Rachel Fieldhouse
TV

The Crown sparks backlash over plans to recreate Diana’s final moments

Royal drama The Crown has drawn criticism after announcing plans to recreate Princess Diana’s final moments in Paris, with crew members fearing “a line has been crossed”.

The show, which stars Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki as Diana, is facing increasing upset over its plotlines and claims of insensitivity in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death.

Scenes suggesting that Prince Philip had an affair with a female friend are also causing strife for the producers.

But, The Sun reports that scenes focusing on Diana’s ill-fated Paris trip in 1997 and the days and hours before the fatal car crash in the Alma tunnel are being worked on, with a source from the show telling the outlet that some crew members are starting to push back on the show’s ideas.

“To be going back to Paris and turning Diana’s final days and hours into a drama feels very uncomfortable,” the source said.

“Finally, some of the crew members are pushing back on the ideas being tabled.

“The show always tried to present a fictional version of royal history with as much sensitivity as possible.

“But lately, as things get closer to the present day, it feels harder to strike that balance.

“With some of those moments still so fresh and upsetting, it feels as though a line is being crossed.

“Some production staff are now starting to speak up about their feelings.”

A spokesman for Netflix told the outlet that the “exact moment of the crash impact” won’t be recreated or shown.

Meanwhile, sources close to Prince William said they expect him to be angered by the show’s reproduction of his mother’s final days for entertainment purposes

New scenes alleging then-Prince Charles went against his late mother, suggesting she was too old and out of touch, are also facing criticism - but a Crown spokesman defended the controversial scenes as “fictional dramatisation”.

“Series five is a fictional dramatisation, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors.”

Image: @thecrownnetflix (Instagram)

Tags:
TV, The Crown, Princess Diana, Controversy