Emma Corrin, who just won a Golden Globe for playing Princess Diana in the fourth season of “The Crown,” said she’s “incredibly moved” by Prince Harry’s reaction to the show.
“I saw the interview that he did with James Corden and ... I felt incredibly grateful to him. I actually am incredibly moved by what he said,” Corrin told reporters after winning at Sunday’s awards ceremony, according to People. “The way he spoke about it and the fact that he’s watched it, and the fact that obviously, his mother ... that would have been such a sensitive thing.”
The Royal Family has generally stayed mum about the show, which dramatizes the events that have affected the British monarchy over the last 70-ish years. But last week, during an appearance on “The Late Late Show,” Harry told his friend, host James Corden, that he’d rather watch a fictionalized version of his family’s experiences than read false news reports about them.
“They don’t pretend to be news — it’s fictional, but it’s loosely based on the truth. Of course it’s not strictly accurate,” Harry told Corden. “But loosely ... it gives you a rough idea about what that lifestyle, what the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else, what can come from that.”
He continued, “I’m way more comfortable with ‘The Crown’ than I am seeing the stories written about my family, or my wife, or myself ... That is obviously fiction, take it how you will. But this is being reported on as fact, because you’re supposedly news. And I have a real issue with that.”
(The exchange starts around the 7:40 mark in the video below.)
That point of view is a significant departure from the rest of the Royal Family. No one else has ever publicly commented on the show, although there have been rumours of some royals watching it.
Olivia Colman, who played Queen Elizabeth on seasons three and four of “The Crown,” said she once had an awkward conversation with Prince William, where she asked him if he had watched the show and “His answer was a firm, ‘No.’”
And Matt Smith, who played a younger version of Prince Philip in the show’s first two seasons, said that when he met William and the royal was asked if he had any advice for the actor about to play his grandfather, he simply responded, “Legend.” No pressure.
Josh O’Connor, who won a Globe for playing Harry’s father, Prince Charles, said he’s “delighted” that Harry watches the show.
And he liked the Duke of Sussex’s suggestion to Corden that “Homeland” actor and fellow redhead Damian Lewis could play him in an upcoming season.
“Oh, I love Damian Lewis, he’s great,” O’Connor said. “I think the great thing about The Crown is we put together great casts.”
Gillian Anderson, who also won a Globe for Supporting Television Actress for her role as Margaret Thatcher on “The Crown,” talked to reporters about Prince Harry’s acknowledgement of the show.
“I would say that Harry is fairly well-qualified to judge what is fact or fiction,” she told reporters on Sunday.
“It was pleasing to hear that he understood what [show creator and writer] Peter [Morgan] was trying to do ... He’s telling a nuanced story of the challenges of putting duty and service before love and family ... he has certainly many, many, many years of experience with that.”
“The Crown” had a very positive night at the Golden Globes. In addition to the acting wins for Corrin, O’Connor and Anderson, the show also won the award for best drama series.