The Crown: Josh O’Connor says Prince Charles is ‘waiting for his mother to die for his life to have meaning’

The Crown star Josh O’Connor has said Prince Charles is waiting for his mother, the Queen, “to die for his life to have meaning”.

O’Connor plays the royal, who is next in line to the throne, in the third series of the Netflix drama.

The actor said that, as the son of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles has been living his life “in purgatory”.

“What I’m gradually finding is a guy waiting for his mother to die for his life to have meaning,” O’Connor told GQ. “His whole life has been in purgatory.”

He added: “Waiting for your parent to die is pretty messed up. That the one person who should be unconditional is the person that holds the power for you to have any meaning in your life… it’s quite nice to play that. They’re huge stakes.”

Season three of The Crown, which arrived on Netflix last Sunday, stars Olivia Colman as the monarch, with Tobias Menzies playing Prince Philip and Helena Bonham Carter appearing as Princess Margaret.

Read our review here.