The Crown's compelling second season concentrated largely on Prince Philip's roguishness and alleged dalliances - and Downton Abbey creator Lord Julian Fellowes thinks that was a bit 'unfair' to the duke.
While Fellowes praised the cast and writer Peter Morgan of the acclaimed Netflix series, he said he 'isn't comfortable dramatising people who are still alive'.
'It was beautifully acted, beautifully written,' the writer told Katie Couric in her podcast. 'For me, I'm not completely comfortable with dramatising people who are still alive and still living their lives. Because I think it's possible to be unfair.
'And in the second series, I didn't think it was fair to Prince Philip, to the Duke of Edinburgh, based on very little.'
Fellowes added that while the show is more than deserving of its success, the duke doesn't deserve to have his personal life aired on TV, particularly after 70 years of public service.
'Now I'll be punished for that because it's a great success and it deserves to be,' he continued.
'I don't know. I think when people are still alive, living their lives, doing a good job and popular and loved, do they deserve it? And in that sense, I'm not sure they do.'
When presenter Couric asked Fellowes if he thinks the the show stretches its artistic licence when it comes to its storylines and character portrayals, he replied: 'You're getting me into a tricky area here.
'I think that a lot of it was based on obviously very good research, but some of it was not. Some of it was extrapolation from a rumour or someone's rather prejudiced account. And then it was presented as fact. I'm not sure that's just.'
He then asserted: 'But I'm a big fan of Peter Morgan, I repeat that. I think he's the best writer on television at the moment. And it's deservedly successful as far as I'm concerned.'
The Crown's third season will see Olivia Colman taking over as the Queen after Claire Foy's award-winning reign, and Tobias Menzies replacing Matt Smith as Philip.
Naomi Gordon is news writer mainly covering entertainment news with a focus on celebrity interviews and television.
