The Crown’s Elizabeth Debicki urges critics to stop complaints about storylines

Elizabeth Debicki, the actor who plays Princess Diana in the forthcoming fifth series of The Crown, has said people need to ‘move on’ from complaining about the show’s depiction of the royals.In recent weeks, both Dame Judi Dench and former prime minister Sir John Major have criticised reported storylines in the new episodes, which will launch on 9 November.Many called for Netflix to add a disclaimer to the start of each episode stating that The Crown is a ‘fictionalised drama’.In response, Netflix added a disclaimer to its latest trailer.Speaking in a new interview with Radio Times, Debicki, 32, said: ‘I respect people’s points of view and I, being an actor in the show, understand the nature of what the show is.’It was always very clear to me that one can never know what happens behind closed doors and that a writer is interpreting what may have happened.’Now the disclaimer is up there, we can maybe stop talking about it and move on. If that’s helpful for certain people, so be it, and now the conversation can be returned to the creative endeavour of what the show is.’She added: ‘There’s a huge amount of room for interpretation and that’s the value and beauty of The Crown as well, that you receive a different message depending on who you are. That’s good drama to me.’Season five of the show will chronicle Diana’s split from the then Prince Charles, and includes scenes of the princess wearing what later became known as her ‘revenge dress’ – an off-the-shoulder silk garment made by Christina Stambolian.The Princess of Wales in her ‘revenge dress’ (Martin Keene/PA)She wore it to a Vanity Fair party at the Serpentine Gallery in June 1994, on the same night a documentary aired in which Prince Charles admitted to cheating on her with Camilla.Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trialSign upDebicki’s comments follow those made by Sir Jonathan Pryce, who recently said he was ‘hugely disappointed’ in the reaction of his ‘fellow artistes’ to The Crown.Earlier this week, Prince Charles actor Dominic West revealed that The Crown will portray the infamous ‘tampongate’ scandal between Charles and Camilla.The scandal refers to a private phone call between Charles and Camilla which was leaked to the press in 1993, in which the couple discuss their intimate relationship.Season five of The Crown arrives on Netflix on 9 November.