The UK Culture Secretary has been forced to make a statement after The Crown’s portrayal of Charles and Diana

The highly anticipated return of The Crown last month is still getting everyone excited, with season four being one of the most talked-about yet.

The fourth season saw its star-studded second cast return, with Olivia Colman reprising her role as Queen Elizabeth, Helena Bonham Carter playing Princess Margaret and Game of Thrones’ Tobias Menzies returning to his role as Prince Philip.

It is the storyline around Josh O’Connor, The Crown’s Prince Charles, however that has got everyone talking, joined by Emerald Fennel (Camilla Parker-Bowles) and Emma Corrin (Princess Diana), to act out the highly publicised and very controversial affair.

The Crown's portrayal of the affair has proven to be controversial, with Prince Charles' team reportedly concerned for the future King's popularity.

Even Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell has weighed in, defending the portrayal of Charles and Diana's relationship, insisting that it is 'pretty close to the truth'.

'Josh O'Connor plays Prince Charles as a rather uncaring, cold person. And I'm afraid that's what I saw behind closed doors,' Paul explained in a recent interview with The Sun. 'He was married to probably the most beautiful woman in the world. But he didn't look after her, and that's what comes across in The Crown.'

In fact, the outrage has got so loud around the Charles and Diana storyline that Clarence House's official Twitter account has been forced to disable comments and the UK Culture Secretary has made a statement.

'It's a beautifully produced work of fiction, so as with other TV productions, Netflix should be very clear at the beginning it is just that,' Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden reportedly told the Mail on Sunday. 'Without this, I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact.'

The Crown season four is out now.