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Dominic West has explained why he no longer speaks to Prince Harry, despite the pair becoming friends during a charity trip in 2013.
Nine years before the 54-year-old British actor took on the role of Harry's father Charles in the now-defunct Netflix drama series “The Crown,” he went on an expedition to the South Pole with the royal. Shortly after returning home, however, Harry, 39, apparently cut off contact with West because he had discussed his escapades on the trip at a press conference.
While speaking to reporters, West praised Harry, calling him “a great guy,” but then shared details about how they celebrated reaching the South Pole, which sparked the fallout.
West, who recently admitted he “tormented” over his decision to sign on to The Crown, said that during the trip Harry made “immediately rude jokes” and drank champagne from a prosthetic leg.
“There was a lot of liqueur drinking,” he told reporters, adding: “We all drank champagne from Duncan's favorite prosthetic legs.” Duncan Slater is a double amputee injured in Afghanistan in 2009 who accompanied them on the hike. West continued, “He told some incredibly rude jokes that were quite shocking to a non-soldier like me.”
The actor addressed these comments when asked by Times Radio if he stays in touch with Harry. He laughed at the question and said, “Sort of [lost touch as] I said too much in a press conference and that's why we didn't speak again after that. “I think I was asked what we did to celebrate when we got there and I probably said too much.”
At the press conference in 2014, Slater also said of the expedition: “Harry was a real team player. There was always something to do and he was always instigating it. There were so many wind-ups. He's probably spread himself pretty thin. He spent time with each team every day
“He always made sure he mixed things up and put everyone at the forefront. It was very nice because he was just as tired as everyone else.”
During the same Times Radio interview, West's Crown co-star Jonathan Pryce, who plays Prince Philip, revealed that Princess Anne watches the show – and said he apologized to him for agreeing to play her father .
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“When I was knighted and went to Windsor and Princess Anne dubbed me and I was about to play her father, there was evidence that she had seen some of it,” Pryce recalls.
Dominic West in “The Crown”
(Netflix)
“And so she put the sword lightly on her shoulder, and I stood up and said – I thought she was thinking, you know – I said, 'Oh, I don't know what to tell you… um… sorry?' And she said, 'Why?' It's finished now.'”
Pryce added: “Whether she meant I wanted to apologize for being here tonight or whether I wanted to apologize, you know, you played my father and it was done the way you did it, Whatever.” It was a pretty amusing moment, at least for me.”
“The Crown” is available to stream on Netflix.