Prince William will find season 4 of the popular Netflix show deeply upsetting, critics say. Photo / Getty Images
Prince William will find season 4 of the popular Netflix show deeply upsetting, critics say. Photo / Getty Images
Prince Harry is stepping into a "bear trap" with his and Meghan's Netflix deal amid backlash over The Crown's portrayal of his parents, royal experts say.
And they're also warning that Prince William will "undoubtedly detest" Season 4, reports the Daily Mail.
Harry is "unlikely to see a clash" between his deal and the "deeply intrusive" show that portrays Charles as a "brutal wimp" and Diana as "deeply stressed", commentators say.
Royal writer Richard Fitzwilliams said Harry may even be on board with the portrayal of the royals as "sinister and uncaring", while author Penny Junor said he was in a "very awkward situation right now".
Others have lined up to criticise the show, including Ingrid Seward, who called it "pretty inaccurate"; Sally Beddell Smith, who claimed "the level of invention has been growing"; and Dickie Arbiter, who called some of the action "fiction".
Tom Quinn called parts of the show "total nonsense", while critic Paul Burrell said it was "a fair and accurate dramatisation of what happened".
The show's implication that Charles saw Lord Mountbatten as more of a father figure than Prince Philip and Margaret Thatcher telling the Queen she thought women were incapable of holding high office have also been slammed as inaccurate.
Junor told MailOnline: "I think Harry will find himself in a very awkward situation right now. It is yet another example, perhaps, of how difficult it is to mix being royal with the commercial world. There are bear traps everywhere."
She went on to say: "I would guess that William is very angry about this latest series of The Crown. And be deeply upset on behalf of his family. As will Harry.
"It is a grotesque and deeply unfair portrayal of their father, mother and step-mother, and of the wider family, including, of course, their grandparents whom they love dearly.
Prince William will find season 4 of the popular Netflix show deeply upsetting, critics say. Photo / Getty Images
"Because this series is now covering a time and events that so many people can remember, it is incredibly damaging. We are given the impression that the royal family are horrible people who behave in a despicable manner.
"While many of the events might be real, so much of the detail and the conversations are complete fabrication - and Peter Morgan probably wouldn't deny that; he is creating drama after all. But it is in danger of damaging not just the reputations of people who are powerless to hit back, but the future of the monarchy itself."
The fourth season of the hit Netflix show features Charles' doomed marriage to Diana, his affair with Camilla and Diana's eating disorders.
Fitzwilliams argued the show portrayed Charles as a "selfish, insecure wimp".
"He is self pitying and brutal to Diana after, for example, her success in New York.
"It is made clear that he is a product of an extremely dysfunctional family."
He went on to say that Diana "comes across as someone who is deeply stressed, we see bouts of bulimia, because she is a victim.
"Gradually we see her spread her magic. She needs affection and to be appreciated. Emma Corrin is well cast in the role which is sympathetic."
Harry will find himself in an 'awkward situation' as he's just signed a multi-million dollar deal with the streaming giant. Photo / Getty Images
And he said that Prince William would "undoubtedly detest" the show.
"I think, if he watches it, he will see it as deeply intrusive and will think its portrayal of senior royals as so malign and ill-mannered as callous and the way it takes so many liberties with fact as deeply deplorable.
"Harry is unlikely to see a clash between it and the Netflix deal which he and Meghan have made. He would probably argue that despite enormous dramatic licence the series has a vast audience, many of whom are fascinated by it and untroubled by how it ignores facts. Meghan won't appear.
"They, as we know, were unhappy as senior royals and may agree with this derisory portrayal of the royal family as a rather sinister, uncaring and often cruel institution."
He continued: "If I were to guess, though he and Meghan, were, as we all know deeply unhappy as senior working royals, they also detest what they consider to be inaccuracies.
"Though they might well have felt the royal family was too aloof, they stepped down after less than two years and might sympathise with aspects of the way the institution is portrayed.
"I doubt, however, they would approve of the level of dramatic licence the series takes. It remains to be seen how Harry is portrayed, perhaps it will be only fleetingly. Meghan may or may not consider herself fortunate she will not be. The series, after all, has a huge global audience."
