Inside Prince Harry’s failed bid to stop The Crown – and how he told Netflix they ‘must drop’ show, expert says

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THE CROWN - NETFLIX - SEASON 5: ELIZABETH DEBICKI (DIANA), WILL POWELL (HARRY), SEAN WEST (WILLIAM), DOMINIC WEST (CHARLES)

PRINCE Harry launched a failed bid to stop The Crown by telling bosses “they must drop” the drama, a Royal expert has claimed.

Biographer Angela Levin told HOAR how she discussed The Crown with Harry after the release of the second series back in 2002.

Prince Harry launched a failed bid to stop The Crown before it was released

Prince Harry and Meghan are seen with their son Archie

Will Powell plays a young Prince Harry in the show

Angela had interviewed the Duke of Sussex at Kensington Palace for the biography she was writing of him at the time.

As a way to “break the ice”, cheerful Harry introduced himself and said: “Have you seen The Crown”.

Angela says when she told him she hadn’t, Harry replied: “You’ve got to. But I’m going to insist that it stops because I don’t want to be on it.”

But his mission to stop Netflix bosses from making more episodes failed, as today marks the release of the fifth season of Netflix’s bombshell Royal drama.

Actor Will Powell plays a young Prince Harry, who is seen alongside his mum Princess Diana.

The show – starring Elizabeth Debicki as Harry’s mum Princess Diana, faces increasing anger over its wild plot lines, with claims of insensitivity so soon after the Queen’s death.

Bosses are also under fire over scenes suggesting Prince Philip had an affair with a female friend.

And the show recreates Diana’s final tragic moments in Paris.

Angela urged Harry to “do something” about the portrayal of his mother in the hit show.

She told HOAR: “If he has a guilty conscience he could do something about it – of course he could.

“They could give them their money back and walk away. But he doesn’t want to.

“How you can give your money to someone who’s doing that is too shocking.

“You can’t stand there and expect people to respect you when Netflix is exposing your mother and not walk away.

“He’d be a hero if he walked away. Harry should walk away.”

Shameless Netflix bosses were previously branded “sadistic and wicked” for recreating Princess Diana’s final hours in the series.

Haunting scenes show Di — played by Elizabeth Debicki — in a limo before her horrific crash in a Paris tunnel.

And execs were blasted for showing Prince Philip ­pursuing an affair with close pal Penny Knatchbull just weeks after the Queen’s funeral.

The actors have come out and defended the series and creator Peter Morgan as “humanizing the royals” and focusing on “what they are feeling”.

Jonathan Pryce, who plays Prince Philip said: “It’s all part of our story.”

He added: “We enter into it as characters in a story. It’s just like normal filmmaking. You don’t think about those real events – at least, I don’t.”

Lesley Manville who plays Princess Margaret also shared that she ignores “real events” and defended the show saying: “It’ s more about what these people are thinking.”

She continued: “The thing is, about our scripts, it can absolutely hone in what any of these characters are feeling.

When the public watches a real public event, you don’t know. You have to imagine how they’re feeling.”

She concluded: “It’s great to be able to tell the private and personal stories about these people and view them in that way.’

Some scenes have caused a stir including the portrayal of an “intimate” friendship between Prince Philip and a close friend, Penny Knatchbull.

Just moments after the release of The Crown season five landed it was slapped with stern warning over shocking Princess Diana scenes.

The Crown stars Elizabeth Debicki as Harry’s mum Princess Diana

Diana and Princes Harry and William appear in the show