After playing the role of a young Prince Philip in the first two seasons, The Crown, Matt SmithBased on her personal life, this article gives us a rare insight into whether Queen Elizabeth II actually watched the Netflix series.
“I heard the queen had watched it,” the Doctor Who 39-year-old alum said during a Thursday, Sept. 15, appearance on the Today show. “And she used to watch it on a projector on a Sunday night apparently.”
Matt Smith and Queen Elizabeth 2 Shutterstock (2)
While the queen — who died earlier this month at the age of 96 — had supposedly been keeping up with the Netflix drama, her late husband, Philip, was not as interested to rewatch his life story on TV.
“I know that Philip definitely didn’t,” Smith noted on Thursday. “My friend sat next to him at [a]He asked for dinner. I think Philip asked my friend if he made The Crown. … [My friend said,] ‘I can’t resist. Have you ever seen? The Crown?’ [Philip] turned around and said, ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’”
While the Duke of Edinburgh — who died in April 2021 at the age of 99 — found it “ridiculous” to watch The Crown’s onscreen drama about his life, the couple’s grandson Prince HarryHas seen many episodes.
“They don’t pretend to be news. It’s fictional,” the Duke of Sussex, 37, said on The Late Late Show with James Corden February 2021. “But it’s loosely based on the truth. Of course, it’s not strictly accurate. … It gives you a rough idea of what that lifestyle, what the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else, what can come from that.”
Harry added: “I’m way more comfortable with The Crown than I am seeing the stories written about my family or my wife [Meghan Markle] or myself because it’s the difference between [The Crown] is obviously fiction, take it how you will, but this is being reported on as fact because you’re supposedly news. I have a real issue with that.”
Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II and Matt Smith as Prince Philip on ‘The Crown.’ Robert Viglasky/Netflix
The Archewell cofounder’s brother, Prince WilliamSmith, with whom he had met before his death. Crown His debut and offered some tips to help his late grandfather portray him better.
“I met [William]Very briefly, in a queue at the Polo, the House of the Dragon star made a cameo appearance on Graham Norton Show November 2016. “The lady who was doing the lineup said, ‘This is Matt and he’s about to play Prince Philip.’ And then she said, ‘Have you got any advice for him?’”
Smith added: “And then I thought, ‘God, I’m going to die.’ All [William] said was, ‘Legend. He’s an absolute legend.’”
The Crown, which is currently filming its sixth season, announced they had paused production shortly after the queen’s passing was announced.
“The Crown is a love letter to her and I’ve nothing to add for now, just silence and respect,” creator Peter MorganTelled Deadline iSeptember 8, 2008: Statement. “I expect we will stop filming out of respect too.”
Season 6 — which features Imelda StauntonAs the long-reigning monarch, taking control for Claire Foy Olivia Colman — has since resumed production. A premiere date has been set for November.
