The Crown’s Dominic West was spared a food crime when he ate asparagus for a scene after a royal etiquette expert intervened – reveals investigator of hit Netflix show

The actor who played King Charles in The Crown almost committed a food crime when he ate asparagus with a knife and fork in one scene, an investigator for the show has revealed.

Speak with History EXTRA Annie Sulzberger magazine said Dominic West tried to reach for cutlery while tucking into vegetables in Highgrove during filming.

“Our wonderful etiquette advisor, David Rankin Hunt, stopped him and said, fancy people don’t eat asparagus with knives and forks, they use their fingers,” she said.

“So we reset it and shot it again, while Dom picked up the asparagus with his fingers.

“It’s important to have so many voices sharing their experiences because I don’t think I could have looked up the way two posh people would have eaten asparagus in 1992.”

Major David Rankin-Hunt, who has worked for the Royal Family in two roles for 33 years, has advised the makers of The Crown on everything from satatory choices to gun salutes and umbrellas.

Speaking to Femail in 2015, an etiquette expert revealed another set of rules when it comes to eating the delicacy.

“When served as a starter, rather than as an accompanying vegetable, they are eaten with the hands and dipped in the hollandaise sauce,” explains William Hanson.

‘The British eat these with the left hand (leaving the right hand free of fat, ready to shake hands or pick up a wine glass, for example); There are cultures where eating with the left hand is not customary, in this case they may eat the asparagus with the right hand. (Not many people know the left hand rule these days.)

“You can double dip the sauce, as long as it’s your own portion.”

Dominic also recently admitted that he ‘understands’ the criticism of the show – and ‘acknowledges that there is discomfort about it’.

Speaking BBC5Live this week, the actor told host Nihal Arthanayake that he had “convinced himself that the royal family is public property and therefore fair game.”

“But I still feel uncomfortable at the thought of anyone playing fair or anyone’s private life being made public,” he added.

The actor also said he understands why ‘people think this is too close to actual events’ – with series of six of the show covering both the death of Princess Diana and the late queen’s funeral planning.

“The sadness is still so, so real,” he continued. ‘I’ve thought about that a lot, I still do.

‘Ultimately you have to put your trust in Peter’s hands and he is a proven great playwright.’

Dominic also explained that he found it difficult to play the monarch as “extremely emotional” this season.

The Netflix star also claimed earlier this week that Charles was judged too harshly when Diana died.

He believes history should be kinder to the current king, who he says has “made every mistake.”

Dominic, previously best known for his role as Jimmy McNulty in The Wire, believes Charles was seen as a ‘bad guy’ after his ex-wife died with Dodi Fayed on the night of August 30.

In season six, which premiered last month and released its final episodes last week, Charles breaks down in tears when he learns of his ex-wife’s death in Paris. He then defied his mother and insisted that the royal plane be sent to France to collect her coffin, sobbing loudly when he first saw her body at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital.

Dominic said: ‘You do feel sympathy for him. I think, especially around Diana’s death, he was the villain of the piece. And I think that now that we’ve had 25 years of hindsight to look back on, we might consider that – I’ve certainly judged that – as a little bit harsh on him.”

Speak with The Hollywood Reporter, he revealed, “I fight for him like you do as an actor for any character, except maybe the most villainous one. Inevitably you try to get into the mind of your character and that requires some kind of sense of common humanity and empathy.’

He said he has grown to love playing Charles on the show, and admits he is sad to see the role end.

In an interview with City and country he said, ‘I miss him. I still read all the news articles about him. I love him. I feel real affection for him, which I didn’t really feel before,” adding, “He’s likeable, but also an interesting character.”

He referred to recent events, such as Charles’ anger when his pen stopped working after the Queen died.

“It’s hard not to bring the current man into the historical man, or even the real man into Peter Morgan’s version of him. But it was a wonderful gift to have all that coronation stuff and the pen – the irritation about the pen. You don’t get much insight into what’s going on behind the public persona. So I eagerly devoured all those moments. They really are gold dust for an actor.”

He added: “He has made every mistake. He’s been through it all, it’s as bad as it gets. And it’s grilled as hard as it could be. And so I imagine, as with so much in his life, that there is a certain determination now that he is king. I think there is some relief, probably, that he is no longer allowed to be political or outspoken.”

He added: “He landed on his feet – or with a crown on his head, more accurately.”

The latest series of The Crown has proven controversial and received mixed reviews, from its portrayal of Diana’s death to Charles’ marriage to Camilla and the Queen’s existential crisis over the future of the monarchy.

There are also a series of bizarre dream sequences in which senior royals, including the Queen and Charles, speak to the late princess, played by Elizabeth Debicki, after her death.

Harry’s shame about wearing a Nazi uniform to a party has been gleefully recreated by Netflix in the very last episode of The Crown.