Warning: This post contains spoilers from "The Crown."
Will they or won't they? When it came to "The Crown" and Camillagate, that was the question. Also called "Tampongate," this nickname refers to a leaked, private phone call between the then Prince Charles and his lover, Camilla Parker Bowles (now queen consort), involving intimacy ... and tampons.
Season Five of "The Crown," set in the ‘90s-set series, covers the entire six-minute exchange, with Dominic West and Olivia Williams playing Charles and Camilla.
In January 1993, an Australian magazine published a full transcript of what was, and many think should have remained, a private phone call that took place in December 1989, in which Camilla and Charles have an intimate exchange.
The transcript of the call — originally captured by an amateur radio enthusiast — was later picked up by select London newspapers willing to print it in full.
For context, Charles was married to Princess Diana at the time the call took place (though they were separated by its publication in 1992), and Camilla was with her husband Andrew Parker Bowles (they separated in 1995).
Read on for more specifics about "Tampongate" and how Season Five of "The Crown" covers the scandal.
So, uh, why is the scandal referred to as 'Tampongate' or 'Camillagate'?
The name all goes back to a flirtatious riff the two shared. At one point, they speak about how much they "need" one another.
"I’ll just live inside your trousers or something. It would be much easier," Charles suggested, as captured in Tina Brown's "The Palace Papers."
Camilla responded, "What are you going to turn into, a pair of knickers?" According to the transcript, they both laugh. "Oh, you’re going to come back as a pair of knickers."
Enter: The idea of tampons. Charles said, "Or, God forbid, a Tampax. Just my luck!"
Camilla laughed at the notion. "You are a complete idiot! (Laughs) Oh, what a wonderful idea."
The bit went on. "My luck to be chucked down a lavatory and go on and on forever swirling round on the top, never going down," Charles said, before Camilla said maybe he can be reincarnated as a "box" of Tampax.
And so, "Tampongate" was born. They end the call with a series of "I love yous" and "good nights," a long exchange that speaks to Charles' sentiment when he said, "Don’t want to say goodbye."
How does Season 5 of 'The Crown' cover 'Tampongate'?
"The Crown" viewers long wondered if that call would be depicted. Season Four, which covers the years the call took place, skips over it entirely, and it seemed like the show did as well. Josh O'Connor, who played Charles, told SiriusXM, “I think it was pretty much a statement: ‘We are not doing the tampon phone call.'"
But in Season Five, the call is recreated. West and Williams reenact the phone call in the Season Five episode called "The Way Ahead."
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, West describes approaching this delicate scene.
“I remember thinking it was something so sordid and deeply, deeply embarrassing,” West said.
“Looking back on it, and having to play it, what you’re conscious of is that the blame was not with these two people, two lovers, who were having a private conversation. What’s really (clear now) is how invasive and disgusting was the press’s attention to it, that they printed it out verbatim and you could call a number and listen to the actual tape. I think it made me extremely sympathetic towards the two of them and what they’d gone through.”
The recent death of Queen Elizabeth II has cast scrutiny on this season of "The Crown," with Netflix agreeing to add a disclaimer to episodes describing it as a "fictional dramatization."
"The Crown" creator Peter Morgan stood his ground on his inclusion of controversial storylines, like Camillagate, in season 5.
"I think we must all accept that the 1990s was a difficult time for the royal family, and King Charles will almost certainly have some painful memories of that period," Morgan said to Entertainment Weekly.
"But that doesn’t mean that, with the benefit of hindsight, history will be unkind to him, or the monarchy. The show certainly isn’t. I have enormous sympathy for a man in his position — indeed, a family in their position. People are more understanding and compassionate than we expect sometimes.”
'The Crown' stars weigh in on Charles and Camilla's relationship
Speaking to TODAY, Olivia Williams, who plays Camilla, spoke to the urgency of including the relationship in the series — and getting it right.
“What happened between Charles and Camilla, and the way it was portrayed in the press, did nearly bring down the monarchy,” Williams said. “And that’s why it’s in the series.”
West characterized their relationship as a "tragedy," and said, "Thank God has has worked out OK for them."
He continued, "I think that’s what ‘The Crown’ does best, is it shows us the humanity behind the icons.”
And don't weigh in on Tampongate
On Nov. 9, an interview between NBC correspondent Keir Simmons and the Season Five cast of “The Crown“ aired on the 3rd Hour of TODAY.
Keir’s questions touched on Tampongate. “There’s a particular scene that you play,” Keir said, addressing Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Princess Diana on the show, “which is ... how can I put this? A phone call. I’m not quite sure how we talk about this on morning TV.”
Imelda Staunton, who plays Queen Elizabeth in Season Five and Six, interjected: “Maybe we don’t. Maybe you skip to the next question.”
