Prince Harry defends The Crown, reveals whom he'd like to portray him on show

Prince Harry has defended criticisms against Netflix's The Crown, and has also revealed whom he'd like to see portray him on the show, based on his family.

Defending the Netflix series The Crown, Prince Harry has said that the show, based on his family, doesn't pretend to be fact. He also announced which actor he'd like to see portray him on the show, which recently aired its fourth season.

Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. (Reuters File Photo)

The Crown has been a regular source of speculation with regards to just how much of it is true. The series is based on the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, who has been portrayed by Claire Foy and Olivia Colman, in two seasons each.

"Of course, it’s not strictly accurate,” Harry said in an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden. “It gives you a rough idea about what that lifestyle [looks like], what the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else ― what can come from that.”

“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 ‘That is obviously fiction, take it how you will,’ but this is being reported on as fact because you’re supposedly news. I have a real issue with that.”

Harry and his wife, Meghan, last year struck a deal with Netflix, which will see them produce new programming for the service. The couple has also taken 'a step back' from their duties as royals. Harry and his brother, Prince William, appear as toddlers in the latest season of the show. Asked whom he'd like to see play him in future seasons, he replied, "Damian Lewis."

In a 2019 appearance on the Graham Norton Show, Colman recalled meeting Prince William, and not being able to help herself and ask him if he'd seen the show. “I met Prince William at a dinner and he asked me what I was doing at the moment before he quickly added, ‘Actually, I know what you’re doing',” Coleman said. “I was so excited and asked, ‘Have you watched it?’ His answer was a firm ‘No,’” Coleman added.