Which actor plays Peter Townsend in season 1 of The Crown?
Answer
Ben Miles
Ben Miles plays Peter Townsend in season 1 of The Crown.
Miles portrays Group Captain Peter Townsend, a former equerry to King George VI who becomes closely involved with Princess Margaret. Their relationship is one of the season’s central romantic and constitutional dilemmas, ending when marriage appears incompatible with royal expectations and succession rules.
In the drama, Townsend is a mature, divorced Royal Air Force officer who has served the royal household. Margaret’s wish to marry him creates a conflict between personal affection, public duty and the legal restrictions then surrounding royal marriages. Season 1 follows the relationship through its growing publicity and eventual collapse.
Viewers can easily confuse the actor with performers associated with other royal figures. Greg Wise plays Lord Mountbatten, Alex Jennings plays the Duke of Windsor, and Matthew Goode plays Antony Armstrong-Jones. Another useful distinction is that Timothy Dalton later portrays an older Peter Townsend in season 5; Ben Miles is the canonical Townsend for season 1.