Since debuting on Netflix in 2016, The Crown has rarely shied away from controversial and heavy storylines, whether political or personal.
But, as it turns out, there is one bit of royal history that even The Crown won’t touch.
In a recent interview with Josh O’Connor, who plays a young Prince Charles in seasons three and four, the actor revealed that new seasons of the show will be steering clear of the infamous “Tampongate” affair that happened in 1989.
“When they offered me the role, one of my first questions was—I say ‘questions’, I think it was pretty much a statement—’We are not doing the tampon phone call,'” O’Connor recalls.
“Pre-The Crown, I had made many independent films and television shows where there’s a lot of nudity and slightly dodgy characters, and this was my one chance for my parent’s to see something with no shame. And there was no way that I was going to scuffle that by talking about tampons on Netflix. So, that was out.“
For those unfamiliar with the call, it occurred in 1989 and is widely considered one of the damaging blows to Charles’ marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales.
In a transcript of the phonecall, Charles tells Camilla, “Oh, God. I’ll just live inside your trousers or something. It would be much easier!”
Camilla replies, “What are you going to turn into, a pair of knickers? [Both laugh]. Oh, you’re going to come back as a pair of knickers.”
“Or, God forbid, a Tampax. Just my luck!” says Charles, before Camilla says, “You are a complete idiot! Oh, what a wonderful idea.”
It goes without saying, after the call was recorded and subsequently published to the public in 1992, it caused a lot of embarrassment for the royal family. Charles’ estranged wife Diana had reportedly called it “sick.”
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