The Crown Prince Charles

The Crown star reveals Prince Harry no longer speaks to him after he 'said too much'

The Crown’s Dominic West spent time with Prince Harry in 2013

Lifestyle & Commerce Senior Writer
December 26, 2023

The Crown has had a stellar ever-changing cast since season one debuted in 2016, and it turns out one of the stars has quite the connection to Prince Harry.

Dominic West, who plays Harry’s dad Charles in seasons five and six of the Netflix show, spent time with the royal during an Antarctic charity trip for Walking With the Wounded just over a decade ago. 

The pair have since lost touch, and it’s possibly thanks to stories he told journalists about what went on behind the scenes of the expedition.

© John Stillwell - PA Images

Prince Harry speaks at the Walking With The Wounded South Pole Allied Challenge welcome home press conference

At a press conference following the trip, Dominic said how Harry was 'a really cool guy, very much part of the team' and had skills ranging from building impressive latrines to helping others to ski. 

However, when asked how they celebrated at the end of the trip, the actor admitted that Harry drank champagne out of a prosthetic leg and showcased his famously inappropriate sense of humour.

© Handout

Prince Harry and Dominic West working together on the South Pole Allied Challenge 2013 expedition

'Two of the Aussie guys stripped naked and ran round the pole but most of us, Harry included, just went on a two-day bender with the Icelandic truck drivers who had brought some lethal home brew with them,' he said. 'There was a lot of liquor drunk. We all drank champagne out of Duncan [Slater]’s favourite prosthetic legs. Well [Harry] told some eye-wateringly rude jokes which for a non-soldier like me was pretty shocking!'

Speaking to Times Radio on Sunday, Dominic has now admitted they haven’t spoken since, despite Harry previously revealing he's watched episodes of The Crown.

Dominic West plays Prince Harry's dad Charles in The Crown

'We sort of [lost touch because] I said too much in a press conference,' said Dominic. 'So we didn't speak after that. I think I was asked what we did. What we did to celebrate when we got there and [I] probably said too much.'

Despite its popularity, the sixth and final series of The Crown has been met with mixed reviews, and accused of 'obviously mining tragedy for ratings'. Set in the late 90s and early 00s, it depicts the death of Princess Diana as well as Prince William’s university years, when he met Kate Middleton.

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