Prince Philip reportedly “considered” suing Netflix over an episode of ‘The Crown’.
The royal – who was married to the late Queen Elizabeth from 1947 until his death at the age of 99 in 2021 – was reportedly thinking about taking the team behind the biographical series to court when he was left “very upset” and consulted royal law firm Farrer and Co when an episode blamed him for the death of his sister Princess Cecilie.
Hugo Vickers, a royal historian and author, said: “I know Prince Philip consulted his lawyer about it, to ask ‘What can I do about it?’ He was very upset about the way that was portrayed. He was human. He could be hurt like anybody else. [Philip] was pleased when I put the record straight.”
The episode in question was titled ‘Paterfamilias’ and features in the second series of the Netflix show, with the plot seeing a 16-year-old Philip being forbidden from spending his half-term break in Germany with Cecilie after misbehaving at school.
Pregnant Cecile was seen telling Philip that she would have to fly to London to attend a wedding due to his behaviour but was subsequently killed in the plane crash.
In the episode – which featured no fictional disclaimer – their father, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, says to onlookers: “I’m surprised he dare show himself here. Had it not been for Philip and his indiscipline, she would never have taken that flight. It’s true, isn’t it, boy? You’re the reason we’re all here burying my favourite child. Get him out of here.”
However, the royal expert then claimed that the Duke of Edinburgh had eventually chosen not to take legal action in keeping with his wife’s royal mantra of “never complain, never explain.”
A friend of the late royal also recalled that the Duke had seemed “upset” about how he was being portrayed on screen.
The friend said: “I remember sitting next to the Duke of Edinburgh at a dinner, and him being so upset about it and what it [‘The Crown’] was saying about him.”
Meanwhile, a close friend of William, Prince of Wales – who became heir to the throne upon the death of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth in September and his father, King Charles, acceded to the head-of-state position – alleged that the royal has found the drama series to be “damaging” now that it is coming closer to the present day in its timeline.
The friend told The Sunday Times: “He has spoken about it, and now, as it is coming closer to the present, he is particularly concerned about it. William does think it is damaging. The royal family knows it is nonsense but harsh and hurtful.”
