Netflix defends The Crown as ‘fictional dramatisation’ amid criticism from John Major over Charles storyline

New season will reportedly depict Charles ‘trying to force the Queen’s abdication’ in the Nineties

Netflix has defendedThe Crown as a “fictional dramatisation” amid criticism of its fifth series from Sir John Major.

The former prime minister has described the forthcoming season as “damaging, malicious fiction”.

Major – played in the series by Jonny Lee Miller – has taken particular issue with The Crown’s reported depiction of Charles trying to force the Queen’s abdication during his time in office.

The new series – which will launch on 9 November – is expected to show Charles (played by Dominic West) cutting short a holiday with Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) to host a secret meeting with Major at Highgrove in 1991.

A spokeserperson for Major told The Mail on Sunday: “Sir John has not co-operated 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.

“There was never any discussion between Sir John and the then Prince of Wales about any possible abdication of the late Queen Elizabeth II.”

The spokesperson continued to say that any scenes suggesting otherwise “should be seen as nothing other than damaging and malicious fiction” and “a barrel-load of nonsense peddled for no other reason than to provide maximum – and entirely false – dramatic impact”.

A spokesperson for the Netflix series has since replied with a statement, reading: “The Crown has always been presented as a drama based on historical events.

The Crown season five (Netflix)

“Series five is a fictional dramatisation, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors during a significant decade for the royal family – one that has already been scrutinised and well-documented by journalists, biographers and historians.”

Netflix also said that contrary to media reports, the sixth and final series of The Crown will not depict the 1997 Paris car crash that killed Diana.

It is believed that the season will show the lead-up to the incident as well as its aftermath, but not the crash itself, according to PA.

John Major and Jonny Lee Miller (Netflix)

In 2020, Oliver Dowden, culture secretary at the time, asked Netflix to add a disclaimer to episodes.

The streaming giant rejected his request.

Although there is no disclaimer on individual episodes, when viewers tune in on the service the show is labelled as a fictional drama based on historical events.

Filming on the latest series of The Crown was halted as a mark of respect after the Queen’s death. Filming was also suspended on the day of her funeral.

It was previously revealed that series five of the show will delve into Diana’s infamous Panorama interview with journalist Martin Bashir.