Royal aides are concerned about Prince Charles' popularity after The Crown season four

(Image credit: Des Willie/Netflix)

With the coronavirus-enforced lockdown 2.0 isolating us once more to our homes, we have never been more ready for the highly anticipated return of The Crown.

Yes, The Crown season four landed on Netflix this weekend and we're all in binge-watch mode.

The fourth season sees its star-studded second cast return, with Olivia Coleman reprising her role as Queen Elizabeth, Helena Bonham Carter playing Princess Margaret and Game of Thrones’ Tobias Menzies returning to his role as Prince Philip.

It is the storyline around Josh O’Connor, The Crown’s Prince Charles, however that has got everyone talking, joined by Emerald Fennel (Camilla Parker-Bowles) and Emma Corrin (Princess Diana), to act out the highly publicised and very controversial affair.

This is something that Prince Charles' staff have reportedly been ‘paranoid’ about for a while, concerned about how The Crown will portray the affair, and the effect it could have on his popularity.

‘Charles’s staff are deeply paranoid about The Crown,’ a source reportedly told The Sun. ‘They are trying to make him a popular king-in-waiting.’

The source continued: ‘But the next few seasons are going to be increasingly focused on the Prince of Wales’s behaviour, especially around his marriage to Diana and affair with Camilla. The timing couldn’t be any more disastrous in terms of Charles’s bid for popularity.’

The royal family has not commented.

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.