Fans think there's a Netflix-related reason Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, turned off comments on their official Clarence House Twitter account.
Eagle-eyed followers noticed only people who the Clarence House account mentions or follows can reply to their recent tweets. The reason, it seems, may have to do with earlier responses from Twitter users who are angry with Camilla and Charles over their apparent treatment of the late Princess Diana, the former wife of Prince Charles. Though Diana died in a car accident in 1997, her story and the scandals of the royal family have once again made headlines thanks to the recently-released season four of Netflix's The Crown.
In the series, Emma Corrin plays a young Diana, while Emerald Fennell plays Camilla and Josh O'Connor portrays Charles. Though the real Charles has claimed his extramarital affair with Camilla started years into his marriage with Diana, in the show, Camilla and Charles are romantically involved during the entire marriage. Charles and Diana separated in 1992 and officially divorced in 1996.
Though the Twitter replies on recent posts shared by Clarence House are turned off, the few replies that remain on earlier tweets hint at why the royal family may have chosen to disengage with the public online.
"How can u treat an other human like u did princess Diana," read one tweet. "U both did so much wrong. Not ok at all. And she was the mother of your kids. And u camilla. How did u do that to an other woman?"
Another added, "I am a huge supporter of the entire royal family, however if the Crown, is even 1/4 an accurate portrayal of how you treated Princess Diana when she was alive, I'm sorry Prince Charles you never deserve the throne."
After the couple's account switched off commenting, one person wrote on the social media platform, "By turning off the comments that shows that they still feel some sort of guilt for their actions & how the both treated Diana. If Camilla stayed in her lane & Charles acted mature like a man than maybe he'd still b married to Diana & she'd still be alive today."
Another added, "Love how Meghan had to take social media abuse under Sussex royal but Charles and Camilla can't handle the pressure after the crown aired. Look at them turning off comments."
Still, some Twitter users defended the couple, suggesting that The Crown was more a work of fiction than an accurate portrayal of history. Read one tweet, "Keep on doing good in the world and please ignore the trolls who think a fictional show is fact."
While Clarence House has taken steps to shield themselves from negative replies on Twitter, the couple's Instagram page is still open for comments. While some Instagram users commented "Diana" on a recent Instagram video of Camilla promoting the anti-domestic abuse organization Safe Lives, many others threw their support behind the royal's patronage.