THE Crown star Helen Bonham Carter has said the show has a “duty” to tell viewers the series is fiction.
The actress, who plays Princess Margaret in the drama, said the show has a “moral responsibility” to make sure fans know it’s not historical fact.
Speaking on the series’ official podcast, Ms Bonham Carter said: “I do feel very strongly because I think we have a moral responsibility to say ‘Hang on, guys…this is not drama doc, we’re making a drama.’”
The star insisted there must be a separation “between our version” and the “real version”.
Her remarks come amid growing pressure on The Crown to tell viewers it is a work of fiction after concerns some scenes are damaging the public’s view of the monarchy.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden urged Netflix to place a warning at the beginning of each episode to remind viewers the drama was a work of fiction – and not historical fact.
While Mr Dowden praised the “beautifully produced” drama, he said he feared a people would believe the drama was entirely true.
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Mr Dowden said: “It’s a beautifully produced work of fiction, so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that.
“Without this, I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact.”
The newspaper said Mr Dowden is expected to write to Netflix to request a “health warning” at the start of episodes to point out the drama has been fictionalised.
And the Royal family is believed to be “furious” at the drama’s portrayal of events in the latest series.
The fourth series of The Crown explores the marriage of Charles and Diana in the 1980s.
The drama, which was released earlier this month, portrays Princess Diana’s eating disorder and Prince Charles’ affair with the then Camilla Parker Bowles.
As her marriage to the heir to the throne crumbles, Diana, played by Emma Corrin, 24, is seen violently vomiting into a toilet on multiple occasions.
But some scenes – including the false suggestion that the affair between Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles continued throughout his marriage to Diana – have been invented.
It is believed nearly 29 million people have already watched The Crown – more than the 28.4 million who tuned in for Charles and Diana’s actual wedding.
Friends of Charles have slammed the series – with one dubbing the drama “sinister” and “highly sophisticated propaganda”.
The Queen and Prince Philip are thought to have been unhappy with previous series of the show, which explored their relationship as a young married couple.
The Royal backlash comes after Meghan Markle and Prince Harry signed a £75 million deal with Netflix, prompting questions over how suitable the deal now is.
The pair quit as senior royals earlier this year before signing a deal with the streaming giant.
One insider told the Mail on Sunday: “There are raised eyebrows about Harry taking millions from the company that’s behind all this.
“After all, where do much of Netflix’s profits come from? The Crown.”
The Duke of Cambridge is also said to disapprove of the series.
One friend of Prince Charles said of the Duke of Cambridge: “He feels that both his parents are being exploited and being presented in a false, simplistic way to make money
“In this case, it’s dragging up things that happened during very difficult times 25 or 30 years ago without a thought for anyone’s feelings.
“That isn’t right or fair, particularly when so many of the things being depicted don’t represent the truth.”
With growing questions over what is accurately depicted in the drama, Diana’s butler and her self-proclaimed “rock” Paul Burrell revealed in an exclusive interview with The Sun which parts of the drama were true to life – and which were fake.
But the long-term member of the royal household said the drama paints an accurate picture of the increasingly frosty relationship between Diana and Charles.
But the butler also said that the Queen and Prince Philip’s relationship was far warmer than the series showed – with the couple sharing a central bedroom within their private suites.