The new cast of “The Crown” premiered the upcoming season of the hit Netflix series on Tuesday, insisting viewers know it’s a drama and do not need a disclaimer for its fictionalised storylines.

The award-winning show, which follows the reign of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, returns for a fifth season on Wednesday, portraying the royals in the 1990s, when they faced marital upsets, public dissent and a fire at Windsor Castle.

It has drawn criticism and calls for disclaimers over its dramatised storylines. Some commentators have voiced concern over its airing just two months after Elizabeth’s death and the impact it could have on her son Charles’ reign.

Netflix describes “The Crown” as “fictional dramatization”, inspired by real events.

“Everyone has watched ‘The Crown’ for four seasons, hasn’t bothered them before,” actor Imelda Staunton, who plays Elizabeth in season five, told Reuters.

“I think the audience will be comforted by just spending time with these people again.”

Staunton was filming season six when Elizabeth died.

“I was inconsolable that night and it surprised me… I thought ‘Well I’ve been living with her so closely with her for 2 and half years’… (Seeing) People lining up to see her, it was so moving.”

New plotlines include Charles’ divorce from the late Princes Diana and intimate conversations with Camilla Parker-Bowles, now his wife. Pakistani actor Humayun Saeed has played the role of Dr Hasnat Khan, a British-Pakistani heart surgeon with whom Lady Diana allegedly had an affair, in the drama series.

“It’s a time of his life that was not only the prime of his life but also in many ways the most difficult time of his life,” actor Dominic West, who plays Charles, said.

West said he hoped the Netflix hit would give viewers “perspective” on the monarch despite furore over untrue depictions of the family.

“The Wire” star West, 53, plays Charles during a tumultuous period in the then-prince’s life, covering his affair with Camilla – now his wife – and his divorce from Princess Diana.

Before the show’s stars gathered in London for the world premiere of its fifth season, West said he hoped the public would give Charles the “benefit of the doubt” after watching the latest instalment.

But he acknowledged the show would tackle sensitive issues, and “covers a time when he had bad press”.

“It was a divorce and there’s always two sides in a divorce. I suppose viewers heard one or the other,” he told a news conference.

“And hopefully there’s a bit of perspective now and I hope everyone gets a fair hearing.

“I obviously love the guy and… inevitably, you take their side or you give them the benefit of the doubt and I hope that will maybe happen.”

Diana’s bombshell 1995 television interview, emotional turmoil and the divorce are all set to get an airing, along with Charles’ tensions with his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who died two months ago.

The next series will deal with the death of Diana in a car crash in Paris in 1997, according to reports.

The strength of criticism over untrue storylines has forced Netflix to defend both itself and screenwriter Peter Morgan.

“I felt enormous empathy and sympathy for him, and that’s been one of the challenges and also the joys of playing him… I don’t think (season five) is flattering but I think it’s fair.”

Olivia Williams, who plays Camilla, said: “It was a very hard time for her and I wanted to do justice to that.”

Critics have given mixed reviews on season five but most praised actor Elizabeth Debicki’s portrayal of Diana.

“When you join ‘The Crown’… there’s an enormous amount of archival footage that’s available to you, so I just dove in,” she said of preparing for the role.

Oscar-winning actor Judi Dench blasted Netflix for “crude sensationalism” after reports of scenes showing Charles lobbying then prime minister John Major to force the abdication of his mother, played this series by Imelda Staunton.

Major himself called the storyline a “barrel-load of nonsense”.

The former Conservative leader is played by Jonny Lee Miller, who said he had learned a new respect for the Tory politician despite their ideological differences.

“Really what anyone’s trying to do when you’re playing whoever you’re playing is you’re trying to… inhabit someone, you’re trying to sort of fall in love with them,” said the 49-year-old Trainspotting star.

“So there’s always a fascinating journey, and especially with somebody I think has (been) very misunderstood, actually, and who I respect greatly.”