The Crown: UK Culture Secretary Wants Netflix to Add Fiction Disclaimer

The fourth season of The Crown dropped on Netflix this month and was praised by critics and audiences alike. Currently, the new season has a 97% critics score and 83% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Following the early years of Princess Diana's marriage to Prince Charles and Margaret Thatcher's run as Prime Minister, season four was one of the series' most interesting yet. However, some important figures in the United Kingdom are worried that fans of the show might perceive it as being too real. In fact, the Daily Mail reported today that UK Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has requested that Netflix make it more clear that the show is a work of fiction.

"It's a beautifully produced work of fiction, so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that," Dowden told Daily Mail. "Without this, I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact."

According to the report, there is growing concern over the depiction of Prince Charles, who spends most of season four treating Princess Diana terribly and cheating on her with the woman who would later become his wife, Camilla Parker-Bowles. Apparently, a friend of the Prince said the following:

"It is quite sinister the way that [Peter] Morgan is clearly using light entertainment to drive a very overt republican agenda and people just don't see it. They have been lured in over the first few series until they can't see how they are being manipulated. It is highly sophisticated propaganda."

Since the news of Dowden's concerns hit the Internet, many people have taken to Twitter to crack jokes about the matter. You can read some of the posts here.

As for the show's upcoming fifth season, it was recently announced that Elizabeth Debicki (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Tenet) will be taking over the role of Princess Diana. The fifth season will also see Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) beginning her turn as the Queen. Several different actors have taken on the role of Queen Elizabeth during the show's run. Claire Foy (The Girl in the Spider's Web) played the younger Elizabeth, and Oscar-winner Olivia Colman (The Favourite) is played Elizabeth in her middle-aged years. Staunton will be taking on the role to play the modern-day version of the Queen.

The Crown's first four seasons are now streaming on Netflix.