Prince Andrew, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not feature in The Crown, says creator Peter Morgan

‘I don’t know what their journey is or how it will end’, says Morgan

The creator of The Crown has revealed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not feature in future episodes of the hit Netflix series.

British screenwriter Peter Morgan said he will not include Harry and Meghan because of his “20-year rule”, which he enforces to allow “distance” from the stories.

“Meghan and Harry are in the middle of their journey, and I don’t know what their journey is or how it will end,” he told the Hollywood Reporter.

“One wishes some happiness, but I’m much more comfortable writing about things that happened at least 20 years ago.

“I sort of have in my head a 20-year rule. That is enough time and enough distance to really understand something, to understand its role, to understand its position, to understand its relevance.”

Morgan added that events which seem crucial and momentous at the time can often fade into obscurity with the reverse happening for things that might appear meaningless but go on to acquire historical relevance.

He also explained that he will not tackle modern storylines in The Crown because doing so would “instantly make it journalistic”. “I don't know where in the scheme of things Prince Andrew or indeed Meghan Markle or Harry will ever appear,” Morgan said.

“There are plenty of journalists already writing about them. To be a dramatist, I think you need perspective and you need to also allow for the opportunity for metaphor.”

“Once something has a metaphorical possibility, it can then become interesting. It's quite possible, for example, to tell the story of Harry and Meghan through analogy and metaphor, if that's what you want to do.”

Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be portrayed in The Crown (Getty Images)

Morgan went on to cite a number of examples of “marital complications” from the royal family’s past, including Wallis Simpson and Edward VII, and Princess Diana and Prince Charles.

“There have been plenty of opportunities in the past where there have been marital complications,” he said.

“There've been wives that have been married into the royal family that have felt unwelcome and that they don't fit in. So there are plenty of stories to tell without telling the story of Harry and Meghan.”

The writer also revealed that he has previously met royal aides on an “informal basis” to discuss which storylines are coming up on the show.

He hinted that it was sometimes things that weren't said in the meetings, rather than what was said, which revealed most about what the real royal family thinks of the series.

“Occasionally they might come back and say 'I enjoyed certain aspects of the season,' and by that I know that he or she probably means other people enjoyed that,” Morgan said.

“And then they'll say 'There were one or two things that I personally found disappointing', which probably means that somebody else found them disappointing.”

The Crown has already announced its new roster of actors for the upcoming fifth series of the show.

Imelda Staunton will feature as the next Queen and Lesley Manville has been cast as Princess Margaret. The actors will replace Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter respectively, who will step down from their roles after the fourth series.

Jonathan Pryce is set to play the Duke of Edinburgh in the final two series of the show, taking over from Tobias Menzies, while Elizabeth Debicki will play Princess Diana, replacing Emma Corrin, who will make her debut in series four.