Dominic West has explained why he stopped speaking to Prince Harry even though the pair became friendly during a charity trip in 2013.
Nine years ago the British actor, 54, accepted the role of Charles, Harry's father, in the Netflix drama the crownHe went on an expedition to the South Pole with the king. However, shortly after returning home, Harry, 39, apparently cut off contact with West over comments he made at a press conference discussing their antics during the trip.
While speaking with reporters, West praised Harry as a “great guy,” but then proceeded to share details about how they celebrated reaching the South Pole, leading to the fallout.
West, who recently admitted that he agonized over his decision to sign up the crownHe said that during the trip, Harry made “very rude jokes” and drank champagne from his prosthetic leg.
“There was a lot of alcohol drunk,” he told reporters, adding: “We all drank champagne from Duncan's favorite prosthetic leg.” Duncan Slater, an amputee who was wounded in Afghanistan in 2009, joined them on the trip. “He told some rude, tear-jerking jokes that were very shocking to a non-soldier like me,” West continued.
The actor addressed the comments when asked by Times Radio if he has been in contact with Harry. “We kind of are,” he said, laughing at the question [lost touch as] I said too much in the press conference, so we didn't talk after that. “I think I was asked what we did to celebrate when we got there and we probably said too much.”
Also speaking about the expedition at a 2014 press conference, Slater said: “Harry was a real team player. There was always something to do and he was always pushing for it. There was a lot of wind. He probably spread himself too thin. Some time with each team every day.
“He always made sure he was mixing it up, putting everyone else first. It was very nice because he was as tired as everyone else.
During the same interview with the Radio Times, West said Crown Co-star Jonathan Pryce, who plays Prince Philip, revealed that Princess Anne watches the show, and said he apologized to her for agreeing to play her father.
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“When I became a knight and went to Windsor, and it was Princess Anne who invited me, and I was in the middle of playing her father, there were signs that she had seen some of that,” Price recalls.
Dominic West plays Charles in The Crown, and years earlier he went on an expedition to the South Pole with Harry
(Netflix)
“So I put the sword lightly on my shoulder, and I stood up and said—thinking she was thinking, you know—and I said, 'Oh, I don't know what to say to you…um…sorry?' And she said, 'Why? It's done now.'
“Now, whether she meant I was saying 'sorry to be here tonight', or 'sorry you played my father and it happened the way you did,' whatever. It was a very interesting moment, for me at least,” Price added.
the crown Available to stream on Netflix.
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