Dench’s comments come after former prime minister Sir John Major, who will be portrayed in the new series, expressed concern about the show depicting the Royal Family in the 1990s.

Sir John told the Mail on Sunday last week that a scene expected to be shown in the new series depicting a rumoured attempt by Prince Charles to force the Queen into abdicating, a scene which involves the former PM, was “a barrel-load of malicious nonsense”.

A spokesperson for Sir John Major told the paper: “Sir John has not cooperated in any way with The Crown. Nor has he ever been approached by them to fact-check any script material in this or any other series.

“As you will know, discussions between the monarch and prime minister are entirely private and – for Sir John – will always remain so. But not one of the scenes you depict are accurate in any way whatsoever. They are fiction, pure and simple.”

The Crown season 5 premieres 9 November.

Dominic West will star as Charles, while Elizabeth Debicki will play Diana and Imelda Staunton the Queen.

A Netflix spokesperson told Stylist: “The Crown has always been presented as a drama based on historical events. Series 5 is a fictional dramatisation, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors during a significant decade for the royal family - one that has already been scrutinised and well-documented by journalists, biographers and historians.”

Netflix’s The Crown: Dame Judi Dench calls the show “crude sensationalism” in defence of the Royal Family