'The Crown' New Season Would "Destroy" the Queen, Friend Says

For a show that only a select few people have even seen, season 5 of The Crown really is causing more than its fair share of drama ahead of its Nov. 9 release.

A friend of the late Queen's has joined others in condemning the Netflix production in no uncertain terms.

"I’m horrified by what is going on with Netflix and how they are vilifying the Royal Family," the source told The Times (opens in new tab). "It is vicious. It’s as if they’re trying to destroy the Royal Family."

This friend even went as far as to say, referring to Queen Elizabeth, "It would have destroyed her."

She also noted that the upcoming release put Prince Harry "in the most invidious position," as he and Meghan Markle prepare to release their docuseries in collaboration with the streaming platform. "If I had my family being vilified like that, I wouldn’t take a penny [from Netflix]," the friend commented.

The reason this new season is causing more turmoil than past seasons have is that it covers the period from 1990 to 1997, which includes the breakdown of Charles and Diana's marriage, the Queen's annus horribilis, the "Tampongate" scandal, and Prince Philip's alleged affair with Penny Knatchbull, all of which rocked the monarchy.

Alongside concerns about the accuracy of the series, there seems to be a feeling among royal insiders that reminding the public of all of these difficult times can't do anything to help the Firm's reputation.

In his latest Yahoo! column, royal expert Omid Scobie writes, "Because while The Crown's scripted dialogue comes straight from the writer’s room, and you’d be a fool to treat this show as a historical documentary, the majority of jaw-droppers in the plot come courtesy of the Royal Family and the press. And for those, they have no one to blame other than themselves." BRUTAL.