A constant theme of the season's premiere episode, "Queen Victoria Syndrome," is the conflicting views of sovereign leadership between Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles. In the episode, Prince Charles gets a stroke of confidence after a Sunday Times poll reveals that a majority of citizens view the Queen as out of touch with the modern world and archaic in values, thus putting pressure on her to abdicate the throne. The Prince, always strong in his opinions about modernising the monarchy, is shown to welcome the idea of the Queen's abdication, so much so that he has a conversation with Prime Minister John Major to discuss the public's swaying opinions, but did this really happen?
Not exactly. Patrick Jephson, Princess Diana's former press secretary, wrote in The Telegraph that the Prince did have a conversation, but not with Major. "We later see Charles discussing the poll and possible regency with the prime minister. This is not strictly accurate: the discussion was actually held with a previous prime minister," Jephson explained.
Meanwhile, one-half of the alleged conversation, former PM John Major, called the depiction "a barrel-load of nonsense" and, in a statement issued to CNN, said, "There was never any discussion between Sir John and the then Prince of Wales about any possible abdication of the late Queen Elizabeth II — nor was such an improbable and improper subject ever raised by the then Prince of Wales (or Sir John)."