Dominic West Didn't Ask Pal Prince Harry for Tips on 'The Crown

Prince Harry Joins The Walking With The Wounded South Pole Allied Challenge

(Image credit: Handout / Getty Images)

published 10 November 2022

Dominic West played Prince Charles on The Crown without consulting Prince Harry.

"I didn't think it was appropriate to call him up and ask him for tips," he told Entertainment Tonight, laughing, during the new season's premiere in London this week.

"I haven't spoken to him for many years," he continued. "We did walk to the South Pole together with a lot of wounded soldiers, so I got to know him pretty well."

What West is referring to here is the time he and the royal participated in the Walking With The Wounded South Pole Allied Challenge together in 2013.

West, who is an ambassador for the Prince's Trust, a foundation set up by King Charles, disclosed to the Trust that he was playing Charles on the Netflix show, but didn't have to give up his role with the organization.

"I just thought I would inform the Prince's Trust that I was playing the part. And I felt they had a right to know that. So, that's as far as it went," he explained. "You can't really resign. It's not really a job."

The Royal Family and their entourage have been far from thrilled at the prospect of the season 5 release, with one friend of the Queen's saying, "I’m horrified by what is going on with Netflix and how they are vilifying the Royal Family. It is vicious. It’s as if they’re trying to destroy the Royal Family."

Public figures such as Dame Judi Dench and former Prime Minister John Major have decried the show's ways, but cast and crew members have been steadfast in their defense of the show, which is out now.

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.