THE Crown’s portrayal of Prince Charles and Princess Diana is wrong and they were “genuinely happy” in the early years of their marriage, the Queen’s former press secretary has said.
Dickie Arbiter claimed the popular Netflix show should come with “a health warning at the beginning” due to the inaccuracies, speaking on True Royalty TV’s The Royal Beat.
The royal insider says he even saw an in love Charles “squeeze Diana‘s bum” in public – in stark contrast to the TV version of the Prince of Wales, who seems cold and frustrated by his young wife.
Dickie said: “I remember going on tour just after they got married in 1981 and she was the first Princess of Wales in about 80 years, so it was a big deal.
“They couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Charles used to pat her bum regularly. There were times when he would even squeeze it, even in Australia.
“There was a relationship from the beginning. There was genuine love and happiness there.”
The expert, who spent 12 years as the Queen‘s press secretary between 1988 and 2000, also described the ‘Balmoral test’ as “claptrap” and criticised Olivia Coleman’s “po-faced and cold” portrayal of the monarch.
Series 4 of the show, which was released on November 15, has been widely criticised for how it relays Charles’ affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, now the Duchess of Cornwall.
In The Crown, the pair continue their affair throughout and even sleep with each other the night before Charles and Diana’s wedding.
But in reality, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall had little to no contact during Charles’ five-year marriage to Diana.
Last night, a friend of Prince Charles called The Crown’s “sinister” portrayal of Royals “highly sophisticated propaganda”.
While the show’s royal advisor hit back at “obsessive” fans amid complaints over mistakes in season 4.
