by Dominic West claimed that the king gave him the green light to appear in The Crown.
West said he attempted to step down from his role as Prince’s Trust ambassador, fearing his portrayal of Charles on the controversial Netflix series would represent a conflict of interest.
According to West, he received a letter from the king’s private secretary refusing his resignation.
“It was, ‘Do what you like, you’re an actor. He has nothing to do with us, ‘”West said of the letter’s content.” I think that’s probably the case [the King] it concerns him. “
However, it is understood that the answer offered no specific guidance or opinion in any way.
West plays the then Prince of Wales in the 1990s, in storylines covering his marriage breakup, his televised confession to adultery and the infamous “Tampongate” phone call.
Still, according to the actor, the king and queen consort were quiet about her involvement. The queen consort, he told Radio Times, jokingly called him “Your Majesty” at a party last year.
West has been a Prince’s Trust ambassador for over a decade and has claimed to have met the king on several occasions. “I’ve been in line to shake his hand a couple of times and it’s fascinating. It’s very useful to meet the character you’re playing, of course, ”he said.
Additionally, he described Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and surrounding events as a “gold mine” for research.
He said of the monarch: “I have always liked him a lot and I think he was heightened in the eyes of most people by the funeral, his involvement in it and his membership, especially the unattended moments, which were really captivating and so different. from the Queen. “That damned pen.” My affection for him grew even more. “
However, West joked that he looked like “a Mexican ambassador” when dressed in Charles’s clothes.
He also believes the series is in tune with Camilla Parker-Bowles, as it was in the 1990s. “I never thought about it at the time, but research showed me how badly Camilla was treated,” West said. “I don’t think that would happen today. It happened for many reasons, one of which is that she is a woman. “
The new series covers the “Tampongate” affair, in which an intimate phone call between Charles and Camilla was secretly taped by an amateur radio enthusiast and sold to the press.
West said the call was not “a sordid and embarrassing discussion” but “sweet, tender and awkward”. “Most people, if they’re lucky enough, will have had such conversations with the people they love,” she said.
The actor’s 13-year-old son, Senan, plays Prince William on the show and has some “emotional scenes” with Diana, who is played by Elizabeth Debicki.
Other cast members have talked about their respect for the real characters they play.
Imelda Staunton, who takes on the role of the queen, said she was “inconsolable” when the monarch died.
Jonathan Pryce, who plays the Duke of Edinburgh, defended The Crown from its critics. They include Dame Judi Dench, who said the show was “cruelly unfair” to the royal family.
“If we change anything, it would be an admission that what we had done before was wrong and I don’t feel it at all.
“I think it will continue to be a respectful examination of a family, done with great integrity and wit,” he said.
The depiction of Prince Philip’s relationship with the Countess of Burma, Pryce added, was merely an attempt to delve into his “emotional life”.
According to Debicki, it’s time for viewers to get over the fact that The Crown mixes reality and fiction.
Netflix added a disclaimer to the show’s YouTube trailer, saying it is a “fictional dramatization” that is “inspired” by real events.
Debicki said: “Now the disclaimer is up there, maybe we can stop talking about it and move on.”
