Royal family ‘shouldn’t fear’ The Crown’s explosive depiction of King Charles and Princess Diana’s divorce, insists Camilla star Olivia Williams-Cydney Yeates-Entertainment – Metro

Olivia Williams has tried to put anxieties to bed before the release of The Crown season 5 (Picture: Getty)

The Crown stars Dominic West and Olivia Williams have insisted the royal family shouldn’t be worried about the explosive upcoming fifth season, despite concerns from Buckingham Palace.

Peter Morgan’s acclaimed Netflix drama returns on November 9 and it has already been the centre of fierce criticism.

Notable public figures, including former Prime Minister Sir John Major, have expressed their distaste for some of the storylines set to unfold, with Buckingham Palace reportedly afraid for King Charles III’s reputation as his divorce from Princess Diana is set to play out.

But should they really be anxious at all?

Williams, who plays Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles in the new chapter, taking over from Emerald Fennell, says the royals need not be frightened.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk, she says: ‘I think what’s very exciting about this season and the show that has had this amount of space to mature is that [showrunner] Peter’s now writing standalone episodes and he writes an episode that’s about divorce in almost a philosophical way; how divorce effects a couple who aren’t in the public eye.

Princess Diana and King Charles’s divorce is at the front and centre of the new series (Picture: Netflix)

‘I don’t think it’s something the Palace should be frightened of because he is very careful to always turn these events back to how they affect the crown.

‘The series is called The Crown, not Charles, Diana, or the Queen. It’s about the crown and so I think it’s both interesting and philosophical and relevant to that.’

Dominic West, who takes on the role of Charles, adds that hindsight is a ‘wonderful thing’ when it comes to King Charles and Camilla’s romance.

‘At the time, when we were thinking about this divorce as it happened, there was an enormous sense of grievance from the public that this fairy-tale had been destroyed,’ he says.

There had been reports that Buckingham Palace was ‘concerned’ by the upcoming season of the Netflix drama (Picture: Wire Image)

‘That this amazing wedding that happened between Charles and Diana had set up this fairy tale was shown to have gone wrong.

‘I think now, 25 years later, we have the reassurance that things turned out okay. Not for Diana, but for the fact that Camilla was not a marriage breaker or someone who was trying to deny us our fairy tale. She was just someone who was in love.’

King Charles’s high-profile divorce from Diana takes centre stage in The Crown season five.

A recent trailer for the new series previously showed Diana (played by Elizabeth Debicki), and Charles preparing for television interviews about their relationship.

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‘I think anybody who has a perspective on divorce, the whole blame game, you see that maybe the marriage wasn’t a great idea in the first place,’ Williams adds.

‘I don’t want to say that with any disrespect to the families involved. I think as Dominic says, hindsight is a really wonderful thing.’

The Crown season 5 arrives on November 9 on Netflix.

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