Dangerous ground: Olivia Colman as the Queen, whose relationship with Lord Porchester, the series hints, may have been deeper than friendship

Blackmail, sex, betrayal, more sex and Princess Anne in frilly black lingerie: series three of The Crown has it all.

Britain’s homegrown Game of Thrones is preparing to unleash its latest and arguably most provocative round of scandal-fuelled royal drama to date.

The new series of the Netflix show, starting next Sunday, treads dangerous ground in its part-factual, frequently salacious depiction of the marital conflicts and pre-marital contortions of senior members of the royals — up to and including the Queen, hinting that she may have had a romantic relationship with Lord Porchester, her horse racing manager.

The Queen and Porchester at the Derby in 1985 TIM GRAHAM

Dickie Arbiter, the monarch’s former press secretary, said last night: “This is very distasteful and totally unfounded.

“The Queen is the last person in the world to have