King Charles is absolutely losing his damn mind. Buckingham Palace is 100% behind the deranged campaign against The Crown. It’s not Prince William, it’s not Kate, it’s not Sophie or Edward or any of the rest of them. It’s all about Charles and Camilla. The thing is, before this moment, Camilla’s response was completely mature – she acknowledged that she watched The Crown, she befriended several of the actors in The Crown, and she also talked about how it wasn’t a documentary. But Camilla is participating in Charles’s delusional campaign at this point, even going so far as to rope in some of her friends in the industry. Judi Dench is one of Camilla’s friends. Dench has just written an “open letter” to Netflix, demanding that they put some kind of disclaimer about the fictional nature of The Crown. Here’s Dench’s letter, which I’m willing to bet was written by someone in Buckingham Palace:
Sir, Sir John Major is not alone in his concerns that the latest series of The Crown will present an inaccurate and hurtful account of history (News, Oct 17). Indeed, the closer the drama comes to our present times, the more freely it seems willing to blur the lines between historical accuracy and crude sensationalism.
While many will recognise The Crown for the brilliant but fictionalised account of events that it is, I fear that a significant number of viewers, particularly overseas, may take its version of history as being wholly true. Given some of the wounding suggestions apparently contained in the new series — that King Charles plotted for his mother to abdicate, for example, or once suggested his mother’s parenting was so deficient that she might have deserved a jail sentence — this is both cruelly unjust to the individuals and damaging to the institution they represent.
No one is a greater believer in artistic freedom than I, but this cannot go unchallenged. Despite this week stating publicly that The Crown has always been a “fictionalised drama” the programme makers have resisted all calls for them to carry a disclaimer at the start of each episode.
The time has come for Netflix to reconsider — for the sake of a family and a nation so recently bereaved, as a mark of respect to a sovereign who served her people so dutifully for 70 years, and to preserve its reputation in the eyes of its British subscribers.
Dame Judi Dench
London W1
This is hilarious. First of all, Netflix executives have barely spent any money on promotion – why would they need to spend money when every British paper and all of the king’s friends are Streisand-Effecting Season 5? Season 5 is going to be one of the most-watched programs in Netflix history. Second of all, Dame Judi Dench has worked on tons of historical dramas and weirdly, she’s never demanded that disclaimers be shown ahead of Shakespeare in Love or Mrs. Brown (about one of Queen Victoria’s love affairs!!) or Victoria & Abdul (about another one of Queen Victoria’s relationships!). Shouldn’t it be consistent with fictionalized historical dramatizations? Or does it only count when Charles is salty?
Another thing: “I fear that a significant number of viewers, particularly overseas, may take its version of history as being wholly true.” These people are beside themselves with worry that Americans are too dumb to understand that they’re witnessing a dramatization. But please, let’s keep up the fact-checking, especially for the episode where Charles and Camilla’s Tampon Phone Call is recreated verbatim.
I’m just really sad that Buckingham Palace will use an 87-year-old mostly-blind woman in their pathetic campaign. Isn’t there anyone who can tell King Charles that this whole thing is tasteless?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Dame Judi Dench visits the Hilliers Nurseries Exhibit in the Great Pavilion at the 2019 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, The Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London, SW3 4SR on VIP & Press Day on Monday 20 May 2019. For a number of years Hillier has been working with growers and breeders in the USA and Durope to develop an elm that is fully resiistant to Dutch Elm Disease, which struck Britain in the late 1960’s and wiped out more than 30 million mature trees. Picture shows Dame Judi Dench, who visited the Hilliers Exhibit to launch the re-elming of the British Countryside starting this year.,Image: 511871405, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – [email protected] London: 44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: 1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: 49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Sue Andrews / Avalon
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- The Duchess of Cornwall (second left) with Dame Antonia Fraser (left), Dame Edna O’Brien (second right) and Dame Judy Dench, at a reception hosted by The Duchess of Cornwall for ‘The Duchess of Cornwall’s Reading Room’, a hub for literary communities around the world, which celebrates literature in all its forms. Picture date: Tuesday October 26, 2021. Inspired by the success of Her Royal Highness’s reading lists shared during the pandemic in 2020, the Reading Room channel offers new seasons of book recommendations, as well as exclusive insight from the authors themselves, in a community space for book lovers of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.,Image: 639939231, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Ian Jones / Avalon
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USA Rights Only – Isle of Wight, UK -20180724-Camilla Duchess of Cornwall enjoys an ice cream with Dame Judi Dench as she arrives at Queen Victoria’s private beach, next to the monarch’s holiday home in East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Dame Judi, patron of the Friends of Osborne House, will show Camilla the newly restored Durbar Room, which was one of the locations for the film Victoria and Abdul in which she played Queen Victoria.
-PICTURED: Judi Dench and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall
-PHOTO by: Andrew Matthews/PA Images/INSTARimages.com
-37720058.jpgThis is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at [email protected] or call 1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded
Featuring: Judi Dench and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall
Where: Isle of Wight, England, United Kingdom
When: 24 Jul 2018
Credit: Andrew Matthews/PA Images/INSTARimages.com**USA Rights Only**
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USA Rights Only – Isle of Wight, UK -20180724-Camilla Duchess of Cornwall enjoys an ice cream with Dame Judi Dench as she arrives at Queen Victoria’s private beach, next to the monarch’s holiday home in East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Dame Judi, patron of the Friends of Osborne House, will show Camilla the newly restored Durbar Room, which was one of the locations for the film Victoria and Abdul in which she played Queen Victoria.
-PICTURED: Judi Dench and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall
-PHOTO by: Andrew Matthews/PA Images/INSTARimages.com
-37720060.jpgThis is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at [email protected] or call 1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded
Featuring: Judi Dench and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall
Where: Isle of Wight, England, United Kingdom
When: 24 Jul 2018
Credit: Andrew Matthews/PA Images/INSTARimages.com**USA Rights Only**
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North America Rights Only – London, UK -20211026- The Duchess of Cornwall’s Reading Room Reception.
-PICTURED: Dame Judy Dench, Duchess of Cornwall
-PHOTO by: INSTARimages.comDisclaimer:
This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at [email protected] or call 1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded
For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishingFeaturing: Judy Dench, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall
Where: London, England, United Kingdom
When: 26 Oct 2021
Credit: INSTARimages.com**North America Rights Only**
