The Crown counts millions of Netflix users among its fans, but apparently not everyone in the Royal Family tunes in. According to star Matt Smith, Prince Phillip himself doesn’t watch the drama and, by the sounds of it, doesn’t plan to start anytime soon.
As reported by Mirror Online, Smith recounted a time when a friend of his was lucky enough to have dinner with the Duke of Edinburgh, husband to Queen Elizabeth II, and took the opportunity to ask if he’d seen Smith in The Crown. Unsurprisingly, the Royal – famous for his eccentric, unfiltered comments – had a hilarious reply.
“A friend had dinner next to him and asked him if he’d watched The Crown. He turned around to him and went, ‘Don’t be ridiculous’.”
That said, Smith believes that the Queen, in fact, does watch the show. Just clearly not with her husband.
“Apparently the Queen has but we don’t know. I’m pretty sure some [royals] have.”
Smith has presumably been talking to his Crown co-star Vanessa Kirby, who played the Queen’s sister Princess Margaret. The actress previously said that her own sources inside Buckingham Palace – namely, Princess Beatrice – revealed that “her granny” watches the Netflix drama. And apparently she likes it.
The Queen appears to be something of a TV addict, too, as we’ve caught wind of her viewing habits over the years. Representatives of the Palace have previously revealed that her favorite series include crime dramas such as Midsomer Murders, soap operas like Eastenders and, best of all, she’s said to be a massive fan of Doctor Who as well. Maybe the Queen enjoyed Smith’s work as the Time Lord and decided to give The Crown a go?
Like the rest of The Crown‘s fans, the Queen will have to get used to a whole new show when the period series returns to Netflix for its third season next year. That’s because Olivia Colman will take over as Elizabeth II from Claire Foy, with Smith being replaced by Tobias Menzies. Helena Bonham Carter, meanwhile, is stepping in for Vanessa Kirby.
