Heartbreaking Diana scene that The Crown's Dominic West did not want in show
Dominic West says he refused to allow his son continue playing Prince William in the Netflix series The Crown as he didn’t want to have to film opposite him to talk to him about the death of Princess Diana.
The 54-year-old actor plays Charles, Prince of Wales, in the hit streaming series in seasons five and six - while his real-life son, 15-year-old Senan West, played Prince William in season five. Dominic says Senan was invited to reprise his role as the prince in the final season of the show, but he stepped in to stop him playing the part again.
Dominic has defended his decision, saying it would be too hard for him, playing Prince Charles, to appear on screen opposite his real life son to tell him that his on-screen mother had been killed in a car crash. The sixth and final season of The Crown incorporates the tragic death of Princess Diana, who was killed in 1997 at the age of 36 following a car crash in Paris.
Despite the fact both he and his son would just be acting, Dominic says talking about the death of a mother would be too hard for him to perform alongside his real-world son. So the Yorkshireman intervened to stop his son from reprising the role - leaving the door open for Rufus Kampas to take the role instead.
Dominic West starred alongside his own son, Senan, in season five of The Crown (Netflix)Speaking to Radio Times, Dominic explained: “I didn't fancy doing the scene at Balmoral, telling a boy his mother has died… They invited Senan back because he did such a good job but I did slightly baulk at that. It was unfair of me, because he did want to do it.”
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Senan’s casting in the show provoked something of a backlash from some TV fans who accused The Crown casting directors of showing signs of nepotism by casting Dominic’s own child in the role of his on-screen son. But Dominic himself attempted to shoot down this backlash, explaining to Town and Country that he had a frank discussion with his son, telling him: “Do you know how lucky you are? Bloody lucky!”
Dominic is not the first actor to play Prince Charles in the Netflix series - and he said he was apprehensive about taking over the role after Josh O’Connor played the role to critical acclaim in seasons three and four. Dominic told Netflix: “The main preparation was trying to make a decision about it… One of the reasons I wanted to do the part is because I really like the guy and I’m really interested in things he’s interested in.”
He explained that he listed to an audio novel the now King recorded in 2010, titled Harmony. Dominic said: “It’s his attempt to synthesize everything he’s ever campaigned about… He realized that it all has a central theme, which is harmony. He spends [eleven] hours narrating this book and that was a gold mine for me, to listen to that. I listened to it all the way through a couple of times, and in the car and driving around Cornwall, and that got me into it.”
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