The Crown: Yes, King Charles really did break-dance and yes, there is a video

It’s such an amazing and unexpected scene that you might think, “Well, the creator of The Crown, Peter Morgan, he went a little further with this episode ». In the last moments of the fifth season episode “The Way Ahead”, we find ourselves inside a dance floor to the notes of the 1992 hip-hop single Don’t Sweat the Technique and two men break-dance on the floor. A crowd gathers around them, including the Prince Charles interpreted by Dominic West, watching the dance amused in his double-breasted suit, in contrast to everyone’s casual clothing. Then the magic happens: Carlo is led to the dance floor, with the disco ball over his head and his pocket handkerchief neatly arranged, and he, dear readers, starts dancing.

However, the sequence is not a fantasy of the director: it is a re-enactment of a royal exit of the then Prince Charles in 1985, during which the heir to the throne took to the track during a Youth Meets Industry course associated with his Prince’s Trust charity. The public was incredulous then as now.

“Putting aside the royal decorum, Prince Charles knelt with a group of young people in a workshop for the unemployed and joined them in the break-danceThe Associated Press reported in 1985.

The article continued: “” He is very good and moves his feet in the right way, “said Dwayne Smith, who on Friday persuaded the prince to join him and two other young men:” He said no, he could not do it, but I told him to come. He asked me to give him some dance lessons“».

In a video interview released Thursday for The Crown, West tells a Vanity Fair that he was the one who reported to Morgan the existence of the 1985 footage.

“Peter didn’t originally write in the script [la scena] and we warned him: “You must see this fantastic video of Carlo dancing the break-dance”says West, visibly moved by the memory of the actual clip. So he put it [la scena] before the credits and I’m really happy about it, because it says a lot about him. She knows he’ll look ridiculous, but you see there is a certain – especially when he was younger – competitive streak in Carlo, particularly when it comes to sports. He was a rather reckless skier and was a horseman. He used to practice point-to-pointing [una forma di salto a cavallo nota come steeplechasing], which consists of overcoming jumps and, in my opinion, is really scary. He is physically very brave and it shows when he is asked to dance with these brilliant dancers. So I love that moment. I thought he was very eloquent towards him. ‘

West says he worked extensively with The Crown, Polly Bennett, to recreate Carlo’s dance. “We spent a lot of time with Polly learning the dance you see in the video, it’s amazing,” says West, “I learned it all, even though she wasn’t part of the scene. Anyway, it was fun …. she has amazing movements. It is truly fabulous ».

The press of the time was a little less charitable towards the prince’s technique. «Prince Charles tried his hand at dance to the delight of the over 300 unemployed who took part in the course organized by the Prince’s Trust. Maybe he doesn’t have the same moves as Hit Hotness; but, after all, Carlo is more like a prince and that counts for something. ‘

While most of the episode “The Way Ahead” deals with the humiliating saga of “TampaxgateAnd its aftershocks, the last few minutes highlight Carlo’s charitable work with the Prince’s Trust, the organization he founded in 1976 to support young people in transition to adulthood. The fifth season Carlo is differentiating himself from the rest of the family and, after decades of uncertainty, is charting his own path. The episode ends with a triumphal speech by the prince that glorifies his long-standing organization.

“The Prince’s Trust’s goal is to equip young people like you with the skills and confidence to fulfill your dreams and ambitions,” Carlo di West tells a young audience during the event and, “Now you could to think that a person of my age and background cannot understand the young people of your communities and the unfair judgment that derives from it. Well, actually I understand a little what it means to be criticized and judged. And I also know that those judgments are mostly not true ». The episode concludes with headlines explaining that the Prince’s Trust has helped 1 million young people realize their potential and returned nearly £ 1.4 billion to society.

Irony of fate, actor Dominic West is a real-life ambassador for the Prince’s Trust and, during the promotion of the new series of The Crown, ha revealed that he had offered to resign from his role with the charity if this was considered a conflict of interest by Carlo’s office. The actor said he received a response from the king’s private secretary, who essentially told him: “Do what you want. You are an actor. The show has nothing to do with us ».

West told a Radio Times: “I think probably [Carlo] you think so. I queued to shake his hand a couple of times and it’s fascinating. It is very useful to know the character you play, of course ».