The Duke of Sussex says he's not as bothered by the series as he is by the real-life press.
Prince Harry is opening up on camera about his views on the Netflix series, The Crown. The 36-year-old Duke of Sussex, who signed his own Netflix production deal last year, rode around Los Angeles on a double-decker bus on Thursday's episode of The Late Late Show With James Corden, and shared his views with host Corden regarding the royal drama series centered around his family.
After Harry shared that he and his wife, Meghan Markle, enjoy watching Jeopardy! and "a little bit of Netflix" in bed each night, Harry candidly spoke about The Crown.
"They don't pretend to be news, it's fictional. But it's loosely based on the truth. Of course it's not strictly accurate, but loosely," Harry said. "It gives you a rough idea about what the lifestyle, what the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else, what can come from that."
Harry, who has previously admitted to watching the series, noted that he's not as bothered by the show as he is by the real-life press his family receives.
"I'm way more comfortable with The Crown than I am seeing the stories written about my family, or my wife, or myself," he added. "Because it's the difference between, [The Crown] is obviously fiction, take it how you will, but [the tabloid stories] are being reported on as fact, because you're supposedly news. I have a real issue with that."
He even offered up a suggestion as to who could play him if The Crown were to reach the present day. Harry said he'd like Billions and Homeland star Damian Lewis to portray him.
The comments were a far cry from what biographer Angela Levin, who interviewed Harry for her 2018 book, Harry: Conversations With the Prince, previously claimed he'd said about the series.
"Harry, when I went to interview him in the Palace, the first thing he said to me when he shook my hand was, 'Are you watching The Crown?'" Levin shared on BBC Breakfast in January 2020. "And I hadn't been at the time, I felt very embarrassed and I got it and he said, 'I'm going to make sure I stop it before they get to me.'"
Harry and his brother, Prince William, are already briefly portrayed in The Crown as children in the most recent season of the show, which centers around the relationship between Harry's parents, Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana.
During his Late Late Show interview, Harry also opened up about his decision to step down as a senior member of the royal family.
"We all know what the British press can be like and it was destroying my mental health. I was like, 'This is toxic,'" Harry recalled to Corden, who is British himself. "So I did what any husband and any father would do... but we never walked away, and as far as I'm concerned, whatever decisions are made on that side, I will never walk away. I will always be contributing. But my life is public service, so wherever I am in the world, it's gonna be the same thing."
Harry and Meghan, who are expecting their second child and just recently officially stepped away from their royal duties, will soon be giving another candid interview to Oprah Winfrey.
Oprah With Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special airs Sunday, March 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
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