(London) British comedian Dominic West, interpreter of the future Charles III in the new season of The Crowncalled on Tuesday not to judge the sovereign harshly on the basis of the series, which tackles a hot period for the British monarchy.
Posted at 3:36 p.m.
The actor participated Tuesday evening in London in the premiere of the fifth – and in principle penultimate – season of the series with planetary success which is released Wednesday on Netflix and which relates the reign of the late Elizabeth II.
Two months after his death, at the age of 96, The Crown focuses on the 1990s, marked by the break between Prince Charles and Diana, creating considerable expectation, but also strong criticism of the liberties taken by the series.
PHOTO DANIEL LEAL, FRANCE-PRESSE AGENCY
Elizabeth Debicki as Diana
For this season, Imelda Stauton plays the queen, taking over from Olivia Colman. Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki succeed Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin as Charles and Diana.
Speaking to the press, Dominic West, who has met Charles on several occasions, noted that the life of the new 73-year-old king “is one of the most watched, known to the public in the world”.
The season “covers a period when the press was against him. He was divorcing, and there are always two sides to a divorce,” he explained.
“Hopefully there’s a bit of a push back now,” he added. “I love the person, and in that case inevitably we get on their side and give them the benefit of the doubt and I hope the public will do the same.”
PHOTO HENRY NICHOLLS, REUTERS
Back row: Jonny Lee Miller, Dominic West, Elizabeth Debicki and Jonathan Pryce. Front row: Imelda Staunton and Lesley Manville.
The actor previously said he offered to step down as an ambassador for Charles’ charitable foundation because of his role on the show, which was declined.
This season evokes in ten episodes in particular the shock television interview of Princess Diana to the BBC evoking the infidelity of Charles, the adulterous relationship of the latter with Camilla Parker Bowles or his divorce.
By addressing these still very sensitive events, the series has attracted criticism from artistic personalities such as actress Judi Dench, or even former prime ministers John Major and Tony Blair, because it lends Charles, for example, unproven maneuvers to obtain the abdication of his mother.
The pressure is such that Netflix had to include a warning on the program’s home page stating that the story is a fiction “inspired by real events”, when it had always refused to do so.