Emma Corrin & Josh O'Connor React To Prince Harry's Comments About 'The Crown'

This month, Prince Harry opened up about his thoughts about Netflix’s The Crown.

The 36-year-old Duke of Sussex follows his relatives, Mike Tindall and Sarah Ferguson, in reacting to the series loosely based on their lives as members of the British royal family.

“It gives you a rough idea of what that lifestyle, what the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else, what can come from that,” Harry told James Corden in an interview. “I’m way more comfortable with The Crown than I am seeing the stories written about my family, or my wife, or myself. It’s the difference between… that is obviously fiction, take it how you will, but this is being reported on as fact because you’re supposedly news. I have a real issue with that.”

After hearing his comments, Emma Corrin and Josh O’Connor, who portray his parents, Princess Diana and Prince Charles on the series, are reacting.

“I’m delighted. I’m delighted that he watches it,” Josh told Entertainment Tonight, just ahead of his Golden Globe win. “I think anyone who watches it is a great… you know, that’s what we’re there for.”

Emma added, “It’s difficult, with The Crown, since it is so fictional, it feels so removed from the actual royal family. But on the other hand, the characters are based on real people, so there is something there. I felt incredibly grateful to him. I was incredibly moved by what he said. Obviously, I played his mother and that would have been such a sensitive thing. I was very moved he acknowledged it. I’m glad he enjoyed it; I was very grateful for those words.”

Gillian Anderson, who plays Margaret Thatcher, also commented on Harry’s revelation.

“I would say that Harry is fairly well-qualified to judge what is fact or fiction and it was pleasing to hear he understood what [creator] Peter [Morgan] is trying to do on The Crown,” she says. “That he is telling a nuanced story of the challenges of putting duty and service before love and family and that he has certainly many, many years of experience with that. I think it was nice to be on the outside and also on the inside of a show that I care about hearing perhaps that subject addressed.”

Emma won her first Golden Globe for her portrayal of Diana on the series. See her acceptance speech here!