Dominic West insists ‘The Crown’ is an ‘imaginative speculation’ amid criticism

The Crown star Dominic West has addressed the criticism over the show’s fifth season and its explosive plotline.

West, who portrays Prince Charles in the latest installment of the acclaimed Netflix royal series, said that viewers can watch a documentary if they’re not interested in the show’s “imaginative speculation” about the royal family.

West defended the series, saying that he undertook a great amount of research before taking on the role of the future king.

Speaking at the season five premiere event in London on Wednesday night, he told Sky News, “I think a lot of sensibilities have been stirred up because of the death of the queen, but this is a show that has always caused controversy the closer it’s got to our own time and the more that people remember these times.”

While he admitted that this season would be The Crown’s most “tumultuous” yet, West continued, “It’s a drama. It’s an imaginative speculation, in a way, which all drama is.”

“I watched every single documentary that’s ever been made about my character anyway, and there are plenty of those that people can watch if you don’t want to see what a great dramatist has created imaginatively.”

The Crown season five has already sparked criticism for its depiction of the breakdown of then-Prince Charles (West) and Princess Diana’s (Elizabeth Debicki) marriage.