Two Royal Navy Commanders accuse Netflix of ‘misrepresenting’ Queen’s attitude to Argentine war

Two Royal Navy commanders who fought in the Falklands War have accused The Crown of ‘offensively misrepresenting’ the Queen over her attitude towards British troops during the 1982 campaign.

Admiral Lord West, whose frigate HMS Ardent was sunk by the Argentines, and Rear Admiral Chris Parry, who flew daring helicopter sorties in the South Atlantic, said programme-makers have used fictitious scenes and imagined conversations in a sickening attempt to damage the Queen’s reputation.

Their fury has arisen from an entirely made-up scene in the The Crown during which the Queen, played by Olivia Colman, appears unaware a victory parade is to be held to mark the end of the conflict.

The Queen is told about the event by Margaret Thatcher, played by Gillian Anderson. 

The monarch is then seen sitting glumly at home watching the parade on television while Mrs Thatcher waves to crowds lining the streets of the City of London as 1,250 Falklands veterans march past her podium.

In fact, no such meeting between the Queen and the Prime Minister took place, nor could it have done. 

On that day, October 12, 1982, Her Majesty and Prince Philip were 9,000 miles away on an official tour of the Pacific.

Last night, Lord West said: ‘The depiction of the Queen in relation to the Falklands War is absolute rubbish. 

‘Any suggestion the Queen would have required the Prime Minister or anyone else to remind her a victory parade was taking place is fanciful and offensive. 

Rear Admiral Chris Parry (pictured), who flew daring helicopter sorties in the South Atlantic have accused The Crown of ‘offensively misrepresenting’ the Queen

The Crown has reduced an important chapter in British military history to cheap soap-opera fodder. I dread to think anyone could take this portrayal of the Queen seriously.’

Their fury comes after The Mail on Sunday revealed Prince Charles’s anger at his depiction in the show, which has been downloaded by millions of subscribers to streaming giant Netflix.

Prince Andrew served in the Falklands War and in The Crown lands in a helicopter at Balmoral to announce that he will be taking part. 

But last night Rear Admiral Parry revealed multiple factual inaccuracies in these scenes. 

He said: ‘Prince Andrew wasn’t qualified to fly the Wessex rescue helicopter used in The Crown. And his uniform and equipment are wrong.

‘But these errors pale into insignificance when compared to the depiction of Her Majesty, which is disgracefully dishonest and exploitative. The Queen was fully engaged with all matters regarding the Falklands campaign.

‘It was also understood and accepted by the Royal Family that Mrs Thatcher would attend the parade because the campaign was her victory and she had provided such remarkable political leadership. 

Viewers should be told The Crown is heavily dramatised. Yet presently there is no such disclaimer before each episode.’

In her autobiography, Mrs Thatcher paid tribute to the Queen’s ‘formidable grasp of current issues’ and dismissed reports of a rift between them as fabricated.

On its YouTube channel, Netflix boasts that episodes in the season covering the Falklands War are based on ‘a wealth of rare archive material and enlightening facts’.