Princess Anne describes ‘dangerous’ aspect of The Crown as she reflects on her own portrayal

Princess Anne once described the “dangerous” aspect of The Crown as she reflected on her own portrayal in the popular Netflix show inspired by her family’s lives.   

• The Princess Royal was played by Erin Doherty in seasons 3 and 4 of The Crown and Princess Anne has previously opened up about this hit show. 
• She once described it as being “quite a dangerous thing to do” to create a series based upon people who were still alive.  
• This royal news comes as King Charles posed in a new photograph with Camilla, Queen Consort, and the new Prince and Princess of Wales. 

Whilst it’s not entirely clear whether the Royal Family has seen The Crown, the Netflix show has consistently captured fans’ imaginations with its dramatized depiction of the late Queen Elizabeth and her family’s lives over its four seasons so far. And whilst Princess Anne has previously confirmed she doesn’t watch the series, she also once described the “dangerous” aspect of The Crown. Opening up whilst she was posing for sculptor Frances Segelman during the filming of 2020 documentary Anne: The Princess Royal at 70, she brought up the topic of Netflix’s historical hit. 

The fictional drama is inspired by the extraordinary life and reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II, several of the Queen’s children have already appeared in the show - including the Princess Royal. 

“Actually, I read an article the other day about the - I don’t watch Netflix and The Crown - but the actress [who played her, Erin Doherty] was talking about how long it took for them to do their hair like I did. And I’m thinking how could you *possibly* take that long. I mean it takes me 10 or 15 minutes,” Princess Anne explained, before confirming that despite being one of the late Queen’s children she does it all herself as it’s “so much quicker”. 

That wasn’t all the Princess Royal shared, with her describing the first few installments set during the early years of the Queen’s reign as “quite interesting”. It was then that the Princess Royal reflected upon how risky she felt it could be to create such a show based upon still-living figures. 

“Making a series about people who are still living is always quite a dangerous thing to do,” she declared calmly.

At the time Anne: The Princess Royal at 70 was released in August 2020 both Prince Philip and the Queen were alive and the release of The Crown season 4 was just months away. When it did finally land, it had viewers across the world transfixed as it moved to focus upon the early years of the then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s relationship, with Erin Doherty’s Princess Anne also continuing to feature. 

However, it wasn’t without its controversies as whilst some people wondered how accurate The Crown is, others claimed The Crown should have a warning as they expressed concerns that some fans could mistake fictional events for historical fact.

Meanwhile, with the release date for The Crown season 5 confirmed to be in November 2022, it’s reported that Buckingham Palace released a statement on The Crown reiterating the show’s fictional nature. The Telegraph claimed that, "A senior royal source stressed on Sunday that The Crown is 'a drama not a documentary.'"

The upcoming season of The Crown is expected to focus on the now-King Charles’ separation and divorce from his late former wife Princess Diana in the 1990s and could include the Queen’s “Annus Horribilis” or “horrible year” in 1992.