The Crown Season 5 which is now available on the streaming behemoth, Netflix, seems to be the pristine version of the seasons so far aired. With the presence of the Hollywood trailblazer, Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown has already gained enough tabloid attention. Her similarity with Princess Diana is one thing that has left the street talking. She has definitely set the bar high during the previous seasons and now The Crown Season 5 is nothing less.
However, today let’s try to stop praising the beauty queen, instead, let’s talk about the master brain behind the legendary flick, which is none other than Andrew Morton. The show has covered roughly each and every inch of Diana’s life and exposed her as an individual, which is solely based on Andrew Morton’s biography Diana: Her True Story.
In the second episode of The Crown Season 5, Debicki (who plays Diana) is seen approached by a friend Oliver Chris (who plays James Colthrust), who suggests she have a word with the writer Andrew regarding her side of the story when it comes to royal marriage, which is pretty crucial. Apparently, she and Colthrust were friends when she was still Lady Diana Spencer.
But, the spotlight today is not on James Colthrust or Princess Diana, it’s on Andrew Morton. So, who is Andrew Morton, and who plays Andrew Morton in The Crown Season 5?
Who is Andrew Morton?
Andrew Morton is an English journalist and writer who is famed for writing biographies of well-known figures like Meghan Markle, Prince William, and Tom Cruise.
Interestingly in 1992, Andrew published a tell-all biography of Princess Diana that referred to her unhappy childhood, suggested that the Princess felt highly ignored by her family, and also reported that she was diagnosed with bulimia, had self-harmed, and attempted to commit suicide. Andrew entitled the book Diana: Her True Story and it turned hugely controversial.
Andrew was not initially interested in working with Diana, saying he would manage to collect the necessary information from her close friends and family. In the end, the book was dismissed claiming it was only fictional.
However, after Diana’s demise, Andrew revealed that the book was written with her full involvement. He then confidently re-published it after altering the name to “Diana: Her True Story- In Her Own Words.”
Andrew said that he also wrote the book with the assistance of Diana’s close friend James Colthrust, who he had met in 1986. Andrew added that he used to give the questions to Colthrust who then conducted six taped interviews with Diana in her Kensington Palace sitting room.
Who Plays Andrew Morton in the Crown Season 5?
The author of Diana’s biography has given a major role in the fifth season of The Crown and the role is played by the actor Andrew Steele (We know that you’re looking at the similarity of their names). It’s the first appearance of the character and we saw how Steele is putting his 100 into it. For those of you who don’t know Steele, he is an actor who is famous for his roles in the 2018 drama The Royals, as well as Outlander, Free Rein, and Bad Sisters.
The flick that was released on Nov. 9 primarily focused on Andrew Morton and his Diana biography in the first episode, whereas, the second episode featured a concurrent storyline with Penny Knatchbull and Prince Philip. The episode sees Andrew writing and eventually publishing the book with the assistance of Diana’s pal Colthrust.
Who Plundered Andrew Morton’s House?
The second episode of The Crown Season 5 discloses Andrew’s house was burgled and his office was ransacked while he was writing the book. Diana instantly gets skeptical that it has something to do with the Royal family and even her room was swept for listening devices.
She is then seen telling her confidant Colthrust that she could find a sort of connection with the two events- first getting Coplthrust knocked off his bike and then Andrew’s house getting broken into. However, he simply shuts down her suspicion saying it was normal for him to get into a gutter by a van.
“Break-ins happen in London a hundred times a day,” he says and adds that nothing was stolen to doubt the occurrence.
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Although the burglary was discussed in detail, the episode didn’t disclose who was behind the act and so none of us know who manipulated it.
Subsequently, Andrew wrote about the break-in in The Mail. “During the time, when Diana was being secretly interviewed, my workspace was burgled and filed through- but nothing odd happened apart from a camera being stolen.”
“Following that, Princess Diana had her sitting room swept for listening devices. She trusted none in the royal household.” Andrew also exposed in another interview that Dian was concerned about the Secret Services, about MI6, and MI5.
“There was a string of bizarre things going on inside the families of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Her pal Richard Kay, the journalist of Daily Mail, was ransacked multiple times that he employed a private detective, her bodyguard Ken Wharf felt like someone was following him and my own office was broken into.”
However, Colthrust told a 2020 documentary that being knocked off his bike was largely fictionalized by his dear friend Diana out of fear. “I think I felt great every time I gave a tape. Diana was always concerned knowing this was going on, she was ultimately worried that I will be knocked off my bike deliberately.
“But there were a few anxious times. I had a bunch of transcripts and I was going through the House of parliament. Suddenly a bus moved me over to a pothole to avoid some traffic I guess, but I hit hard and the papers were scattered on the road before the House of parliament. That was one anxious time.”