New ‘The Crown’ Addition Jonathan Pryce Is ‘Bitterly Disappointed’ In ‘Artistes’ Who Are Trashing The Netflix Series

Sir Jonathan Price obviously received his knightly distinction from Queen Elizabeth I. He also joined The Crown to portray the older Prince Philip. He did so despite the royal opposition to the show, particularly while it careens toward painting then-Prince Charles in an increasingly unflattering 1990s light. This fifth season will include the final phases of Charles and Princess Diana’s disintegrating marriage, throughout which he still saw Camilla Parker Bowles, who is now the real-life Queen Consort. As shown above, the series will also include Philip’s special “friend/confidante” Penny Knatchbull, who will be portrayed by Natasha McElhone.

Price has heard all about the rising backlash to this season. Some of the fuss came from Dame Judi Dench, who reportedly entered into “serious” discussions for picking up a small role Season 5. Criticism also comes from the likes of Piers Morgan, who’s furious about Prince “Harry’s silence” on the show. Interestingly enough, Harry was a fan of Matt Smith as a younger Philip, and he’s also a Netflix content maker, so there’s a lot going on there.

Meanwhile, Pryce wants his “fellow artistes” to chill out. Here’s what he told Deadline:

The Crown’s Jonathan Pryce, who portrays Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in the show’s upcoming fifth season, has told Deadline he’s “bitterly disappointed” by those he termed “my fellow artistes,” for publicly criticizing the drama and demanding it carry a disclaimer.

Pryce was referring to comments made by Judi Dench in The Times where she called the series “cruelly unjust to the individuals and damaging to the institution they represent.”

Following Dench’s criticism, Netflix added a “fictional dramatisation” to the latest trailer on YouTube. The season also reportedly angered royal sources with a Season 5 episode, that portrays Charles as extremely salty about having to wait to be king. Well, Charles had to wait three more decades to be king, and he’ll be formally coronated next May. By that point, everyone will (hopefully) have given their take on the current The Crown controversy.