There’s another royal insider who is criticizing season 4 of The Crown and his perspective comes from the heart of every home — the kitchen. Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ former chef Darren McGrady wants to set the record straight about the couple’s relationship and how it was portrayed in the Netflix series.
“My goodness, they really went for the artistic license,” he told US Weekly in regards to the entire fourth season. He felt the first three seasons were more accurate, but the thing that surprised him the most is how miserable they made Princess Diana and Prince Charles look during their marriage. He promises that things were a lot happier behind closed doors when he was working for them.
“You see them in Australia sort of arguing and fighting, but, you know, they were happy there,” he revealed to US Weekly about the royals’ 1983 tour to Australia and New Zealand. “And the same as, you know, Balmoral Castle [in Scotland], when we had the Ghillies Ball.”
We’ve heard from other royal experts that The Crown spun their own interpretation about Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s doomed marriage, especially when it came to the cheating timeline — it wasn’t a Camilla Parker Bowles’ issue in the beginning. “It should also be emphasized,” says royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith to Vanity Fair, “that Diana strayed first from the marital bed, with her affair that began in 1985 with her protection officer, Barry Mannakee.”
Everyone likes to have an opinion on this marriage even though Princess Diana is no longer here and Prince Charles is now married to Bowles. But McGrady had the opportunity to watch the young couple when the media was gone and the scrutiny of being in the public eye wasn’t a constant source of anxiety for them. The chef says there was laughter and dancing — yes, there were happy moments even if they ultimately divorced.
“I remember standing there watching Prince Charles and Princess Diana dancing together, and they were spinning and spinning, and the princess loved to dance,” he reminisced to US Weekly. “So she took advantage and she was spinning the prince faster, and then he was laughing louder and louder. And when I see The Crown and see that and think, ‘You don’t know the whole truth.’ “
Even though McGrady no longer works for the royal family, he probably wants to stay in their good graces, so speaking fondly about his time there is in his best interest. It’s no secret that Princess Diana struggled in her marriage to Prince Charles and he certainly didn’t help her acclimate to life in the spotlight. It’s more likely that there were some joyful moments that McGrady witnessed, but there were also some really tough times that The Crown hit right on the head.
Before you go, click here to see the best photos of Princess Diana playing with William and Harry.
More Stories from Entertainment
Leave a Comment