Netflix Adds Disclaimer Under the Trailer for the Fifth Season of the Crown

The Crown on Netflix now comes with a warning stating that it is a "fictional dramatization," "inspired by real-life events." On YouTube and the show's website, we can see the disclaimer underneath the trailer, but not on TV or through a Netflix app on a smartphone. It "has always been presented as a drama based on historical events," Netflix told BBC News. Furthermore, the move comes after Dame Judi Dench and Sir John Major, who served as prime minister, voiced their worries regarding the royal series' veracity. The series is described as "Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatization tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign" on Twitter, YouTube, and online. Similar terminology has been used in press releases before, but the phrase "fictional" never appeared in a YouTube trailer before. Given that the term "fictionalized" already appears online, the BBC asked Netflix if it intends to add it to the service accessible through a TV set and the Netflix app on mobile devices.

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On Thursday, Netflix made the trailer for the upcoming series, which premieres on November 9, public. It implies the fifth season of The Crown will focus heavily on Diana, Princess of Wales, and the fallout as she and Prince Charles, as he was then, prepare to divorce. Additionally, it recreates the conversation Princess Diana had with Martin Bashir in 1995. Furthermore, Elizabeth Debicki's character Diana is shown telling Prasanna Puwanarajah's character Bashir: "I won't go quietly, I'll battle until the end." However, Princess Diana did not actually say that in the interview in real life.