The Crown star Jonathan Pryce has explained how he believes the death of the Queen in September 2022 showed the breadth of feeling towards the royal family.
The sixth and final series of Netflix's royal drama was being filmed when Her Majesty passed away in autumn of last year at the age of 96, with production stopping for a few days as a mark of respect.
Jonathan Pryce, who plays Prince Philip in The Crown season 6, says the landmark event also had a bearing on the fifth season of the show, which arrived on Netflix two months later, in November 2022.
"I think the death of the Queen affected the response to season five which obviously affected us going into season six," he says. "(There was) a heightened awareness and a heightened sensibility to The Queen's death. But, of course, if we strove to change anything then we would be saying we hadn't done the right job in season five and I think what we do is a continuation of that story."
Yet Pryce goes on to explain that while the Queen's passing was a traumatic moment for many, it also highlighted the fact that not everyone in Britain is a fan of the royal family.
"It made you very aware and a lot more aware of the public feeling, the emotional feeling that people had towards the Queen," he explains. "It reminded you of her importance in society and it also reminded you there's a huge proportion of the population who don't like the Royal Family. But it didn't affect our storytelling at all."
Pryce has played Prince Philip in the final two seasons of The Crown, but has previously revealed that he's not a monarchist and was "split" over whether to take on the role when he was first offered it.
"It started the usual way with a call from my agent, but I was kind of split about it," he said. "Half of me thought, 'That’s a great idea,' but the other side of it was, 'I'm on a hiding to nothing with people’s expectations of that character.' I already knew it was a really good series, as I'd watched it from the beginning — though I started off as a reluctant viewer.
"I'm not a monarchist, and I thought I would have very little interest in the royal family but my wife Kate and I decided to watch it. We just got hooked. It’s so incredibly well made and beautifully produced, but it was Claire Foy’s performance that pulled me into it, as it was a view of the Queen that I wasn’t aware of."
The Crown season 6 — Part 1 arrives on Netflix on Thursday 16 November. See our best shows on Netflix guide for more shows to enjoy.
