What did Kate Middleton and Prince William think of The Crown?

According to royal expert Omid Scobie, Kate Middleton doesn’t appear to be “bothered” by the show. “I often don’t believe it when a celebrity says, ‘Oh, I don’t read what’s written about me,’ or, ‘I don’t look at that,’ because we all know, especially being journalists on the receiving end of those calls from publicists, that they’re all looking,” the author told Elle. “But I do believe that with Kate, definitely, she truly isn’t looking. I mean, when people say she doesn’t look, I’m told that she doesn’t even read the news. She just stays out of the loop. That’s clearly the way it works for her. And given that she’s in such a unique and difficult way of life, I don’t blame her for taking that approach to it. So, I can’t imagine her being particularly bothered about what’s in The Crown.”

However, with Prince William, it’s another story. “Ultimately, it’s the portrayal of his mother. We know from that moment after the [controversial Princess Diana] Panorama [interview] documentary was removed from the public domain that William and Harry had very different opinions on how their mother came across in that and the things that she said. I would imagine that there was always going to be some care or even concern about how she might be portrayed in a TV show. But by the sounds of it, no one’s actually watching it within the royal family at the moment. In the same way that many of them ignored Harry’s book [Spare] and relied on the coverage in newspapers or what their aides told them about it, same with the Netflix series [Harry & Meghan].”

It was confirmed by Olivia Colman who played the middle-aged Queen Elizabeth in the show that the Royals don’t dabble in the Netflix show. “He asked what I was doing at the moment before he quickly added, ‘Actually, I know what you’re doing,’ ” Colman revealed on The Graham Norton Show. “I was so excited and asked, ‘Have you watched it?’ ” she continues. “His answer was a firm, ‘No.’ But he was very charming and very lovely.”

According to some insiders to Us Weekly, Kate prepared to spice up her public image before the show depicted her life. “Kate spoke with her team and people she works with, including stylists [about changing her image],” the source said, noting they all wanted to play up Kate’s “relatability” and “ability to connect with people.”

“Kate wants people to see her as a strong leader, someone who’s capable of taking the title of queen into a new generation,” the source continued. “She’s been wearing pants, more casual shirts and less high-priced clothing, and she’s ditching the long dresses and heels [in favor of] more accessible pieces.”

The Crown is now streaming on Netflix.