This U.K. Minister Has One Major Request of ‘The Crown’ on Netflix

U.K. culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, has a major request of Netflix’s The Crown. In fact, he plans on writing a letter to the show asking them to officially label the series as fictional. 

Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Dowden revealed that although he believes the show was “beautifully produced,” he worriess that viewers could “mistake fiction for fact.”

“It’s a beautifully produced work of fiction, so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that,” Dowden said, per the outlet. “Without this, I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact.”

The show’s creators and stars have been pretty forthcoming about the exaggerated and fictional elements of the series in the past. Robert Lacey, the show's historical consultant, previously told Town & Country, “There are two sorts of truth. There's historical truth and then there's the larger truth about the past."

Josh O'Connor (Prince Charles) also opened up about the subject. "We are creating a work of fiction, albeit based in some reality. But ultimately, there's only so much research you can do. After a time, you just got to crack on and create something for yourself.”

It’s no secret that the British royal family has absolutely nothing to do with the popular Netflix show. However, we also learned this week that the series creator actually reached out to the family and asked them to fact-check the drama—and they said no. 

Since most of the world already knows the show to be a drama based on real-life events, we have a feeling a letter won’t change much.

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