Exclusive | Queen Elizabeth II banned Netflix CEO – Business News
The late Queen Elizabeth II banned Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos from a swanky business reception at Windsor Castle 4 years in the past over the streaming giant’s portrayal of the British royal household in its award-winning collection “The Crown,” The Post has realized.
Ahead of the inaugural UK Global Investment Summit on Oct.19, 2021, Sarandos was amongst a handful of US executives who had been advisable for an viewers with the British monarch, three senior British Conservatives close to then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson informed The Post.
In addition to Sarandos, these execs included JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, the sources mentioned.
British political insiders informed The Post that the Queen was “furious” with how the British royals had been portrayed in some of the later episodes earlier than her death. BUCKINGHAM PALACE/AFP by way of Getty
“Boris didn’t really care who was there as long as some rich people showed up,” added one other source.
But forward of the shindig, aides to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch struck Sarandos from a listing of as many as 400 potential VIP friends compiled by Downing Street that was introduced as “advice” historically adopted by Buckingham Palace.
“It was suggested by the government that Netflix should attend the summit and the drinks reception at Windsor Castle, which was ultimately the biggest attraction of the whole event. The Palace said no,” mentioned one of the well-placed insiders.
When requested why, the individual briefed on the matter steered the misery that ‘The Crown’ had prompted to the royal household.
The sources mentioned the monarch, who died in September 2022 at age 96, was “furious” with how the TV show painted Prince Philip as a harsh father, together with the depiction of the love triangle between Prince Charles, Princess Diana and Camilla Parker Bowles.
President Trump has usually spoken of his affection and fondness for Queen Elizabeth II. The pair are seen right here at a state dinner at Buckingham Palace in 2019. MD/EXPRESS SYNDICATION / MEGA
Olivia Colman, seen right here within the third season of The Crown, was one of the trio of actresses to play the late British sovereign. AP
Season 4 of The Crown, the final to be broadcast earlier than Elizabeth’s death, centered on the breakdown of her son’s marriage, in addition to the queen’s alleged strained relationship with type Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Buckingham Palace didn’t reply to The Post’s request for remark. A Netflix spokesperson declined to remark, however a company insider confirmed that no invite was prolonged to the company’s chief government.
British political officers are sometimes tasked with drumming up a long listing of names of “the great and the good” for main business or sporting occasions the place the royals will probably be current.
An analogous gathering of business bigwigs was held two years later during the premiership of Rishi Sunak, who succeeded Johnson as PM and chief of Britain’s Conservative Party, as soon as Charles had turn into King.
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Sarandos made the cut that time on the insistence of Sunak’s internal circle — due to Netflix’s $6 billion investment in making productions within the UK, in accordance with insiders.
The revelations come because the 61-year-old, New Jersey-born Sarandos seems to be to seal a attainable deal — and the present US administration’s regulatory approval — for his $72 billion mega-merger with Warner Bros Discovery.
President Trump — whose close ally Larry Ellison helps lead Paramount Skydance’s rival bid for the WBD — has commonly spoken of his affection for Her Majesty, calling her “an incredible lady.”
Sarandos did land an invitation to the 2023 UK Global Investment Summit as soon as King Charles had ascended to the thorne REUTERS
No official royal residences had been used within the making of “The Crown,” which featured Claire Foy, Olivia Colman and Imelda Staunton as Elizabeth during completely different intervals of her 70-year reign.
Lancaster House, an 1840 ornate mansion close to London’s Hyde Park that’s managed by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, stood in for Buckingham Palace.
Netflix used Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, central England, and Burghley House in Lincolnshire, japanese England, to painting Windsor Castle, the place the late monarch is now buried, over the course of the six seasons.
The company is presently producing a documentary that includes King Charles to mark the fiftieth anniversary of The King’s Trust, a charity that was set up in 1976 by the then-prince of Wales.
