Jonathan Pryce, who plays Prince Philip in Netflix drama The Crown, has said he cried when he heard about the death of Princess Diana in September 1997, adding that it was the first time he had ever shed tears for a member of the British royal family.
Pryce (76) reprises his role as the late prince in the last six episodes of the hit drama and as we take up the story, he and the late Queen Elizabeth are struggling to comprehend the outpouring of national grief at the death of their former daughter in law.
Britain seemed to go through a collective trauma over Diana's death and speaking to RTÉ Entertainment about his own personal memories of that strange, strange week in September 1997, Pryce says. "When it was announced that Diana had died, my wife Kate, and I had just spent our first night in a new home.
Review: The Crown season 6: Diana: Ghost protocol
"We went to bed very happy and very relaxed, woke up early, turned the radio and television on and could not believe what was happening . . .
"It was the first time I’d cried for any member of the royal family and Kate was the same because there had been this young, vibrant lifeforce in all the newspapers and television all the time, who many of us felt had been treated rather badly, and that she should have such a tragic end was quite a shock."
Pryce, who has won acclaim for this roles in Brazil, The Two Popes and The Wife, added, "That outpouring of grief, I see it in retrospect as a huge turning point in the public’s involvement in issues. People became more emboldened to have their say and demanded that the royal family should listen to them."
He bows out as Prince Philip in the final six episodes, which debut on Netflix on Thursday, and he has given the often controversial royal a largely sympathetic reading, with writer Peter Morgan emphasising the bond that had grown between Philip and Diana before her untimely death.
"He saw himself as a kind of mentor to her and tried to advise her how she could be part of the royal family and have a life of her own if she obeyed the rules of the system," says Pryce.
"And I know he was incredibly fond of her and it’s a bit of a shock in season six when you see his and the queen’s reaction to her death.
"Instead of having an emotional response, they immediately thought of having to deal with it in terms of protocol and the fact that she was no longer a member of the royal family.
"It’s interesting for Philip because he goes from being a mentor, an attempted mentor, to mentoring her sons to get them to understand the public fallout from their mother’s death and also how to deal with it as family members."
A proud Welshman, Pryce, who was knighted in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to drama and charity, could never be described as a monarchist ("could never and should never," he laughs).
However, after working on The Crown, he has re-emerged from the experience with a better understanding of the Windsors and that they are in fact human beings.
"I think that’s what the series is about - showing the behind closed doors life," he says. "I found it hugely interesting to do and find out about Philip and the man he was away from the public gaze and discover that he was a much warmer, friendlier and gregarious human being than I would ever have thought."
Alan Corr @CorrAlan2
Part two of the sixth and final season of The Crown is on Netflix now.
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