Royals

The Crown actor Tobias Menzies pays tribute to Prince Philip after calls for Netflix to apologise

Royal experts have spoke about the Duke's portrayal in the show

The Crown actor Tobias Menzies has paid homage to Prince Philip, whose funeral is taking place today.

The actor, 47, said it was “fascinating” playing the Duke of Edinburgh in the last two series’ of the Netflix show.

Tobias has also complimented Prince Philip for carrying out his Royal duties with “dignity and patience”.

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Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip in The Crown (Credit: Splashnews.com)

Speaking to The Guardian’s Today In Focus podcast, he said: “He was someone who was very wary to show his feelings, and yet, atmospherically, he’s not a cool presence, he’s quite hot …”

Tobias added: “For someone who clearly was not comfortable with [the role], he managed to do it with quite a high degree of dignity and patience.”

He also described Prince Philip as “fascinating”.

Prince Philip ‘terribly upset over Crown scene’

Tobias’ comments come just days after Netflix was urged to apologise for a “malicious scene” in season two of The Crown.

According to reports, the Duke of Edinburgh took issue with the particular scene involving his late sister Princess Cecilie.

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Tobias’s plays Prince Philip in series three and four (Credit: Splashnews.com)

The episode suggested Philip’s father blamed him after Princess Cecilie died in a plane crash in 1937.

The Queen’s biographer, Sally Bedell Smith, insisted the Duke had “nothing to do” with his sister’s death.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, she raged: “Cecilie did die in an air crash but that’s the only thing that was true.”

She added: “It was terribly upsetting to him. They (Netflix) should emphatically apologise and I think a disclaimer is necessary more than ever.”

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Prince Philip was apparently ‘terribly upset’ about a scene in The Crown (Credit: Splashnews.com)

‘Cruel and deeply unfair’

Hugo Vickers, another royal biographer, also said he felt the depiction was “cruel and deeply unfair”.

“The least Netflix could do was to alert viewers with a disclaimer,” he added.

Netflix declined to comment when approached by Entertainment Daily.

Prince Philip died aged 99 on Friday April 9, 2021.

His funeral is taking place today (April 17, 2021) at St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle.

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Natasha Rigler
Freelance Writer