Queen used to watch The Crown on a projector on Sunday nights, says Matt Smith
The Queen used to watch episodes of The Crown via a projector on Sunday nights, actor Matt Smith has said.
The British actor, who played a young version of the Duke of Edinburgh in the Netflix royal-drama, said he'd also been told that Prince Philip was not a fan and didn't watch the show.
Speaking to American television, Smith said, “I heard the Queen had watched it, and she used to watch it on a projector on a Sunday night apparently.
“I know that Philip definitely didn’t.
“A friend of mine sat next to him at a dinner once and he asked him… apparently he turned ’round to him and said ‘don’t be ridiculous’.”
Smith starred opposite Claire Foy as the young Queen for the first two seasons of the show, while Olivia Coleman and Tobias Menzies took on roles as the Royal couple in its last two seasons.
It has long been speculated as to whether any members of the royal family watched the hit series, or what their opinions of it were.
Smith said he wanted to return to the UK to experience the “ceremony” of the monarch’s state funeral – due to be held on Monday.
He revealed his desire to return to the UK for the funeral on Monday, saying: “I think it’s a piece of history.
“I think I just want to be in London. I want to experience it, I want to share in the ceremony of it really.”
He added that whereas his mother wanted to go to see the event, he would most likely watch the service “in a local pub with a group of friends”.
It comes after Foy spoke of the honour of playing the Queen on screen, describing the late monarch as a “massive symbol of continuity and dignity and grace”.
Speaking at the Toronto Film Festival, she described the late Queen as "an incredible monarch."
“She united people and she was a massive symbol of continuity and dignity and grace.”
Netflix also recently revealed that the first series has entered the streamer’s global top 10 during the week following the Queen’s death.
Filming on the drama was halted following the death of the Queen last Thursday and filming will also be suspended on Monday for the Queen’s funeral.
The upcoming fifth series, currently due to air in November, will see Dominic West star as Charles and Elizabeth Debicki as Diana, Princess of Wales.
The Crown was due to end after its fifth series, but the show’s creator and writer Peter Morgan later said it will be extended to include a sixth.