The Crown decides against adding ‘fictional disclaimer’ for season 5
Season five of ‘The Crown’ arrived on Netflix on Wednesday
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Your support makes all the difference.The Crown has not included a fictional disclaimer for its new season despite calls from critics.
The hit Netflix show returned on Wednesday (9 November) for its highly anticipated fifth season, which largely focuses on the breakdown of the marriage between the late Princess Diana and then Prince Charles.
You can follow updates from the series’ launch on The Independent’s live blog here.
Despite controversy, series producers decided against adding a disclaimer that reminds viewers that the show is a fictional dramatisation of real events.
Instead, a disclaimer was added the latest trailer for The Crown in the lead-up to its new season but not the programme itself.
In its trailer, posted on YouTube, Netflix writes: “Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatisation tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign.”
The Independent has contacted Netflix for comment.
Stars like Dame Judi Dench have accused the series of “crude sensationalism” in its depictions of members of the royal family.
The Skyfall star, 87, urged for The Crown to include a disclaimer in a letter for The Times, published on 19 October.
“No one is a greater believer in artistic freedom than I, but this cannot go unchallenged,” Dench wrote.
“Despite this week stating publicly that The Crown has always been a ‘fictionalised drama’ the programme makers have resisted all calls for them to carry a disclaimer at the start of each episode.”
She added that “the time has come for Netflix to reconsider” after the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September.
The series also faced criticism from former prime minister Sir John Major, who described the rumoured plot lines in the show’s new season as “nothing other than damaging and malicious fiction” and a “barrel-load of nonsense”.
Other celebrities who have said The Crown should have a disclaimer include Helena Bonham Carter, who played Princess Margaret in the series, Tory MP Oliver Dowden and TV host Kate Garraway.
In a statement, Netflix said: “The Crown has always been presented as a drama based on historical events. Series five is a fictional dramatisation, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors during a significant decade for the royal family – one that has already been scrutinised and well documented by journalists, biographers and historians.”
The Crown season five begins on Netflix on 9 November.
Read The Independent’s two-star review of the new series here.
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