Since its 2016 debut on Netflix, historical drama The Crown has peeled back the layers of The Firm to provides fans a more solid idea of the inner workings of the British Royal Family. The show has never claimed to be one hundred percent factual — it’s only “loosely based” on real events — and for that, the original series has Prince Harry’s respect.
In a ridiculously charming new interview with television host James Corden, the former royal and new Los Angeles resident talks life and love while exploring the city for the first time. The conversation is mostly jokes and banter between the real-life friends, but Harry also got surprisingly candid throughout, offering a glimpse into the circumstances that led him and Meghan Markle to step back (not away) from the Royal Family. When asked his feelings about The Crown, Harry had a surprising answer: he doesn’t actually mind it.
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“They don’t pretend to be news,” he said of the popular Netflix series and its storylines, all centered on his family. “It’s fictional, but it’s loosely based on the truth. Of course it’s not strictly accurate, but...it gives you a rough idea of that lifestyle, the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else.”
"I am way more comfortable with The Crown than I am seeing the stories written about my family, my wife, or myself," Harry admitted. "Because it's the difference between that being obviously fiction — take it how you will — and this being reported on as fact before you're supposedly news."
His take on The Crown may come as a surprise, but Harry isn’t the only royal who is okay with the show spilling The Firm’s tea under the protection of being fictionalized. His stepmother Camilla feels the same way. In fact, she’s reportedly a low-key fan of the Netflix series. According to a friend, the Duchess of Cornwall has watched The Crown (with Prince Charles), and likely tuned in for the fourth season, which explored Charles and the late Princess Diana's relationship and cast Camilla in a pretty unfortunate light as the third party in their marriage.
Perhaps another reason that Harry is okay with the existence of The Crown is that, in addition to being a fictionalized account, it won't ever get to his turbulent chapter of the royal saga. Creator Peter Morgan has confirmed that the series will end after six seasons, meaning that the internal and external drama surrounding his marriage to Meghan and the subsequent media abuse they've faced since won't appear on the show. The final storyline in the period drama will focus instead on the numerous events leading up to the Diana's tragic death in 1997.
We were already watching The Crown anyway, but it feels a bit better to know that Harry doesn't mind it, almost as if we have his royal blessing to keep obsessing over the show.