He hasn’t had a moment to spare.
“The Crown” creator Peter Morgan confessed that he hasn’t picked up Prince Harry’s controversial best-selling memoir, “Spare,” despite being responsible for the Emmy-winning Netflix series about the royal family.
“I’ve not read a word of it,” Morgan told Variety.
He added, “Not that I wouldn’t be interested. But I didn’t want his voice to inhabit my thinking too much. I’ve got a lot of sympathy with him, a lot of sympathy. But I didn’t want to read his book.”
The hit show has followed the royal family from the early days of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, with the more recent seasons including a dramatization of the saga of Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles (played respectively by Elizabeth Debicki and Dominic West).
The sixth and final season, premiering in November, will place more emphasis on Harry and his brother, Prince William.
Netflix’s synopsis of the final season reads: “A relationship blossoms between Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed before a fateful car journey has devastating consequences. Prince William tries to integrate back into life at Eton in the wake of his mother’s death as the monarchy has to ride the wave of public opinion. As she reaches her Golden Jubilee, the Queen reflects on the future of the monarchy with the marriage of Charles and Camilla and the beginnings of a new Royal fairytale in William and Kate.”
Season 6 has been divided into two parts. In Part 1, newcomer Rufus Kampa will make his debut as a young Prince William, and Fflyn Edwards will make his debut on the show as a young Prince Harry.
In Part 2, newcomers Ed McVey, 23, and Meg Bellamy, 19, will play Prince William and Kate in the early days of their relationship, while Luther Ford will play Prince Harry.
Despite Harry featuring in the show, however, Morgan maintains that he did not read his explosive memoir, which contained several revelations such as the allegation that Meghan Markle told Kate Middleton that she had “baby brain” and details about a physical fight that he allegedly had with Prince William.
Harry has previously stated that he watches and fact-checks “The Crown,” but Morgan said that the two men have not discussed it.
“I haven’t heard it from his lips,” Morgan said. “And I’ve never had the conversation with him about it.”
“The Crown” will stop short of covering the era of Harry and Meghan Markle, as Season 6 will stop in 2005.
“It was the cutoff to keep it historical, not journalistic,” Morgan explained.
“I think by stopping almost 20 years before the present day, it’s dignified.”
Season 6 of “The Crown” premieres in two parts on Netflix: Part 1 premieres Nov. 16, and Part 2 premiers Dec. 14.