King Charles worried that the start of his reign would be overshadowed by his past, according to a royal expert.

Katie Nicholl believes that the 74-year-old monarch was previously concerned about the potentially damaging influence of ‘The Crown’, the hit Netflix series.

She explained: “The crowds are still there to turn out when he’s attending official engagements, but that’s not to say that it hasn’t caused any reputational damage, and I think the concern – certainly by the king – is that the younger generation, the Netflix generation, may well tune in to the series and not be able to distinguish fact from fiction, and perhaps may base their opinion of Charles based on his past and what they’ve seen represented in ‘The Crown’.”

However, Katie believes that the monarch has emerged from the show “relatively unscathed”.

She told ‘Entertainment Tonight’: “Those fears weren’t completely unfounded but I actually think that Charles has probably escaped from this relatively unscathed.

“I don’t think ‘The Crown’ has done a huge amount of damage to King Charles … and I think that the palace hasn’t weighed into any debate about whether or not [‘The Crown’] should carry a disclaimer, and [it] probably suggests that they’re not too worried about it.”

Charles ascended to the throne in September following the death of Queen Elizabeth, and his coronation is set to take place on May 6 at Westminster Abbey in London.

The ceremony will see the king crowned alongside his wife, Camilla, Queen Consort, with the historic service being conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

Buckingham Palace previously said: “The coronation will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry.”