The Duke of Sussex has distanced himself from a report claiming he planned to watch his mother’s last moments depicted in the final season of The Crown.
Prince Harry has no ill feelings towards the lavish royal drama’s creators or streaming giant Netflix, a source close to him said.
But due to the “sensitive nature of content in upcoming episodes” he has “understandably decided” not to view season six of Peter Morgan’s show.
The Standard approached representatives for Harry and his wife Meghan now based in California since stepping back from royal duties.
The source said: “There are no ill feelings towards the show’s creators or Netflix.
“The couple was not consulted by anyone affiliated with the series or Netflix. Storylines and advance episodes were not discussed or provided.”
The Daily Telegraph claimed the duke is expected to watch his final conversation with Diana, Princess of Wales.
But it said his brother William, the Prince of Wales, will not tune in.
The first four episodes are almost wholly concerned with Diana’s final weeks, her death in a Paris car crash in August 1997 and its immediate aftermath.
The last time Diana saw her sons and imagines their final conversation on the telephone is dramatised.
It also recreates the moment they are told of her death, although there is no dialogue and the viewer simply watches the young boys’ reactions.
The Crown was met with mixed reviews by critics, with many noting the focus on Diana means Imelda Staunton’s Queen is largely sidelined.
Trade publication Variety greeted the return of Netflix’s lavish royal drama warmly, praising its depiction of the relationship between Elizabeth Debicki’s Diana and Dodi Fayed, played by Khalid Abdalla.
However, the BBC said the show “leans into its flaws” after the “near-disaster of last season”, criticising “the endless, unenlightening reconstructions of the real images and videos that have become part of the culture, recognisable around the world even to viewers too young to remember the 1990s or Diana’s death first-hand.”
The Guardian was also left disappointed by “a crass, by-numbers piece of film-making, with a script that barely aspires to craft, let alone art, anymore”.
The Telegraph criticised the portrayal of the late Queen, saying the show “completes its demolition job on the late Queen’s character” and that the series “has taken us from Claire Foy’s bright young woman to Imelda Staunton’s sour old boot”.
