Annus Horribilis: Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown season five. Photo / Netflix
Annus Horribilis: Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown season five. Photo / Netflix
The Duchess of York has been accused of feeding information to The Crown producers.
The Daily Mail has reported sources at The Crown’s producers, Left Bank Pictures, said Sarah Ferguson allegedly offered to “help out with information on her character in the show and the inner workings of the royal family”.
The conversation reportedly came about as the Duchess was seeking to partner with them on a TV adaptation of her romance novel Her Heart for a Compass.
However, her rep has since denied claims she discussed helping consult on the popular Netflix show.
They added that during discussions with its founder Andy Harries the topic of her depiction on the Netflix drama allegedly came up.
A source told the Mail: “She made repeated contact via emails and on the phone. She offered advice and background information and said that she had an inside view which would make her invaluable to the show as a consultant.”
Sarah Ferguson's first romance novel is titled Her Heart for a Compass. Photo / Getty Images
The publication said when Sarah was contacted about the story, a source close to the Duchess initially said she was “thinking she might simply offer some insight into her character, and there was certainly no discussion of any fee”.
But it said a spokesman for Sarah later said: “The Duchess was in contact with Andy Harries, who produces The Crown, last year and they had a discussion about adapting her novel, Her Heart for a Compass, into a TV series.
“They did not discuss The Crown, or any idea of her helping with the series in any way. Such a suggestion was made separately at one point by a mutual friend, but was not progressed by either side.”
It comes as The Crown is under fire for spotlighting Princess Diana’s death in its upcoming sixth series, and after a plotline featuring then-Prince Charles talking about Queen Elizabeth’s abdication was branded a fiction by figures including former British prime minister Sir John Major.
