Judi Dench criticises ‘The Crown’ in an open letter for its portrayal of the royal family

Everyone enjoys a little bit of light-hearted drama every now and then, even us here at the SDC. We’re always on the lookout for great movies and TV shows to get lost in, in our spare time. Now, one of the shows that we have come to know and love is The Crown on Netflix. A TV show that is releasing its long-awaited season five on November 9, however, its release is being highly criticised across the globe due to its poor timing with the Queen’s passing.

One Royal fan who has come out publicly condemning the release is Dame Judi Dench.



Dame Judi Dench has expressed her dissatisfaction with Netflix’s The Crown and its portrayal of the royal family.

Following former Secretary of Culture Oliver Dowden's call to add a disclaimer to season five of The Crown, Dame Judi Dench, who recently published an open letter criticising the series for being ‘cruel’ and ‘crude’, has also now joined the call.


judi.JPG
Dame Judi Dench defends the royal family from The Crown. Credit: Encyclopaedia Britannica

The renowned English actress, who self-appointed herself as a champion-in-chief of the Windsors, has asked Netflix to add a disclaimer at the start of each episode that would explain that The Crown is fictionalised drama.



In a letter to The Times UK, the actress expressed her disappointment over the show’s ‘crude sensationalism’, calling on the show’s executives to make it clear that the series is not a ‘historical documentary’.

Dame Judi Dench, who was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1988, expressed her concern that The Crown’s plot twists would be mistaken as ‘historically accurate’.

She wrote: ‘I cannot – and no one else should – condone this practice by asking that a disclaimer be added onto each episode as a condition of distribution. However, I would urge Netflix to consider the possibility of incorporating an artistic disclaimer as a final credit, while continuing to distribute the piece.’


liz.JPG
Elizabeth Debicki stars as the late Princess Diana in Netflix’s ‘The Crown’. Credit: Netflix

Dench, who is allegedly friends with the Queen Consort, Camilla, said that there are sensitive topics tackled in the show. Specifically, ‘wounding suggestions’ that King Charles plotted for his mother to abdicate the throne.



She said that this is ‘both cruelly unjust to the individuals and damaging to the institution they represent.’

Despite publicly stating that The Crown has always been a work of fiction, program makers have resisted calls for them to carry a warning at the beginning of each episode.

In response to this inaction on Netflix's part, the British actress closed her letter with another plea: ‘The time has come for Netflix to reconsider – for the sake of a family and nation so recently bereaved,’ referring presumably to the Queen’s death earlier this year.

The fifth season of The Crown has stirred consternation among royalists, aristocrats, and politicians alike. You can watch the trailer below:




Key Takeaways

  • Dame Judi Dench has written an open letter criticising the Netflix series The Crown for being ‘crude’ and ‘cruel’.
  • She is calling on Netflix to add a disclaimer to the start of each episode that The Crown is fictionalised drama.
  • The forthcoming fifth season of the show has stirred consternation in royal, aristocratic, and political circles.
  • The fifth season, available to stream on November 9, will span the early 1990s, a decade of great tumult and scandal for the British royals.
  • The Crown is also expected to focus on the acrimonious breakdown of Charles and Diana’s marriage, which was played out publicly at the time under intense media scrutiny.
There you have it, folks! Do you agree with Dame Judi Dench? If you’ve watched the show, share with us your thoughts in the comments section!
 
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Everyone enjoys a little bit of light-hearted drama every now and then, even us here at the SDC. We’re always on the lookout for great movies and TV shows to get lost in, in our spare time. Now, one of the shows that we have come to know and love is The Crown on Netflix. A TV show that is releasing its long-awaited season five on November 9, however, its release is being highly criticised across the globe due to its poor timing with the Queen’s passing.

One Royal fan who has come out publicly condemning the release is Dame Judi Dench.



Dame Judi Dench has expressed her dissatisfaction with Netflix’s The Crown and its portrayal of the royal family.

Following former Secretary of Culture Oliver Dowden's call to add a disclaimer to season five of The Crown, Dame Judi Dench, who recently published an open letter criticising the series for being ‘cruel’ and ‘crude’, has also now joined the call.


View attachment 7562
Dame Judi Dench defends the royal family from The Crown. Credit: Encyclopaedia Britannica

The renowned English actress, who self-appointed herself as a champion-in-chief of the Windsors, has asked Netflix to add a disclaimer at the start of each episode that would explain that The Crown is fictionalised drama.



In a letter to The Times UK, the actress expressed her disappointment over the show’s ‘crude sensationalism’, calling on the show’s executives to make it clear that the series is not a ‘historical documentary’.

Dame Judi Dench, who was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1988, expressed her concern that The Crown’s plot twists would be mistaken as ‘historically accurate’.

She wrote: ‘I cannot – and no one else should – condone this practice by asking that a disclaimer be added onto each episode as a condition of distribution. However, I would urge Netflix to consider the possibility of incorporating an artistic disclaimer as a final credit, while continuing to distribute the piece.’


View attachment 7563
Elizabeth Debicki stars as the late Princess Diana in Netflix’s ‘The Crown’. Credit: Netflix

Dench, who is allegedly friends with the Queen Consort, Camilla, said that there are sensitive topics tackled in the show. Specifically, ‘wounding suggestions’ that King Charles plotted for his mother to abdicate the throne.



She said that this is ‘both cruelly unjust to the individuals and damaging to the institution they represent.’

Despite publicly stating that The Crown has always been a work of fiction, program makers have resisted calls for them to carry a warning at the beginning of each episode.

In response to this inaction on Netflix's part, the British actress closed her letter with another plea: ‘The time has come for Netflix to reconsider – for the sake of a family and nation so recently bereaved,’ referring presumably to the Queen’s death earlier this year.

The fifth season of The Crown has stirred consternation among royalists, aristocrats, and politicians alike. You can watch the trailer below:




Key Takeaways

  • Dame Judi Dench has written an open letter criticising the Netflix series The Crown for being ‘crude’ and ‘cruel’.
  • She is calling on Netflix to add a disclaimer to the start of each episode that The Crown is fictionalised drama.
  • The forthcoming fifth season of the show has stirred consternation in royal, aristocratic, and political circles.
  • The fifth season, available to stream on November 9, will span the early 1990s, a decade of great tumult and scandal for the British royals.
  • The Crown is also expected to focus on the acrimonious breakdown of Charles and Diana’s marriage, which was played out publicly at the time under intense media scrutiny.
There you have it, folks! Do you agree with Dame Judi Dench? If you’ve watched the show, share with us your thoughts in the comments section!

I could not agree with Judi Dench more. What I have seen of it (and it is not a great deal because I found it so utterly woeful) DOES purport to be 'real' and 'historical' -- the events, the conversations DID all take place in real life -- but as someone who was around when they actually occurred, I found this 'drama' cringeworthy beyond belief. And shallow. And hurtful. And crude. I do hope beyond hope that no-one in the Royal Family is EVER asked or expected to watch any of it. (If you are going to make a fictional drama on this subject, for God's sake, write your own scripts.)
 
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Everyone enjoys a little bit of light-hearted drama every now and then, even us here at the SDC. We’re always on the lookout for great movies and TV shows to get lost in, in our spare time. Now, one of the shows that we have come to know and love is The Crown on Netflix. A TV show that is releasing its long-awaited season five on November 9, however, its release is being highly criticised across the globe due to its poor timing with the Queen’s passing.

One Royal fan who has come out publicly condemning the release is Dame Judi Dench.



Dame Judi Dench has expressed her dissatisfaction with Netflix’s The Crown and its portrayal of the royal family.

Following former Secretary of Culture Oliver Dowden's call to add a disclaimer to season five of The Crown, Dame Judi Dench, who recently published an open letter criticising the series for being ‘cruel’ and ‘crude’, has also now joined the call.


View attachment 7562
Dame Judi Dench defends the royal family from The Crown. Credit: Encyclopaedia Britannica

The renowned English actress, who self-appointed herself as a champion-in-chief of the Windsors, has asked Netflix to add a disclaimer at the start of each episode that would explain that The Crown is fictionalised drama.



In a letter to The Times UK, the actress expressed her disappointment over the show’s ‘crude sensationalism’, calling on the show’s executives to make it clear that the series is not a ‘historical documentary’.

Dame Judi Dench, who was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1988, expressed her concern that The Crown’s plot twists would be mistaken as ‘historically accurate’.

She wrote: ‘I cannot – and no one else should – condone this practice by asking that a disclaimer be added onto each episode as a condition of distribution. However, I would urge Netflix to consider the possibility of incorporating an artistic disclaimer as a final credit, while continuing to distribute the piece.’


View attachment 7563
Elizabeth Debicki stars as the late Princess Diana in Netflix’s ‘The Crown’. Credit: Netflix

Dench, who is allegedly friends with the Queen Consort, Camilla, said that there are sensitive topics tackled in the show. Specifically, ‘wounding suggestions’ that King Charles plotted for his mother to abdicate the throne.



She said that this is ‘both cruelly unjust to the individuals and damaging to the institution they represent.’

Despite publicly stating that The Crown has always been a work of fiction, program makers have resisted calls for them to carry a warning at the beginning of each episode.

In response to this inaction on Netflix's part, the British actress closed her letter with another plea: ‘The time has come for Netflix to reconsider – for the sake of a family and nation so recently bereaved,’ referring presumably to the Queen’s death earlier this year.

The fifth season of The Crown has stirred consternation among royalists, aristocrats, and politicians alike. You can watch the trailer below:




Key Takeaways

  • Dame Judi Dench has written an open letter criticising the Netflix series The Crown for being ‘crude’ and ‘cruel’.
  • She is calling on Netflix to add a disclaimer to the start of each episode that The Crown is fictionalised drama.
  • The forthcoming fifth season of the show has stirred consternation in royal, aristocratic, and political circles.
  • The fifth season, available to stream on November 9, will span the early 1990s, a decade of great tumult and scandal for the British royals.
  • The Crown is also expected to focus on the acrimonious breakdown of Charles and Diana’s marriage, which was played out publicly at the time under intense media scrutiny.
There you have it, folks! Do you agree with Dame Judi Dench? If you’ve watched the show, share with us your thoughts in the comments section!

Yes. I agree with Judy Dench. I for one refuse to watch this rubbish.
Sensationalism of any kind portraying lies about the Royal family just to make money should cease.

That includes the up coming whinging rubbish that Harry ( the wimp ) & Meagan ( the fake D rated so called actress ) are cashing in on. It’s disgusting.

King Charles needs to strip the titles off these 2, put a ban on & sue any media company that wants to publish anything to do with the royal family without their permission.

The public need to boycott these pathetic series & refuse to watch them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Peter Crawshaw
Everyone enjoys a little bit of light-hearted drama every now and then, even us here at the SDC. We’re always on the lookout for great movies and TV shows to get lost in, in our spare time. Now, one of the shows that we have come to know and love is The Crown on Netflix. A TV show that is releasing its long-awaited season five on November 9, however, its release is being highly criticised across the globe due to its poor timing with the Queen’s passing.

One Royal fan who has come out publicly condemning the release is Dame Judi Dench.



Dame Judi Dench has expressed her dissatisfaction with Netflix’s The Crown and its portrayal of the royal family.

Following former Secretary of Culture Oliver Dowden's call to add a disclaimer to season five of The Crown, Dame Judi Dench, who recently published an open letter criticising the series for being ‘cruel’ and ‘crude’, has also now joined the call.


View attachment 7562
Dame Judi Dench defends the royal family from The Crown. Credit: Encyclopaedia Britannica

The renowned English actress, who self-appointed herself as a champion-in-chief of the Windsors, has asked Netflix to add a disclaimer at the start of each episode that would explain that The Crown is fictionalised drama.



In a letter to The Times UK, the actress expressed her disappointment over the show’s ‘crude sensationalism’, calling on the show’s executives to make it clear that the series is not a ‘historical documentary’.

Dame Judi Dench, who was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1988, expressed her concern that The Crown’s plot twists would be mistaken as ‘historically accurate’.

She wrote: ‘I cannot – and no one else should – condone this practice by asking that a disclaimer be added onto each episode as a condition of distribution. However, I would urge Netflix to consider the possibility of incorporating an artistic disclaimer as a final credit, while continuing to distribute the piece.’


View attachment 7563
Elizabeth Debicki stars as the late Princess Diana in Netflix’s ‘The Crown’. Credit: Netflix

Dench, who is allegedly friends with the Queen Consort, Camilla, said that there are sensitive topics tackled in the show. Specifically, ‘wounding suggestions’ that King Charles plotted for his mother to abdicate the throne.



She said that this is ‘both cruelly unjust to the individuals and damaging to the institution they represent.’

Despite publicly stating that The Crown has always been a work of fiction, program makers have resisted calls for them to carry a warning at the beginning of each episode.

In response to this inaction on Netflix's part, the British actress closed her letter with another plea: ‘The time has come for Netflix to reconsider – for the sake of a family and nation so recently bereaved,’ referring presumably to the Queen’s death earlier this year.

The fifth season of The Crown has stirred consternation among royalists, aristocrats, and politicians alike. You can watch the trailer below:




Key Takeaways

  • Dame Judi Dench has written an open letter criticising the Netflix series The Crown for being ‘crude’ and ‘cruel’.
  • She is calling on Netflix to add a disclaimer to the start of each episode that The Crown is fictionalised drama.
  • The forthcoming fifth season of the show has stirred consternation in royal, aristocratic, and political circles.
  • The fifth season, available to stream on November 9, will span the early 1990s, a decade of great tumult and scandal for the British royals.
  • The Crown is also expected to focus on the acrimonious breakdown of Charles and Diana’s marriage, which was played out publicly at the time under intense media scrutiny.
There you have it, folks! Do you agree with Dame Judi Dench? If you’ve watched the show, share with us your thoughts in the comments section!

I agree with Judi Dench, a disclaimer should be added.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Peter Crawshaw
Yes. I agree with Judy Dench. I for one refuse to watch this rubbish.
Sensationalism of any kind portraying lies about the Royal family just to make money should cease.

That includes the up coming whinging rubbish that Harry ( the wimp ) & Meagan ( the fake D rated so called actress ) are cashing in on. It’s disgusting.

King Charles needs to strip the titles off these 2, put a ban on & sue any media company that wants to publish anything to do with the royal family without their permission.

The public need to boycott these pathetic series & refuse to watch them.
They can easily do this if it's untrue.

The Crown has been on for years and so far no one is sueing . Only reason they are not is because they can only sue if it's lies.

I'm trying to workout what is lies
 
Please explain to me which parts are lies?

So many of you are saying it's all lies... it's rubbish....it's disrespectful.

Please enlightened me and tell me what exactly are the lies ?

Can't wait to hear your response
 
Last edited:
First of all as far as I’m concerned, Charles and Camilla, Harry and Meghan should have had the same punishment that Edward and Wallis Simpson got. They were exiled, Wallis received the title of duchess of Windsor only after she married Edward and they were NOT to use the HRH title.
Andrew’s punishment in my opinion was extremely harsh, where as that is exactly the the same punishment that Charles should have gotten for he’s adulterous behaviour.
Personally I have never watched the crown simply because, although there is some truth in these types of shows they need to over dramatise to capture the audience.
I much prefer to get to the truth by reading, biographies, autobiographies, historical and factual books and watching documentaries, and then and only then come to a conclusion.
 
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First of all as far as I’m concerned, Charles and Camilla, Harry and Meghan should have had the same punishment that Edward and Wallis Simpson got. They were exiled, Wallis received the title of duchess of Windsor only after she married Edward and they were NOT to use the HRH title.
Andrew’s punishment in my opinion was extremely harsh, where as that is exactly the the same punishment that Charles should have gotten for he’s adulterous behaviour.
Personally I have never watched the crown simply because, although there is some truth in these types of shows they need to over dramatise to capture the audience.
I much prefer to get to the truth by reading, biographies, autobiographies, historical and factual books and watching documentaries, and then and only then come to a conclusion.
So very well said. I have been stating the whole thing with how King Edward had to abdicate because of Wallis Simpson. Charles and Camilla have done much much worst

At least Edward and Wallis Simpson never hurt other people , yes she was a divorcee but there were no children involved
 
Everyone enjoys a little bit of light-hearted drama every now and then, even us here at the SDC. We’re always on the lookout for great movies and TV shows to get lost in, in our spare time. Now, one of the shows that we have come to know and love is The Crown on Netflix. A TV show that is releasing its long-awaited season five on November 9, however, its release is being highly criticised across the globe due to its poor timing with the Queen’s passing.

One Royal fan who has come out publicly condemning the release is Dame Judi Dench.



Dame Judi Dench has expressed her dissatisfaction with Netflix’s The Crown and its portrayal of the royal family.

Following former Secretary of Culture Oliver Dowden's call to add a disclaimer to season five of The Crown, Dame Judi Dench, who recently published an open letter criticising the series for being ‘cruel’ and ‘crude’, has also now joined the call.


View attachment 7562
Dame Judi Dench defends the royal family from The Crown. Credit: Encyclopaedia Britannica

The renowned English actress, who self-appointed herself as a champion-in-chief of the Windsors, has asked Netflix to add a disclaimer at the start of each episode that would explain that The Crown is fictionalised drama.



In a letter to The Times UK, the actress expressed her disappointment over the show’s ‘crude sensationalism’, calling on the show’s executives to make it clear that the series is not a ‘historical documentary’.

Dame Judi Dench, who was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1988, expressed her concern that The Crown’s plot twists would be mistaken as ‘historically accurate’.

She wrote: ‘I cannot – and no one else should – condone this practice by asking that a disclaimer be added onto each episode as a condition of distribution. However, I would urge Netflix to consider the possibility of incorporating an artistic disclaimer as a final credit, while continuing to distribute the piece.’


View attachment 7563
Elizabeth Debicki stars as the late Princess Diana in Netflix’s ‘The Crown’. Credit: Netflix

Dench, who is allegedly friends with the Queen Consort, Camilla, said that there are sensitive topics tackled in the show. Specifically, ‘wounding suggestions’ that King Charles plotted for his mother to abdicate the throne.



She said that this is ‘both cruelly unjust to the individuals and damaging to the institution they represent.’

Despite publicly stating that The Crown has always been a work of fiction, program makers have resisted calls for them to carry a warning at the beginning of each episode.

In response to this inaction on Netflix's part, the British actress closed her letter with another plea: ‘The time has come for Netflix to reconsider – for the sake of a family and nation so recently bereaved,’ referring presumably to the Queen’s death earlier this year.

The fifth season of The Crown has stirred consternation among royalists, aristocrats, and politicians alike. You can watch the trailer below:




Key Takeaways

  • Dame Judi Dench has written an open letter criticising the Netflix series The Crown for being ‘crude’ and ‘cruel’.
  • She is calling on Netflix to add a disclaimer to the start of each episode that The Crown is fictionalised drama.
  • The forthcoming fifth season of the show has stirred consternation in royal, aristocratic, and political circles.
  • The fifth season, available to stream on November 9, will span the early 1990s, a decade of great tumult and scandal for the British royals.
  • The Crown is also expected to focus on the acrimonious breakdown of Charles and Diana’s marriage, which was played out publicly at the time under intense media scrutiny.
There you have it, folks! Do you agree with Dame Judi Dench? If you’ve watched the show, share with us your thoughts in the comments section!
 
A lot of the Crown, particularly this latest series is fiction. Makes for a good drama but should be seen for what it is.
 

A Little Bit Of Interesting Truth

WAS THERE A KGB MOLE IN BUCKINGHAM PALACE?​

This scandal which features in season 3 is very much true. Sir Anthony Blunt, the Queen’s surveyor of art and a member of the Cambridge Five British spy ring, was turned by the Soviets in the 1930s before working for MI5 in World War II. After American authorities tipped off MI5 about the spy in 1964, Sir Anthony continued to work under the Queen as an art historian, in order to save The Firm and the information agency from embarrassment.

The news was even kept a secret from then Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home, until Margaret Thatcher outed Anthony in the House of Commons in November 1979. He eventually went on to hold press conferences where he admitted his double-crossing.

DID PRINCESS MARGARET’S AFFAIR WITH A YOUNGER MAN LEAD TO HER DIVORCE?​

Princess Margaret escaped to the island of Mustique, where she embarked on a romance with Roddy Llewellyn, a gardener-turned-unsuccessful pop star who was 17 years her junior. The pair had first met in 1973 at the country home of Colin Tennant, whose wife was a good friend and longtime lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret

A private photo of the couple swimming together in the pool . This led to mounting issues with her husband, Lord Snowdon. In 1978, after almost 20 years of marriage, they announced their divorce.

DID PRINCE PHILIP MAKE PRINCE CHARLES GO TO HIS OLD SCHOOL IN SCOTLAND - AND DID HE REALLY HATE IT?​

The Duke of Edinburgh attended Gordonstoun independent school in Moray, Scotland, when he was a boy, and Prince Charles later followed in his footsteps. The Duke put his foot down about sending his eldest child to the same school that he went to, despite Queen Elizabeth's protestations that he attend Eton College instead.

And it seems there is a lot of truth in Charles' reaction to the school. It is stated he is was miserable - bullied by other classmates and struggling with the tough schedule at the school. Recent reports have suggested that Charles really did dislike the school, calling it 'Colditz in kilts'. He also sent his own sons to Eton rather than Gordonstoun.

WAS PRINCE CHARLES SENT ON A NAVAL EXCURSION TO GET HIM AWAY FROM CAMILLA?​

Louis Mountbatten used his Naval connections to get Charles sent away to get him away from Camilla. Charles went away to sea, with royal Author Robert Lacey explaining, "It’s not impossible that Mountbatten used his naval connections to get Charles sent away to sea for a long time."


He added, "Now, it seems quite normal for Prince William to marry someone who is not noble, and the same is true, of course, with Prince Harry, but in those days, it was still expected that Prince Charles, the future king, would marry – and he did marry – the approved candidate."
"She was Lady Diana Spencer, an earl’s daughter. She wasn’t considered grand enough by some people who thought Charles should marry a foreign princess. But Camilla wasn’t royal in any way. And she also had this quite racy – the word was “spicy” – reputation. You didn’t want a past that hung about. And she was a subject. Nobody married a subject."
 

KING Edward - Was An NAZI SYMPATHISER?​

The former King, Edward, is portrayed as a Nazi sympathizer, appearing to show his support for Adolf Hilter. It's even suggested that he once visited a Nazi concentration camp.

The Duke of Windsor's attitude towards the Nazis remains foggy. It's true that he and his wife Wallis Simpson did visit the former German leader in 1937, and reportedly the Duke gave him full Nazi salutes during the visit.
Royal biographer Andrew Morton also wrote in his book, 17 Carnations: The Royals, the Nazis and the Biggest Cover-Up in History, that he was sympathetic to the regime. He said, "[Edward] was certainly sympathetic...even after the war he thought Hitler was a good fellow and that he'd done a good job in Germany, and he was also anti-Semitic, before, during and after the war." It's widely thought that the rest of the royal family did not support the Duke

There are also historical suggestions that the Nazis did indeed have a plan to overthrow the monarchy and reinstate the Duke of Windsor as King, but of course, this never happened.
 

THE QUEEN'S REFUSAL TO ALLOW PRINCESS MARGARET TO MARRY PETER TOWNSEND?​

When a 22-year-old Margaret told her sister of her decision to marry their late father's former equerry, Peter Townsend, it made for a tough decision, to say the least.

The Queen was divided by the opinion of the Church and government, who were against the union of a former divorcee and senior member of the royal family, and fulfilling her own sister's wishes.

History books (National Archives papers released in 2004), reveal that the monarch and the Prime Minister at the time, Sir Anthony Eden, eventually put together a plan in which Margaret could marry Peter, but that they and any children they may have would be removed from the line of succession.

History states that Margaret decided not to marry Peter eventually - for reasons which we'll likely never know.
Princess Margaret did issue a statement.

It read, "I would like it to be known that I have decided not to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend. I have been aware that, subject to my renouncing my rights of succession, it might have been possible for me to contract a civil marriage. But mindful of the Church's teachings that Christian marriage is indissoluble, and conscious of my duty to the Commonwealth, I have resolved to put these considerations before others. I have reached this decision entirely alone, and in doing so I have been strengthened by the unfailing support and devotion of Group Captain Townsend."

So how was Charles allowed to Marry Camilla ?
 
The Dukes Mistress

Pat Kirkwood was a musical comedy star who was, at the time, the highest paid actress on the London stage. She and Prince Phillip met when her boyfriend, society photographer Baron Nahum, introduced them backstage at the Hippodrome Theatre when Pay was headlining the revue Starlight Roof.

Phillip and Pat later dined together in public in London before dancing until dawn at a nightclub - all while Elizabeth was at home, eight months pregnant with Charles. They allegedly met a further six times and corresponded via letter. The contents of these letters are to remain secret until such time as the late Duke of Edinburgh is assigned an official biographer, following his 2021 death.

Rumours that Pat was the Prince's mistress ruined her career. As is protocol, the royal palace would not issue a statement responding to the gossip, so Pat was left to defend herself alone.

“A lady is not normally expected to defend her honour,” Kirkwood told a journalist. “It is the gentleman who should do that. I would have had a happier and easier life if Prince Philip, instead of coming uninvited to my dressing room, had gone home to his pregnant wife on the night in question.”

To Prince Phillip, Pat wrote “… if there had been some support from your direction, the matter could have been squashed years ago, instead of (my) having to battle a sea of sharks single-handed”. The 2014 cabaret show 'Pat Kirkwood Is Angry' focused on the trajectory of her stage career and her inability to escape the scandal.

In 1950 the Queen and Prince Philip's second child was born, Princess Anne. In 1956, Prince Phillip embarked on a world tour aboard the Britannia, a royal yacht, leaving the Queen and two young children behind in England.

Phillip may have left Queen Elizabeth, Charles and Anne behind, but he was certainly not alone. With him onboard the Britannia was Michael Parker, his best friend and equerry (an equerry is an officer of the royal household who attends to members of the royal family). The Britannia was rumoured to be venue for wild bachelor parties and much frivolity, so when the news broke that Michael's wife Eileen was filing for divorce there was an uproar.

The scandal was so great that Michael was forced the resign as Phillip's equerry within 24 hours of the news going public, but even then it was too late. The spotlight was turned on the state of Phillip and Elizabeth's marriage. At this point, Phillip was merely a duke, but soon he found himself hurried given the title of prince. This was he could not be subpoenaed to testify at the Parker's divorce trial.

So significant was the scrutiny the royal couple were under, that the palace issued a rare statement declaring "It is quite untrue that there is any rift between the Queen and the Duke.”

She is just one of many rumoured Mistresses
 

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