Judi Dench has written a letter calling for streaming giant Netflix to add a disclaimer to each episode of Royal Family drama, The Crown, stressing that the show is a fictionalised account of historical events. The 87-year-old actress, who received her damehood from Queen Elizabeth II in 1998, has slammed the show as "crude sensationalism".
Dench was responding to comments made by former Prime Minister, Sir John Major, in which he called the show "a barrel-load of malicious nonsense". Whilst she initially praised the series, the actress added that she was scared the show is catching up with the present day and that it was in danger of convincing viewers that the dramatisation was a “wholly true” version of history. She did, however, say that she was a “greater believer in artistic freedom”.
Dench’s letter to Netflix was published ahead of The Crown's fifth series, which launches in November. The new episodes cover some of the royal family’s most tumultuous years in the 1990s, including the bitter divorce between Prince Charles (Dominic West) and Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki).
