Former prime minister Sir John Major has hit out at The Crown ahead of the Netflix drama’s upcoming series.
Season five of the hit show will pick up in the 90s, with Jonny Lee Miller set to portray Major in a move that raised eyebrows among fans of The Crown when it was first announced last year.
However, with weeks to go until its release, the former Conservative leader has blasted the show, particularly over one rumoured storyline in which King Charles and Major hold a meeting in which the former alludes to Queen Elizabeth II potentially abdicating.
A spokesperson for Major said (via Radio Times): “Sir John has not cooperated – in any way – with The Crown. Nor has he ever been approached by them to fact-check any script material in this or any other series.
“Discussions between the monarch and prime minister are entirely private and – for Sir John – will always remain so.”
They went on to brand the reported storyline involving Major “nothing other than damaging and malicious fiction” and “a barrel-load of nonsense peddled for no other reason than to provide maximum – and entirely false – dramatic impact”.
“There was never any discussion between Sir John and the then Prince of Wales about any possible abdication of the late Queen Elizabeth II – nor was such an improbable and improper subject ever raised by the then Prince of Wales (or Sir John),” they added.
The Crown has long been controversial due to its fictionalised version of the Royal Family, with many prominent figures calling for it to include a warning message advising that certain events are made up.
For the new series, Imelda Staunton will take over from Olivia Colman in the lead role of Queen Elizabeth II, with Dominic West, Jonathan Pryce and Elizabeth Debicki joining the cast as King Charles, Prince Philip and Princess Diana, respectively.
The Crown will return to Netflix for its fifth series on Wednesday 9 November.
