‘Laughable’: Joanna Lumley, a close friend of Prince Charles, criticises The Crown

Joanna Lumley, who is a friend of Prince Charles, has branded The Crown “laughable”.

The Netflix drama is going into its fifth season, with Imelda Staunton portraying the Queen, Elizabeth Debicki starring as Princess Diana and Dominic West playing Prince Charles.

But Absolutely Fabulous star Lumley, who attended Prince Charles and Camilla’s wedding in 2005, is not a fan. In a new interview with the Australian publication Women’s Weekly (via The Daily Mail), she said: “I know them [the royal family], so I know it’s all made up and it’s rubbish.”

She added: “All the poor actors who are doing their best to copy them, it’s awful. Imagine somebody making up conversations they think you’ve had.”

Lumley reportedly said The Crown is “laughable” and “insane”.

The Crown has been repeatedly criticised over the years for its depiction of the royal family. Netflix’s drama, which charts the events of Queen Elizabeth II’s life, aired its fourth season last year, showcasing events from 1977 to 1990.

Princess Diana’s brother is among those who have stated that it’s fiction presented as fact.

Presenter Andrew Marr, meanwhile, claimed that The Crown’s dramatisation of the royal family is “grossly unfair and sadistic”.

He said: “If they announced, ‘This is drama, it’s fiction, it’s entertainment,’ you would say it’s brilliant.

“But when you start to say, ‘This is the truth about these people’s lives,’ it’s grossly unfair and really quite sadistic. It’s so convincingly acted people may think it’s the truth, and it isn’t.”

The Crown’s creator Peter Morgan has previously defended some of the fabricated scenes in the fourth season of the series.

Season five of The Crown will be released on Netflix in 2022.

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