Harry and Meghan: The Crown ‘probably’ won’t show current events

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AFP/Getty Images

An executive producer on The Crown says it’s unlikely the show will ever cover today’s big news about the royal family.

“To be honest, whatever the life of The Crown is after where we are now, I doubt we’ll ever go as far into the present day,” Suzanne Mackie told PA.

After the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were “stepping back” from being “senior” royals, the award-winning Netflix drama started trending on Twitter.

Prince Harry and Meghan say they’ll work to become financially independent.

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Netflix

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Olivia Colman won a Golden Globe for playing the Queen in series three of The Crown

After the Duke and Duchess released a statement saying they will no longer be on the front line of the royal family, Twitter users were speculating how the events could one day tackled in The Crown.

The Netflix show portrays the life of the royal family from the time when the Queen was crowned.

The current series takes place between 1964 and 1977, while the next series will go into the 80s.

However, executive producer Suzanne Mackie says: “I think we’ll probably – we won’t travel into the present day.”

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Media captionVirginia Giuffre: “I implore the people in the UK… to not accept this as being OK”

Similar questions about how far The Crown would go in covering current events, were raised last year after Prince Andrew’s BBC interview where he was questioned about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Queen’s son was also asked about accusations made by Virginia Giuffre, who says she was forced to have sex with him when she was 17.

The prince “categorically” denies having any sexual contact with her and has since withdrawn from public life.

Suzanne Mackie admitted the controversial interview with Newsnight host Emily Maitlis “resonated” with The Crown’s creative team.

“That was a particularly low point and it resonated for us in many ways but in terms of the huge public exposure of it, not great.”

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Media captionRoyal correspondent Jonny Dymond: “It is very clear the palace is very upset about what has happened”

The Crown creator, Peter Morgan, echoed her view back in 2018 when he told Entertainment Weekly that the show wouldn’t include Meghan Markle, “because it’s too close to the moment.”

“I feel uncomfortable writing about events within a certain time period,” he said.

The show is expected to run for six series.

Peter Morgan’s also previously told The Guardian that he has meetings with representatives of the Royal Family four times a year to tell them what he’s writing in the show.

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Media caption“Not many people have asked if I’m OK,” says Meghan

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have had a lot of media attention since they got engaged in 2017.

Last October, Prince Harry and Meghan publicly revealed their struggles under the media spotlight.

The BBC understands no other royal – including the Queen or Prince William – was consulted before the latest statement and Buckingham Palace is “disappointed”.

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