The Crown's Dominic West Says He's "Always Been in Love With Princess Diana"

The Crown's fifth season only just debuted in November, but with filming for the show's sixth and final season well underway, the topic is still fresh on the minds of fans—and, of course, the actors taking on the iconic roles of the royal family. In a new interview, Dominic West, who took over the role of Prince Charles for the show's fifth and sixth seasons, opened up about the show, as well as his long-standing interest in the royal family.

"I’ve always been a royal watcher and I’ve always been in love with Princess Diana since I was 10 when they got engaged. God, I was in love with her as a boy," he told Variety. But that didn't mean that he jumped at the chance to play Diana's husband, then-Prince Charles.

He recalled his first reaction to being offered the part by series creator Peter Morgan. "I said, ‘I think you’ve definitely got the wrong person.’ Rather cleverly, he said, ‘Only you will know if you can play him or not,’ which, of course, isn’t true because I’ve sort of assumed I couldn’t play him! I thought I wasn’t right for the part, so it took a while." In fact, it was another former member of The Crown's cast who finally convinced him to take the role. "Helena Bonham Carter [who previously portrayed Princess Margaret] called me, and she said, ‘Just do it!’ So, I did."

With controversies over the royal family's portrayal in the series still swirling, especially in the wake of the death of Queen Elizabeth, West admits that the decision was a struggle. "I met a few people who told me, in no uncertain terms, ‘you shouldn’t do it.’ I wrestled with it for quite a while because I do really admire King Charles and the work he’s done, and I didn’t want to do anything that might jeopardize that work,” he said. Ultimately, though, he explained, "[Peter Morgan and I] both sort of came to conclusion that we like the guy, I suppose. I think it’s a pretty positive portrayal."

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