Dominic West, who plays Prince Charles in Netflix’s hit series “The Crown,” offered to quit his position as ambassador of The Prince’s Trust in case of a conflict of interest, but it was turned down.
The Prince’s Trust is a charity of which King Charles is the president. West has met the King several times.
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West told the Radio Times magazine that his resignation offer was refused via a letter from King Charles’s private secretary, which said, “You do what you like, you’re an actor. It’s nothing to do with us.”
“I think that’s probably how [Charles] regards it,” West said. “I’ve been in a line to shake his hand a few times and it’s fascinating. It’s very useful to meet the character you’re playing, obviously.”
West also told the magazine that when he met Camilla, who is now the Queen Consort, at a party in 2021, she called him “Your Majesty” in an apparent approval of his casting.
Season 5 of “The Crown” sees the late Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) handling the fallout of three of her children’s marriage breakdowns, most dramatically that of Prince Charles and his wife Diana (Elizabeth Debicki). There’s also the decommissioning of her treasured royal yacht Britannia, a fire sweeping through Windsor Castle and the pieces of the puzzle coming together that will eventually lead to Diana’s tragic death in 1997, an event which saw the royals’ popularity drop to an all-time low.
The show has been accused of insensitivity around the royal family but speaking with Variety, the stars defended its creator. Lesley Manville, who plays Elizabeth’s younger sister Princess Margaret, said: “I think that we’re very sensitive to the royal family. I’m representing [Margaret] hopefully sensitively and truthfully, underneath the umbrella of it being a drama, let’s not forget.”
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