Queen was ‘too busy to be an attentive mother’ to Charles and Anne, claims The Crown creator

HRH was ‘much more ready to be a mother’ when Prince Andrew was born, says Netflix creator

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The Crown creator Peter Morgan has said that the Queen was “too busy” to be an attentive mother to her two eldest children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne.

Prince Charles was born in 1948 when Queen Elizabeth II was 22 years old, four years before she acceded to the throne. Princess Anne was born two years later.

It wasn’t until one decade later, 1960, that Prince Andrew was born, followed by Prince Edward in 1964.

Speaking on the latest episode of The Crown’s official podcast, Morgan speculated that HRH was “preoccupied with trying to find her feet and do her job” when her first two children were young.

“She was much more relaxed as a mother with the second team,” he said of the Queen’s parenting of Andrew and Edward.

“Anne probably didn’t need that much mothering, based on what I see of her as a character,” Morgan added.

“Charles, unfortunately, needs a great deal of love. He needs a lot of love, and she was probably unable to give it. His need for it, his demonstrative need for it, might have made her ability… retreat even further.”

The fourth season of The Crown, which debuted on Sunday 15 November, chronicles the royal family’s lives from 1979 to the end of 1990.  

It sees Emma Corrin take on the role of Princess Diana opposite Josh O’Connor, who plays Prince Charles.

Morgan’s comments come after Corrin said that she would “leave” a party if Prince Harry or William were in attendance.

Speaking to British GQ, she said: “If I ever saw them at a party, I'd probably leave!”

Corrin explained that while she wouldn't want to talk about The Crown with the princes, she is curious about what they think of her portrayal.

When asked what Princes William and Harry might make of the show, she said: "I can't imagine."

She added: “I'd be interested to know what they think. I’m not going to say it doesn’t matter, because that would be ignorant. 

"If someone made a programme about my grandma, who died last year, that would be difficult for me to watch.”