ‘Oh, God. I’ll just live inside your trousers or something. It would be much easier!’

A laughing Camilla replied: ‘What are you going to turn into, a pair of knickers? (Both laugh). Oh, you’re going to come back as a pair of knickers.’

Charles said: ‘Or, God forbid, a Tampax. Just my luck!’ to which Camilla responded: ‘You are a complete idiot! Oh, what a wonderful idea,’ reported Esquire.

Lord Fellowes, who was then the Queen’s private secretary, told the gathering in April 1993: “Evidence had been found that the fixed telephone lines had been tampered with.

“It was almost certain that this was the location where the Prince of Wales had been staying on the night of the alleged conversation between him and Mrs Parker Bowles.”

Charles made the call to Camilla, who was at her home in Wiltshire, on a mobile phone, not a landline as is portrayed in the programme. 

While much of the depiction of the scene is true, as in other parts of the drama, the filmmakers have taken some liberties with the phrases used within the call. 

It appears the filmmakers have abbreviated some parts of the conversation – but on the whole, it is word for word what the couple said. 

It isn’t known how the royal family reacted to the scandal individually – however it was reported at the time to have sent shock waves through The Firm. 

The verdict: Mostly true   

The Crown’s claim: Diana was devastated by Camillagate

In the series, Diana is shown as devastated after reading about the Camillagate tapes in the newspaper.

The programme depicts a number of royals reading about the tapes in different papers, with the Princess of Wales apparently distraught. 

She puts her head between her knees, apparently in bits over the revelations.

The facts: Diana was reported to have been delighted after the transcript

Far from the claim Diana was devastated by Camillagate, Princess Diana declared ‘game, set and match’ after reading a transcript of the tape.

The transcript had been published by national newspapers in January 1993, just over a month after the Prince and Princess formally separated and during a period when Diana was attempting to establish herself as a national figure in her own right. 

Her former bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, revealed that as the conversation made headlines around the world when it emerged in 1993, Diana reveled in her husband’s embarrassment.

The former personal protection officer claimed Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles’ leaked late night telephone chat gave Diana a boost as she began rebuilding her life after separating publicly from the heir to the throne.

Diana’s reaction to the 1989 recording – transcribed and widely published by newspapers in 1993 – was revealed by the ex-Met Police officer in his new book Guarding Diana: Protecting The Princess Around The World.

Writing in the book, he quotes Diana: ‘Game, set and match,’ she said, clutching to her copy of the Daily Mirror containing a transcript of the ‘Camillagate’ tape as we talked in her sitting room at Kensington Palace.’ 

Commenting on the reaction to Charles, following the publication of the tape’s transcript, the former personal protection officer said in the book: ‘The backlash was savage.

‘Establishment figures normally loyal to future King and country were appalled, and some questioned the Prince’s suitability to rule.’

He went on to say: ‘Cartoonists lampooned him in the press. One cartoon, featuring him talking dirty to his plants, particularly amused the Princess, who collapsed into fits of giggles on seeing it.’

But he also added that Diana was ‘genuinely shocked’ and said repeatedly about the tampon comment: ‘It’s just sick’, according to Wharfe, via Esquire.

Commenting on the reaction to Charles, following the publication of the tape’s transcript, the former personal protection officer said in the book: ‘The backlash was savage.

‘Establishment figures normally loyal to future King and country were appalled, and some questioned the Prince’s suitability to rule.’

He went on to say: ‘Cartoonists lampooned him in the press. One cartoon, featuring him talking dirty to his plants, particularly amused the Princess, who collapsed into fits of giggles on seeing it.’

The verdict: False 

The Crown’s claim: Charles confesses to affair with Camilla during an interview with Jonathan Dimbleby 

In the show, Prince Charles has an interview with Jonathan Dimbleby following the Camillagate tapes in an attempt to clear the air and improve his public reputation. 

The presenter is shown asking Charles: ‘Do you believe with all this adversity and all these set backs, the monarchy can still survive?’

Charles says: ‘I hope it can flourish. But to do so, it needs to adapt. It’s no secret that I’m open to the idea of reform. I think it’s make or break time for the monarchy, we need to be radical. But there’s only so much I can do as Prince of Wales.’

Jonathan says questions about the marriage ‘burn’ in the public’s minds, saying: ‘One of the most serious allegations was that you were serially unfaithful and your relationship with Camilla was one of the deciding factors in your marriage’s collapse. How do you respond to that?’

Charles says: ‘Mrs Parker Bowles is a wonderful friend of mine that I am jolly lucky to have. Even within a marriage, one must still nurture outside friendships. 

‘Mrs Parker Bowles is just one of my friends I’ve been close to over the years.’

He says he tried to be faithful ‘until it became obvious that uh, the marriage couldn’t be saved. Both of us having done our best. At which point I tried to do my duty. But there was…there was nothing to be done. So yes, um, old friendships were rekindled.’

In the programme, Charles goes on to say: ‘the difficulty stems from when we in the monarchy sets ourselves up for an ideal, and very often the truth is far from that. 

‘The question people have to ask themselves is what do they want in their leaders? Do they want someone who eeers but who learns from their mistakes, who grows and recognises the need for change? 

‘Or someone who is content making the same mistakes? And to keep things as they are? 

‘Really I think that’s the clear choice people are faced with.’

The facts: Charles did not comment on the monarchy in his Dimbleby interview – nor did he go as far with his comments as is portrayed  

While Jonathan Dimbleby and Prince Charles did come together for a TV  interview in 1994, The Crown appears to have exaggerated his comments on his marriage and the monarchy.

Even his comments about Camilla, were altered by the programme.  

Charles insisted their relationship only resumed after his marriage to Princess Diana had ‘irretrievably’ broken down.

During the interview, he said he liked being with Prince William and Prince Harry, saying: ‘All that gives me enormous pleasure and satisfaction and pride, really.’

Charles says: ‘As they get older, there are more things that perhaps they can do, being boys, with their father. That’s more and more enjoyable. But I’ve always mucked around with him as much as I could.’

He said it was between him and Diana how their children ‘should be brought up’, adding: ‘You can bet your bottom dollar, they will all interfere and say, it should have been done this way or that. But it’s beomce a national pass-time, the speculation.’

Dimbleby is shown walking with Prince Charles at his home of Highgrove, in scenes strikingly similar to those portrayed in The Crown.

The presenter says the royal has never spoken about his marriage and so it has been ‘put about’ that he had ‘always been unfaithful.’

He is heard being asked: ‘The most damaging charge being made because of your relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles, you were from the beginning consistently unfaithful to your wife and that caused the breakdown. What is your response?’

Charles says: ‘These things are so personal. It’s difficult to know how to talk about these things in front of everybody, and I don’t think many people would want to. All I can say, is there has been so much speculation, feeding on every kind of speculation. All I can say is, there is no truth in so much of this speculation.

‘Mrs Parker Bowles is a great friend of mine, I have a large number of friends, I’m terribly lucky to have, who I think are wonderful. They make a huge difference to my life, which would be intolerably otherwise.

‘She has been a friend for a very long time and will continue to be a friend for a very long time. And I think, most people probably, realise when marriages break down, awful and miserable as it is, it is your friends that so often are the most important and helpful and understanding and encouraging.

‘Otherwise you would go stark raving mad. That’s what friends are for.’

Dimbleby asked him if he had tried to be faithful to his wife when he took on the vow, with Charles saying: ‘Yes. Until it became irretrievably broken down. Us both having tried.’

He added: ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if it did [go away]? I don’t think any other people have to go through this constant, when their marriages break down.   

‘And it is a deeply regrettable thing to happen. But it does happen and unfortunately in this case, it has happened. And it’s the last possible thing that I wanted top happen. I’m not a total idiot, I’m not unaware of all these problems.

‘This business of predicting what everybody would say. It’s not something I went into marriage with the intention this would happen. On the whole, I’m not a cynical person and I have, it sounds self righteous, I have tried to get it right. 

‘Constantly, there’s scrutiny. I have always tried to get it right and try to do the right thing by everybody. it’s not a very happy or encouraging thing when this business happens. 

‘Obviously it would be nice if it could be over and done with. It has happened, that is that, regrettably.’ 

The verdict: Mostly false  

The Crown’s claim: Charles took part in break dancing during a visit for the Prince’s Trust 

At the end of the fifth episode, Charles is shown visiting a group of young people through his work for the Prince’s Trust.

He gives a speech and is shown being given a tour of the garden at the organisation and chatting to young people about their futures.

However the most striking moment comes as the credits roll – when the royal is shown on a dancefloor at the event, where he is beckoned forward and begins to dance with one of the young people.

He can be seen laughing and smiling as he breaks into a number of moves on the dancefloor while the other man breakdances, and the crowd cheers him on.

The facts: Charles did take part in breakdancing during a royal engagement – but it was in 1985 

Back in 1985, then-37-year-old Prince Charles did take to a dancefloor alongside a group of break dancers during a visit for The Prince’s Trust.

It was during an engagement in Middleton-on-Sea, West Sussex, for a Youth Meets Industry course alongside 300 unemployed people. 

Video from the engagement shows Charles being beckoned onto the dancefloor before he performs a number of dance moves for the roaring crowd.

Like other plotlines in the Netflix drama, the timeline appears to have been distorted – in reality, Charles’ visit was a decade earlier than is depicted in the show. 

The verdict: Partly true