Pictures have been published reportedly showing The Crown filming scenes portraying the lead-up to the car crash that killed Diana, Princess of Wales. Netflix’s royal drama will explore the death of Diana in Paris, which shocked the world 25 years ago, in its sixth series.
The streaming company previously said the series will show the lead-up to the fatal incident as well as its aftermath, but not the crash itself, contrary to media reports. Images published in the Daily Mail on Thursday reportedly show a black Mercedes similar to the one the late princess was travelling in being filmed before the crash.
Diana was killed at the age of 36 along with Dodi Fayed and chauffeur Henri Paul in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in August 1997. Earlier this month, Netflix put a disclaimer in the description of its YouTube trailer for the fifth series of the Crown, saying the series is a “fictional dramatisation” and “inspired by real events”.
Both Dame Judi Dench and Sir John Major have criticised reported storylines in the upcoming series, which will launch on November 9. Stage and screen veteran Dame Judi called for a disclaimer to be added to each episode of The Crown, saying it has begun to verge on “crude sensationalism”.
The fifth series is expected to show Charles, played by Dominic West, cutting short a holiday with Diana, portrayed by Elizabeth Debicki, to host a secret meeting with Sir John at Highgrove in 1991. A teaser clip for the upcoming series also shows the infamous Panorama interview with former BBC journalist Martin Bashir, played by Prasanna Puwanarajah.
Last year, a report by Lord Dyson concluded the BBC covered up “deceitful behaviour” by Bashir to secure the bombshell interview and led to a call from the then-Duke of Cambridge for it never to be aired again. The BBC has previously issued an apology for the circumstances in which the interview was obtained and the £1.42 million of proceeds derived from sales of the coverage were donated to seven charities.
The PA news agency understands the interview has not been recreated in full and there were never any plans to do so. Netflix previously said it had included the interview between Diana and Bashir within the series, given the pivotal part it played during the period, and that the series will reflect what is now known about how it was obtained.
A spokeswoman for The Crown also previously said: “The Crown has always been presented as a drama based on historical events. Series five is a fictional dramatisation, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors during a significant decade for the royal family – one that has already been scrutinised and well-documented by journalists, biographers and historians.”
The fifth series of Netflix’s hit royal drama is set to launch on November 9.
