Netflix's The Royals slammed for 'misinterpreting' the real-life Royal families in the show: 'royal families are not POOR'

She accused the platform of presenting a huge misrepresentation of Indian royal families in its content.

Netflix’s new series The Royals, featuring Bhumi Pednekar and Ishaan Khatter, has received a lukewarm response from audiences, with criticism aimed at its flimsy storyline and the underutilization of veteran actress Zeenat Aman. Beyond disappointed viewers, the show has also sparked backlash from another section of society who found aspects of its portrayal offensive.

Anshu Khanna, founder of The Royal Fables, a platform dedicated to preserving the heritage of princely India—voiced her disapproval on Instagram through a strongly worded open letter to Netflix. She accused the platform of presenting a huge misrepresentation of Indian royal families in its content.

Taking to Instagram, she shared her feelings about the show via Royal Fables' official account. The caption read, "Dear @netflix_in, Just watched The Royals and felt compelled to speak up on behalf of India’s 565 princely states. The show misrepresents modern-day royals as idle, poor, and outdated. In reality, they are heritage entrepreneurs, artists, hoteliers, and leaders who actively preserve India’s cultural legacy. Their lives are marked by subtlety, grace, and deep-rooted responsibility—not decadence. It’s time to move beyond stereotypes and honor their true story."

The statement in the post read, “Dear Netflix, We just finished watching The Royals and immediately felt the strong urge to reach out to you on behalf of 'the 565 princely states of India who were portrayed fairly sweepingly in your show."

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"For the last fifteen years Royal Fables has worked very closely with many leading royal families of India, projecting their lives in the way they deserve to be portrayed. Offering a glimpse to their craft, cuisine, culture and lineage to the rest of the world. In all these years we have achieved not just an insider’s perspective to their world but also a deep respect for Princely India’s contribution to India’s culture of refinement," the post continued.

Anshu also highlighted that the former royal families played a pivotal role in nurturing various facets of Indian culture, from classical music gharanas and weaving traditions to art ateliers and refined cuisine. She further noted that even in 2025, present-day royals continue to uphold this legacy with care and dedication—restoring and maintaining their ancestral forts, palaces, vintage cars, antique art, and culinary heritage.

Clarifying that the Royal families are not poor in real life, she further wrote, "First off, royal families are not POOR. They are not selling their palaces or making money from bat poop! They are land owners and inheritors of a rich legacy that they are monetising. Agreed, conserving palaces is a tought task. Our back breaks if we have to white wash our flats! They have to restore a 400-year-old, 100 rooms monument without losing the historic essence of the property. And no caring corporate or government helps them in the process. Instead, the current generation of inheritors are turning into heritage promoting entrepreneurs who nurture what they have inherited and raise money through their legit businesses."

She also addressed the 'misinterpretation of the royal women as well, in the show. "Your serial glorified the royals as not needing to do anything. That is not true. The present day royals are educated and employed citizens who fight elections, become ministers, are temple patrons, hoteliers, artists, run craft NGOs, empower women, are chefs, army generals, helm hotels like Taj and Oberoi, are founders of start-ups. They are not decadent, feudal lords and ladies anymore. The royal women (God bless their skin) are also not sitting in their palaces, overdressed in bridal jewels and heavily embellished sarees. In real life our ladies wear delicate diamonds designed by their ancestors in the Art Deco era."

"The Maharanis are mostly found in a pearl string and chiffon. Even at their wedding they wear a delicately embroidered poshak. On week days they are dressed like you and me, maybe even more subtle. They are not sitting idle on ugly, red sofas. They all are intelligent, elegant, educated women who were privy to better schooling than the average Indian woman. They are conserving their heritage, restoring weaves, supporting the community, reviving art, supporting a full cooperative of women farmers…." it further read.

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Anshu concluded the post saying, "The royal art, homes, decor and dressing is SUBTLE. It is tasteful and understated. We know how cringed they feel when their identity gets redefined with decadent opulence. And, of course we all need to stop riding the horse of polo please. Our humble request is that next time when you profile THE ROYALS who are true custodians of Indian history just be sensitive to their heritage and do some research and homework. Yours truly, TEAM ROYAL FABLES."

However, the post didn’t sit well with netizens, who quickly began criticizing and responding strongly to her remarks.

Currently available on Netflix, The Royals tells the tale of a charming young prince who meets a woman running India's first upscale hotel. A conflict between waning royalty and burgeoning capitalism is set up by their encounter, and the result is a compelling story of romance, tension, and ambition.