"The Crown" Star Reveals Why Prince Harry Stopped Speaking to Him: "I Said Too Much"
Dominic West plays Harry's father, Prince Charles, on the Netflix series.
The stars of the hit Netflix series The Crown play real members of the British royal family, many of whom are still around today to check out the show's portrayal of them, if they dare. But one actor who has a direct connection to a royal said they haven't been in touch about the series—not because starring on the show caused a rift, but because of something that happened years prior. In a new interview with Times Radio, Dominic West said Prince Harry stopped talking to him after he overshared about the expedition they both went on to the South Pole.
RELATED: Meghan and Harry Have Surprising "New Strategy" for Dealing With Royal Family, Insider Says.
West plays Prince Charles (now King Charles III, as of 2022) in Season 5 and the recently released Season 6 of The Crown. In the interview, he was asked if he got Harry's take on how to play Charles, given that West and Harry know each other from the Antarctica trip.
"Well, that will be 10 years ago, I think that was," West responded.
Host Kate McCann noted that West "must still have his number," and the actor said, "No, we sort of… no. I said too much in a press conference, and so, we didn't speak after that."
McCann asked what West had revealed, and his Crown co-star Jonathan Pryce, who plays Prince Philip, joked, "Don't say it again."
West simply shared, "I think I was asked what we did … to celebrate when we got there, and probably said something too much."
In Jan. 2014, ABC News reported on a press conference that West and others from the trek participated in after returning from their time in Antarctica in Dec. 2013. The group had gone on a charity expedition as part of Walking With the Wounded, which supports injured British Armed Forces members.
Of their celebration, West said at the time, "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 added, "There was a lot of liqueur drunk. We all drank champagne out of Duncan's favorite prosthetic legs." (Duncan is Duncan Slater, a veteran who lost his legs in Afghanistan and took part in the trek.) West also said that Harry told "filthy" jokes during the trip, and shared that the royal built bathrooms.
"[Harry] seemed to specialize in building the latrines and he built these incredibly elaborate ones," the actor said. "He did one with castellated sides and a flag pole, a loo roll holder, and you're sitting there thinking, 'This is a real royal flush.' He must have spent about 40 minutes making it."
He added of the prince, "He was very kind to me."
RELATED: Meghan and Harry Not Invited to Close Friend's Wedding Over Royal Drama, Insider Says.
It's possible Harry was upset at the time about West sharing the South Pole stories, but chances are he wouldn't be bothered at this point. Earlier this year, Harry opened up about the South Pole trek in his memoir, Spare. The Duke of Sussex specifically mentioned drinking alcohol out of the prosthetic leg, as reported by HuffPost.
Harry also talked about the trip—though in less detail—after the trek was completed.
"I'm so chuffed and I'm so privileged to be here with all these guys and girls," he said, per The Guardian. "I think we'll be having a few whiskies tonight and then everyone's looking forward to getting home. Mission success."
For more royals news delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
