Michael Shea in 'The Crown': Who plays press secretary character?

The Crown has officially made its way with the fourth season. This time around, the focus of the series has been kept exclusively around the relationship between Queen Elizabeth II portrayed by Olivia Coman and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher played by Gillian Anderson. However, a significant amount of time has been dedicated to the character of Michael Shea in the latest season. Read below to know who plays Michael Shea in The Crown -

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Who plays Michael Shea in The Crown? 

Michael Shea is played by Nicholas Farell in The Crown Season 4 Episode 8. Actor Nicholas is known majorly for his work in Shakespearean dramatics. Beyond this, he has also featured in a number of films like Chariots of Fire (1981), The Iron lady (2011) and Legend (2015). 

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Who is Michael Shea?

Michael Shea started off his career as a diplomat and went on to become Queen Elizabeth's press secretary back in 1978. In 1986, Michael was subjected to a big controversy when an article published in The Sunday Times had claimed that the queen was not happy with the way Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher ran his government. It was deemed that Michael was the one who leaked the information to the press. The press secretary then had to go on record and claimed that he did get in contact with the newspaper but his views misrepresented and diminished. Due to this controversy, Michael had to step down from the royal service but went on record to deny he had any connection with the controversy. 

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After his retirement, Michael Shea went on to write a number of books, over 20 to be precise. While he predominantly used his own name to publish the books, he also used the pseudonym, Michael Sinclair, to publish other books. Some of his most successful books include Endgame (2002) and State of the Nation (1997). His unfiltered memoir was published back in 2003 titled A View from the Sidelines. Michael Shea passed away at the age of 71, on October 17, 2009. His last years were affected by dementia. However, his books are still up there on many bookshelves libraries and retail stores. 

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