'Netflix' refuses to add disclaimer to 'The Crown'

London: Streaming giant 'Netflix' rejected the plans of adding a disclaimer to 'The Crown' and stated that its lavish drama about Britain's royal family is a work of fiction.

In a statement, 'Netflix' said that it always presented the drama, as just that it was a drama.

"We have always presented 'The Crown' as a drama and we have every confidence that our members understand that it is a work of fiction that is broadly based on historical events. As a result, we have no plans and see no need to add a disclaimer," a staff member said.

'Netflix' was urged last week by 'British Culture' secretary Oliver Dowden to add the disclaimer, in the wake of the broadcast of the drama's fourth series.

Questions of historical fidelity were not part of a major issue during the earlier seasons of the show, which debuted in 2016 and traces the long reign of Queen Elizabeth II, which began in 1952.

But the current fourth season is set in the 1980s, which is a divisive decade in Britain. Characters include Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, whose 11-year tenure transformed and divided Britain and the late Princess Diana, whose death in a car crash in 1997 transfixed the nation and the world. Some Conservatives criticised the programme's depiction of Thatcher, played by Gillian Anderson. Britain's first female prime minister, who died in 2013, was portrayed as clashing with Olivia Colman's Elizabeth to an extent that some said that it was exaggerated.

'The Crown' creator Peter Morgan defended his work and said that it was thoroughly researched and true in spirit.

Charles Spencer, Diana's brother, was the one who called on 'Netflix' to add a disclaimer.

"I think it would help 'The Crown' an enormous amount if, at the beginning of each episode, it stated that, 'This is not true but it is based around some real events'," he told broadcaster 'ITV'.