Dickie Arbiter, former long standing Press Secretary to the Queen, has criticised The Crown’s portrayal of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s relationship.
- Dickie Arbiter recalled when the couple ‘couldn’t keep their hands off each other’ during a royal tour with them just after they got married in 1981
- Speaking on The Royal Beat, he said there was ‘genuine love and happiness’ there, despite Netflix’s The Crown suggesting otherwise
- This story follows the royal news that the Duchess Catherine warned of 'lockdown loneliness'
Dickie Arbiter was the Queen's long standing Press Secretary
Royal expert and former Press Secretary to the Queen has publicly disagreed with The Crown’s depiction of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s relationship in season 4.
The show has hit headlines since it was released over the negative portrayal of the Prince of Wales’ relationship with the late Princess, before she tragically passed away in 1997.
And now, Dickie Arbiter - long standing former Press Secretary to the Queen - has called the Netflix show a “load of claptrap” and poured cold water over rumours that’s how their relationship really was.
Princess Diana and Prince Charles books that are on sale during Black Friday weekend
Dickie Arbiter worked closely with Princess Diana
Speaking on True Royalty TV’s weekly programme, The Royal Beat, Dickie recalled being on tour with the couple shortly after they married in 1981.
“I remember going on tour just after they got married in 1981 and she was the first Princess of Wales in about 80 years, so it was a big deal.
“They couldn’t keep their hands off each other! Charles used to pat her bum regularly! There were times when he would even squeeze it, even in Australia.
“There was a relationship there from the beginning. There was genuine love and happiness there.”
Dickie Arbiter says there was 'genuine love and happiness' between Charles and Diana
He’s not the first one to point out that The Crown is fiction, not history - a fear recently expressed by Princess Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, who also revealed he refused The Crown from filming at his home.
The Princess of Wales’ brother, Charles Spencer, condemned the latest series of The Crown’s depiction of his sister and told Alan Titchmarsh he feels “uneasy” watching the series.
Charles Spencer is Princess Diana's brother
“The worry for me is that people see a programme like that and they forget that it is fiction. They assume, especially foreigners…
“I find Americans tell me they have watched The Crown as if they have taken a history lesson. Well, they haven't.”
The Royal Beat is available on True Royalty TV
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