Here's why the writer of Netflix's 'The Crown' didn't want to meet the Queen
But Peter Morgan - the writer behind Netflix's new biopic drama series "The Crown," due for release on Netflix on November 4 - actually rejected help from the Royals while he was working on the series.
"The Crown," which premiered in London on Tuesday night, tells the story of how Queen Elizabeth - played by "Wolf Hall" actress Claire Foy - succeeded her father and became the Queen of England.
Speaking at a BAFTA screening attended by Business Insider, Morgan and director Stephen Daldry said they "mean what they say" when they deny any royal involvement in the series.
Morgan, who wrote the script for the show which is thought to have cost almost £100 million to produce, told the audience he was approached a number of times by palace staff, but kept his distance, because it was better for the show to have "complete independence."
He even turned down an invitation to meet with them after receiving a CBE for Services to Drama in 2016's New Years Honours list.
Morgan said that in February, "A gentleman came up to me, put a card in my hand and said 'I think you and I should have lunch,' And I've never looked at the card."
While most people would consider it an honour to meet a member of the Royal Family, Morgan actually "ducked the opportunity" to meet the Queen more than once.
"I want to feel free to write how and what I want," he said. "I don't want to feel like I'm endorsed or supported, or that I owe anyone."
However, he added that the decision was strictly a professional one. He turned down the opportuniy to meet the Queen "not because I didn't want to, but because I'd be in shock and I just think it's better for us to have complete independence," he said.
The series starts in 1947, when Prince Phillip, played by "Doctor Who" star Matt Smith, abandoned his Greek and Danish royal titles in order to marry Elizabeth.
Despite denying help from the royals, Morgan and Daldry said they were assisted by "the most amazing research teams in the world."
Director Daldry said what makes "The Crown" so interesting is that its creators "are outside of it."
"We are artists interpreting these events, but the facts themselves are phenomenally interesting," he said.