As The Crown comes closer to the present day, with season four bringing the royal family into the 1980s and introducing Princess Diana, there has been some controversy over the accuracy of the show.
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With some even going so far as to request that Netflix includes a disclaimer at the beginning of every episode stating that the events within the series are fictional, we have put together moments of The Crown season four that were most likely created for dramatic storytelling...
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Princess Margaret's visit to her cousins
In season four, Princess Margaret becomes aware of close members of the royal family who had lived in an asylum for most of their lives, and goes to visit them with her friend, Dazzle.
Princess Margaret likely never visited her cousins
While the episode hints that the cousins, Nerissa and Katherine, are hidden away as their severe developmental disabilities would threaten the monarchy, this storyline was by-and-large created for the show.
While Nerissa and Katherine did indeed live in an asylum, there is no evidence that Margaret ever visited them, nor has it ever been made clear why they were placed in the care home. The plot was likely created to introduce viewers to the less known members of the royal family.
Lord Mountbatten's letter to Prince Charles
In the opening episode, Lord Mountbatten writes a critical letter to Charles, berating him for his infatuation with Camilla and comparing him to his uncle David, who abdicated the throne to be with his love, Wallis Simpson.
There is no factual evidence that Mountbatten wrote the letter
While the pair certainly corresponded often, there is no evidence that this letter existed. Instead, it is used as a plot vehicle in the show to impel Prince Charles into finding a suitable woman to marry.
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Michael Fagan's chat with the Queen
One of the highlights of season four is when a member of the working class, tired of the system, manages to break into the Queen's bedroom at Buckingham Palace to have a frank discussion with her about the state of the country under Thatcher's leadership.
Michael didn't speak to the Queen
While Michael did indeed break into the Queen's bedroom while she slept, he himself has stated that the pair never exchanged any words, and that Her Majesty immediately alerted security of his presence.
Princess Diana's costume
Princess Diana and Prince Charles have an unusual meet cute in The Crown as she appears dressed as a tree while rehearsing a performance. The pair exchange words and she tells him to promise not to tell her sister that he saw her (which, incidentally, he immediately breaks). While Charles did first meet Diana while courting her older sister, their first meeting was certainly imagined for the drama.
In the show, Charles and Diana meet as she rehearses a play
The awkward press conference in Australia
In the show, Charles and Diana's Australian tour shows the strengths and weaknesses of their relationship. At the beginning of the episode, the Princess of Wales is clearly unhappy to be there with her son William in another city, and the pair give an awkward press conference where she can barely remember their schedule.
The press conference is thought to have made up for the show
However, there is no evidence that this press conference took place or was met with any negativity. Instead, it appears to serve as showing Charles and Diana at their lowest ebb before coming together as a couple and enjoying the tour.
Margaret and Denis Thatcher's faux pas at Balmoral
While there is an element of truth to the 'Balmoral Test' which Diana passed and Margaret Thatcher failed in The Crown, there is no evidence that Margaret failed it in real life. She and her husband Denis didn't dress early for dinner, as the show demonstrated.
Margaret reportedly didn't enjoy her time at Balmoral
However, it was thought that the Prime Minister didn't enjoy her visits to Balmoral, and while Margaret's biographer Charles Moore said that the fictionalised version of her visit was "surely wrong," he added to the Independent that the "broad impression has the ring of truth".
Ménage à Trois restaurant
In the episode, during Prince Charles' absence on tour, an engaged Diana takes up his advice and meets Camilla Parker Bowles for lunch at a restaurant aptly named Ménage à Trois.
Diana meets Camilla for lunch on the show
The pair didn't meet at this restaurant, which was almost certainly chosen for the on the nose meaning, but they did indeed meet for lunch.
Royal biographer Penny Junor wrote in her book The Duchess: Camilla Parker Bowles and the Love Affair That Rocked the Crown: "Instead of explaining to Diana at the outset that Camilla was an old girlfriend, he had presented her as nothing more than a friend. It didn't occur to him that she needed to know before someone else told her."
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