Can the British Royal Family Sue "The Crown" Producers?

"The Crown," a dramatization of the story of the British royal family from the marriage of then-Princess Elizabeth to recent events, offers plenty of opportunities to offend real-life royalty. In that regard, the award-winning Netflix series does not disappoint.

Farm members have reportedly objected to many of the plots that "The Crown" (opens in new tab) explores throughout its four existing seasons and in anticipation of a fifth season to be released in 2022. For example, Prince William (opens in new tab) was reportedly "irritated" (opens in new tab) by the show's decision to dedicate an episode to Princess Diana's (opens in new tab) controversial BBC interview with Martin Bashir (opens in new tab). It is also said that the family is (understandably) not super excited (opens in new tab) about "The Crown"'s intention to detail Penny Knatchbull and Prince Philip's (opens in new tab) very close friendship.

Now, The Sun (opens in new tab) is reporting that friends of the royal family have received legal advice on whether they have grounds to sue "The Crown" for portraying them a certain way in season 5. The Friends of the Royal Family sought legal advice. 'The advice they received would apply to the Royal Family.This is not direct legal advice to the Queen and her family, but they are aware of this advice."

Helena Shipman, a lawyer at Carter Ruck, told The Sun: "The Queen and her family are not the only ones who have been affected by the death of Princess Diana. 'Does that mean that the Queen acted cold-heartedly after Princess Diana's death?' That is an expression of opinion, and Netflix will easily defend that it is simply their own honest explanation."

Shipman then provided more solid grounds for legal action on the part of the queen.

"However, 'The Crown' may miss the point if it suggests something more serious, such as the Queen's failure to perform her sovereign duties to the detriment of the country. [It is undoubtedly a fact that the defendant must prove true, and the threshold for that defense is much higher.

"There is another factor that has the potential for a defamation claim, and that is whether the viewer believes what he or she is watching is true. If viewers understand that the show is fiction and a drama, their opinion of the queen will not be diminished."

"However, the fact that she is taking initial advice about a defamation suit indicates that she believes her portrayal is false. ."

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At this point, it still seems unlikely that the royal family would choose to sue the show's producers in the first place.