How accurate is The Crown really? Royals and their closest confidantes weigh in on the hit royal series

One of Princess Diana’s former friends has cut ties with The Crown, claiming that the show’s newest season didn’t handle the Princess of Wales’ story as “respectfully” as she had hoped.

Former journalist Jemima Khan was brought on as a writer for the series’ fifth season, but pulled out of the role this week and even “requested that all [her] contributions be removed” from the show.

Jemima was previously married to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and developed a bond with Diana before the princess’ tragic death in 1997.

The two women shared a connection, both as individuals and as the wives of powerful men, and Jemima used that knowledge of Diana to inform her writing for The Crown.

So what prompted her to leave the show? What have she and a number of other royal insiders said about the royal drama?

And how accurate is the series in its depictions of key moments in royal history?

Keep reading to see what the people closest to the royal family have said about The Crown.

Jemima Khan

Jemima joined The Crown‘s writing team for season five of the show, telling the Sunday Times that she was hired in 2019 by series creator Peter Morgan.

She was asked in particular to contribute to the episodes that detailed Diana’s final years before her death and agreed “after a great deal of thought, having never spoken publicly about any of this”.

“It was really important to me that the final years of my friend’s life be portrayed accurately and with compassion, as has not always happened in the past,” Jemima told the Times.

The 47-year-old worked on the series through 2020 and 2021, but suddenly backed out in November after the co-writing agreement Peter offered “was not honoured”.

Speaking about her exit, Jemima said she decided to leave when she “realised that particular storyline [Diana’s final years] would not necessarily be told as respectfully or compassionately as I had hoped.”

She asked to have all of her contributions to the script removed and declined a writing credit for her work on the series.

It’s understood that Jemima worked on plotlines about Diana’s relationships after divorcing Prince Charles, as well as her bombshell Panorama interview in 1995.

The 47-year-old also had a brief romance with show runner Peter Morgan in early 2021, but the pair split and he rekindled his relationship with actress Gillian Anderson, who funnily enough played Margaret Thatcher in season four.

Prince Harry

The Duke of Sussex himself has commented on The Crown, saying that though it’s not entirely accurate, it gives a “rough idea” of the pressures of royal life.

“They don’t pretend to be news. It’s fictional. But it’s loosely based on the truth,” he told James Corden during an appearance in early 2021.

“Of course, it’s not strictly accurate, of course not. But loosely it gives you a rough idea… about the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else.”

He went on to say that he’s “way more comfortable” with the Netflix series than he is with tabloid stories about his family, himself or wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

“Because [The Crown] is obviously fiction, take it how you will,” he continued.

“But [tabloid news] is being reported on as fact because you’re supposedly news. I have a real issue with that.”

Paul Burrell

Princess Diana’s former butler, Paul Burrell, shared his thoughts on the show’s fourth season – which was the first to feature Diana – in late 2020.

The season saw Emma Corrin star as the late Princess of Wales and included several plotlines that focused on her adjustment to royal life and marriage to Prince Charles.

Paul praised the season during an appearance on ITV’s Lorraine, saying it was a “fair and accurate” depiction of what Diana actually experienced.

“It’s a peek behind the doors of Buckingham Palace, that perhaps the palace don’t want you to see, because this is the truth in many ways,” he claimed.

“It’s a fair and accurate dramatisation of what happened.”

He went on to commend Emma for portraying the way in which Diana’s personality was “dismantled behind the scenes by these people who don’t really care”.

However, he did note that the royals themselves probably weren’t big fans of the show, as it reminds them of a lot of “negativity” from the past.

Sarah, Duchess of York

Sarah Ferguson, who was married to Prince Andrew from 1986 until 1996, has praised the few episodes of The Crown she had admitted to watching.

“I thought it was filmed beautifully. The cinematography was excellent,” the Duchess of York Us Weekly at the start of 2021.

“I loved the way they put my wedding in as well.”

The duchess is a big fan of royal films and TV and even had a producing role in the 2009 film The Young Victoria, starring British actress Emily Blunt.

Sarah’s daughter, Princess Beatrice, even had a small background role in the movie, appearing in full historical costume for her scenes.

Donal McCabe

The Queen’s communications secretary took issue with suggestions that The Crown is in any way “factually accurate” in an open letter from late 2019.

Writing to The Guardian, Donal McCabe called the show a “fictionalised interpretation of historical events” and made sure to distance the royal household from the show, as some outlets had claimed palace insiders had “approved” certain elements of the series.

He penned: “Your article may have the unfortunate consequence of leading your readers to believe that the television series The Crown is made with some sort of endorsement by the royal household, or an acceptance by the royal household that the drama is factually accurate.

Donal went on to say that viewers should know that the royal household was “not complicit in interpretations made by the programme” in any way.

“The royal household has never agreed to vet or approve content, has not asked to know what topics will be included, and would never express a view as to the programme’s accuracy,” he added.