Dominic West, who plays Prince Charles on The Crown, claims that portraying the monarch improved his opinion of him and expresses his hope that the program will give the monarch a “fair hearing” when it recounts his divorce from Princess Diana.
The divorce of King (then Prince) Charles and Princess Diana is one of the turbulent and divisive events in modern British history that is covered in the new season of The Crown. The public dissolution of the royal marriage in the 1990s made for compelling tabloid material around the world and damaged Charles’ and the British Royal Family’s reputations. This season’s Charles, played by Dominic West, thinks the program will offer him “a fair hearing.”
The life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II are chronicled in The Crown. The first four seasons covered the late 1940s until the middle of the 1980s. A new main cast is introduced every two seasons. The fifth season takes viewers deep into some of the most turbulent years in modern British history in addition to including a whole new ensemble led by Imelda Stanton as Queen Elizabeth. The most notable of these is Charles’ (Dominic’s) and Diana’s divorce (Elizabeth Debicki). So it’s challenging to ascertain what others think of him. This time span encompasses the divorce-related struggles he experienced. I guess the viewers only heard or saw one of the two sides of a divorce.
Now that things have been put in perspective, hopefully, everyone will be given a fair chance to speak. That is a factor in the decision to proceed. After portraying Charles on the show, the actor claimed he had empathy for him and hoped the viewers would feel the same way. “Of course, I love the guy. I’ve never heard the necessity of beginning to fall in love with the character as effectively as Johnny just did. I’m hoping that when people see Charles in this, they will automatically take their side and give them the benefit of the doubt.
Author Peter Morgan is the creator of The Crown. November 9 marks the start of the new season on Netflix. Jonathan Pryce, Lesley Manville, and Jonny Lee Miller are included in the supporting cast.