The U.K. Culture Secretary Reminded Everyone That 'The Crown' Is Fiction

Netflix's The Crown continues to be a thorn in the side of the actual, real-life British royals. According to Entertainment Tonight, Oliver Dowden, the U.K.'s Culture Secretary, took it upon himself to remind everyone that the hit show is, in fact, a work of fiction, and not portraying chronicling actual events with historic accuracy. The news comes after Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles's official Twitter account, @ClarenceHouse, disabled comments from some posts in the wake of trolls posting the portrayal of the couple's relationship and Princess Diana on the show.

"It's a beautifully produced work of fiction, so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that," Dowden told the Mail on Sunday. "Without this, I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact."

ET adds that Dowden plans to take things up with Netflix via what we can assume will be a very polite, very strongly worded letter. Princess Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, has also mentioned that he wanted the streaming giant to offer a disclaimer along with the show. He insists that viewers should be aware that they're watching a dramatization, not a documentary.

"I think it would help The Crown an enormous amount if, at the beginning of each episode, it stated that: 'This isn't true but it is based around some real events,'" he said during an interview on ITV.

Dickie Arbiter, the former Buckingham Palace press secretary, echoed his remarks, saying that the show was "stretching dramatic license to the extreme."

Some Twitter users weren't amused with the suggestion that viewers needed the clarification. Viewers pointed out that for the show's first three seasons, nobody seemed to mind that the show was depicting Queen Elizabeth in a very flattering light.