Royal expert criticises The Crown over ‘sad’ Prince William

A young Prince William will appear melancholy and restless in the new series The Crown, which shows adolescence as he deals with his parents’ public divorce.

In a preview of series five of the Netflix drama, seen by FEMAIL, the future king, played by Dominic West’s 15-year-old son, Senan, sees a miserable figure as he grows up in the public eye.

He is also attuned to his mother’s pain and is depicted comforting Princess Diana during difficult moments with Prince Charles.

However, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told FEMAIL that the new episodes should ensure they reflect the ways Princess Diana made sure her boys had the happiest, most normal upbringing possible.

Meanwhile, they also had the support of his doting grandmother the Queen, while Prince Charles taught them sports such as polo.

“Anyone looking at what The Crown shows should bear in mind that, even in the 1990s, there were happy times for William too,” said Richard. “While many of the events depicted in it were indeed grim, it must also show how much William was loved as a child.”

Princess Diana was known as a fun mom who loved taking her sons out for the day and playing with them. Pictured: Diana with William and Harry on the log flume in Thorpe Park in 1993

In the young prince’s first scene, which also includes Prince Harry, Charles embarrasses Diana by mocking her desire to go shopping – but both young princes say they desperately want to go shopping with their mother.

She then says to them, ‘Thank you for standing up for me! That was brave” before I offered them a GameBoy.

While The Crown fictionalizes some aspects of the royal family and their lives, fans will no doubt be disappointed to see William’s portrayal as an unfulfilled teenager, given the close relationship he had with his mother in real life.

He said: ‘William, it has been reported, is portrayed in the fifth series as sad, unfulfilled and melancholy.

During her last vacation with Prince Harry and William in July 1997 in St. Tropez, Princess Diana was pictured walking around on a jet ski with her youngest son.

The royal author added: ‘It was from Diana that he learned to care for the less fortunate, especially the homeless and those in hospital, which benefited both of them later in life.

Williams later said what an eye opener it was to see a different side of life and when he turned 40 he reportedly became a Big Issue salesman in memory of what his mother taught him.

‘She was more casual than Charles, a trip to the cinema, skiing or, most famously, an amusement park was more her style. She wanted her sons to be raised as normally as possible under very difficult circumstances.’

Diana was known for her loving approach to motherhood as her sons grew up and was often depicted in public hugging Prince Harry and Prince William.

One of the earliest examples of her devotion to motherhood above all other duties was when she broke royal protocol to take her eldest son, who was then nine months old, on a tour of Australia. By setting a new precedent for royal engagements, she made it clear that her children were her top priority.

“Taking William, aged nine months, on a trip to Australia was controversial at the time, but much later William and Kate also took George at that age, so this was a game changer,” said Richard.

As the kids grew up, Diana showed the world that she was a “nice mom” who engaged in crazy activities with her sons and their friends.

During one of her most famous outings with the boys, Princess Diana was pictured allowing herself to get absolutely soaked on the log gutter in Thorpe Park in 1993.

The late Princess of Wales is pictured beaming from the cart as Princes Harry and Prince William cry with laughter. In 2017, a Radio 5 Live show celebrating Princess Diana’s life examined the photo in more detail, revealing what the young princes had found so funny.

Princess Diana was known for participating in the parents’ race during the boys’ sports days at school (picture winning the mothers’ race in 1989)

The photographer who took the photo said the Royals’ security team, a group of hefty royal protection officers, came after Diana and the boys and, due to their weight, caused a huge splash on the bottom.

The boys grinned at the soaked police officers who followed them in another boat.

Other photos from the day show Princess Diana escorting her sons and other guests up the river rapids – in which they all wear ponchos and waterproof covers to protect themselves from the water seeping in.

As the boys grew up, their mother continued to be a fun presence in their lives and was also pictured more than once competing in the parents’ race on their school sports day.

On family vacations, the Princess of Wales showed that entertaining her children was her top priority, often eschewing sunbathing for fun activities with the boys – including sometimes being buried in the sand, as she demonstrated during a trip to the Virgin Islands.

Even on her last vacation with the boys in St. Tropez in July 1997, shortly before she died in a car accident in Paris, Princess Diana was pictured walking around with Princes William and Harry on jet skis.

Aside from their doting mother, Richard also noted how other royal figures fell in love with them when they were children, including their father and their grandmother.

He said, “Charles taught William polo and traditional country sports.

“The Queen played a particularly important role in his life, helping him prepare for the future, particularly as he was a pupil of Eton when he visited her on weekends.