The Drama Over Adding a Disclaimer to The Crown, Explained

Ahead of the premiere of the fifth season of The Crown, the debate over the accuracy of the royal drama has once again emerged.

First, former Prime Minister John Major—who will be played by Jonny Lee Miller in the upcoming season—criticized the show as a "barrel-load of nonsense," referring specifically to a scene in the upcoming season where Prince Charles speaks with Major about the possible abdication of his mother, Queen Elizabeth.

"There was never any discussion between Sir John and the then Prince of Wales about any possible abdication of the late Queen Elizabeth II—nor was such an improbable and improper subject ever raised by the then Prince of Wales (or Sir John)," the spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for Major said that he did not cooperate with the show, and condemns them for portraying the meetings between the late Queen and the Prime Minster. "As you will know, discussions between the Monarch and prime minister are entirely private and—for Sir John—will always remain so … They are fiction, pure and simple," the spokesperson added. The scenes, they said, "should be seen as nothing other than damaging and malicious fiction. A barrel-load of nonsense peddled for no other reason than to provide maximum—and entirely false—dramatic impact."

Then, in a letter to the Times, Dame Judi Dench echoed Major's concerns.

"Sir John Major is not alone in his concerns that the latest series of The Crown will present an inaccurate and hurtful account of history," she wrote. "Indeed, the closer the drama comes to our present times, the more freely it seems willing to blur the lines between historical accuracy and crude sensationalism."

Dench continued, "While many will recognise The Crown for the brilliant but fictionalised account of events that it is, I fear that a significant number of viewers, particularly overseas, may take its version of history as being wholly true. This is both cruelly unjust to the individuals and damaging to the institution they represent."

Dench, who has long been close with King Charles and Queen Camilla, concluded her letter with a call for the streamer to add a disclaimer stating the show is a "fictionalised drama" at the start of each episode. ""The time has come for Netflix to reconsider — for the sake of a family and a nation so recently bereaved, as a mark of respect to a sovereign who served her people so dutifully for 70 years, and to preserve its reputation in the eyes of its British subscribers," Dench said.

In response, Netflix released a statement, saying, "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 been scrutinised and well-documented by journalists, biographers and historians."

Yesterday, Netflix added text to the trailer for season five, writing, "Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatisation tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign." Per the BBC, no previous trailers have used the word 'fictional' in the description.

It remains to be seen whether or not Netflix will add a similar disclaimer to individual episodes.

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