People who knew the Queen Mother were “appalled” by her “grumpy” portrayal on the crown, a royal author has claimed.
During the latest episode of True Royalty TV’s The Royal Beat, historian and royal expert Gareth Russell said people close to the late king were “quite upset” by the way Peter Morgan’s show on Netflix portrayed them.
Russell, who wrote Do Let’s Have Another Drink: The Singular Wit and Double Measures of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, said she was nothing like her portrayal on the show.
He revealed the Queen Mother, who was 101 when she died in 2002, learned to cast an impression on Sacha Baron Cohen’s satirical character Ali G after finding Prince William and Prince laughing at the comedian’s skit .
People who knew the Queen Mother, pictured in 1985, were “appalled” by her “grumpy” portrayal on the crown, a royal author has claimed
Historian and royal expert Gareth Russell said people close to the late king were “quite upset” by the way Peter Morgan’s show on Netflix portrayed her, as she came across as “indulgently dour”. Pictured: Marion Bailey in the role for Series 3
“The Crown portrayed the Queen Mother as implacably dour. Some of the people I spoke to were particularly upset [with her] portrayed in seasons three and four,” Russell told the show.
“I think a lot of people who knew the Queen Mother were quite appalled by the way she was presented,” he added.
“Season one they didn’t think was too far off the mark, season two they started to worry, season three they worried, season four they were horrified. One of them said, “In season four, whatever the queen mother does on screen, you can assume the real thing did the opposite,” he continued.
He went on to reveal that thanks to her great-grandchildren, Queen Elizabeth’s mother had managed to keep up with the times and pop culture references in her final years.
Russell, who wrote Do Let’s Have Another Drink: The Singular Wit and Double Measures of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, said she is not as she appeared on the show
“The Queen Mother learned the Ali G imprint, one of his catchphrases, and used it at the Queen’s Christmas dinner at Sandringham,” revealed Russell.
‘She said: ‘Dinner was lovely, darling, respect’. she [learnt it from when] She’d walked in and seen William and Harry roaring with laughter at that Sacha Baron Cohen special and they’d taught her how. She was a great imitator,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, shed light on the Queen Mother’s views on the relationship between King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla.
‘When Camilla and Charles made it [their relationship] formal, [the Queen Mother] wasn’t pleased at all,’ she said.
“Charles would never have married Camilla if his grandmother had been alive,” she added.
The Queen Mother was played by Victoria Hamilton in the first two series of The Crown before going to Marion Bailey for series 3 and 4, where the character took a back seat in the main drama and made only a few appearances.
Now Marcia Warren will play her in the upcoming fifth series, which will be released on November 9th, and the sixth series, which is currently filming.
Russell went on to reveal that thanks to her great-grandchildren, Queen Elizabeth’s mother had managed to keep up with the times and pop culture references in her final years
Meanwhile, Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, shed light on the Queen Mother’s views on the relationship between King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla
This comes as Netflix quietly added a disclaimer to its marketing for The Crown following a backlash for blurring fact and fiction.
In an apparent descent from the streaming giant, the trailer for the upcoming series of its hit drama, released last week, was accompanied by the description: “Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatization tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political one.” and personal events that shaped her reign.”
No trailer for previous series of The Crown on Netflix’s YouTube channel contained such a disclaimer.
The Crown’s official Twitter account also appears to have been updated over the past month to add the message, reminding people it’s “fictional”.
The Queen Mother was played by Victoria Hamilton in the first two series of The Crown, which focus on Queen Elizabeth’s early years as monarch
The trailer, starring Elizabeth Debicki as Diana, showed the late princess sitting down for her infamous 1995 Panorama interview with disgraced ex-BBC journalist Martin Bashir, while her voiceover said: “I won’t go quietly. “
Netflix has faced fierce backlash over the latest series, which will air on November 9th. Until now, however, the company has repeatedly resisted calls to include a disclaimer.
Actress Dame Judi Dench accused the show of being “cruelly unfair” and backed calls for a liability waiver.
And former Prime Minister Sir John Major dismissed scenes in which he discussed the Queen’s possible abdication with Prince Charles as “a barrelload of malicious nonsense”.
Dame Judi, 87, who has played Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, said the series risks damaging the monarchy. The Oscar winner accused him of “raw sensationalism” and blurring fact and fiction.
In a letter to The Times newspaper last week, she urged Netflix to show a disclaimer at the beginning of each episode to say it is “fictionalized drama.” She said it would also show respect for the loss of the royal family and the nation.
A Netflix spokesman said: “The Crown has always been presented as a drama based on historical events.
“The fifth series is a fictional dramatization that imagines what could have happened behind closed doors for the royal family in a significant decade – one that has already been extensively studied and well documented by journalists, biographers and historians.”
The Crown was a smash hit for Netflix. Each episode now costs around £11.5million.
The Royal Beat is available on True Royalty TV