The Crown season 4: Michael Fagan accuses show of embellishing his Buckingham Palace break-in
Intruder says Peter Morgan failed to consult him before writing fifth episode
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The new season of The Crown has arrived, and it explores several historical points between the years of 1977 and 1990.
Alongside the introduction of Princess Diana (Emma Corrin) and Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson) comes the death of Lord Mountbatten and Princess Margaret’s ailing health.
One particular episode focuses on Michael Fagan, a man who famously broke in to Buckingham Palace in 1982.
Fagan managed to access the building twice, but only on the second occasion did he speak to the Queen.
The fifth episode of The Crown’s new season is a fictionalised account of what the pair spoke about.
It shows Fagan, disillusioned with Thatcher, locate the Queen's bedroom to talk about the effect the prime minister is having on the country.
But, did it really happen like this? The Crown has been known to take artistic licence with historical events and, according to Fagan himself, who is now 70, this episode is no different.
Fagan climbed the railings of Buckingham Palace and managed to enter the Queen’s residence via an open window.
According to the man himself, who says he struggles to remember what prompted him to break in, the pair never spoke about Thatcher.
He also told The Telegraph that the set used for the Queen’s bedroom in the Netflix drama is inaccurate – as the Queen “never had a four-poster bed”.
Fagan says she told him “I’ll be back in a minute” and “walked out on her little legs” before a footman offered him a drink.
In the show, the police wrestle Fagan to the ground before escorting him out, which seems to be another stretch by Peter Morgan.
“The policemen came and they were all over the place – they hadn’t arrested anyone for years, they were on a retirement posting, on guard duty. One of them was fumbling around for his notebook.”
As the episode reveals, Fagan did spend three months in a psychiatric hospital. He said that Morgan failed to speak to him before writing the episode.
The Crown is available to stream on Netflix.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments