The Crown producers have been heavily criticized for portraying Princess Diana’s controversial Panorama interview against Prince William’s wishes. Several critics are outraged about Netflix’s plans to reenact Diana’s 1995 interview, which drew more than 20 million viewers, with journalist Martin Bashir for the show’s fifth season. There are claims that it is a low point for the drama, which has already been accused of fabricating scenes and distorting facts to discredit the Royal Family, reported Daily Mail.
According to royal biographer Hugo Vickers, “The Crown has been consistently dishonest from day one. They pervert the facts, they clash incidents together which did more or less happen to create something which most certainly did not. “That they focus on the discredited Panorama interview with Diana contrary to the express wishes of Prince William, and when the BBC has promised never to show it again, is indicative of the depths to which they sink.”
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During an independent inquiry, Lord Dyson – the retired judge who led the investigation – determined that Bashir deceived Diana to obtain the interview and then lied to BBC officials. He reportedly commissioned a BBC graphic artist to mock up fake bank statements purporting to show payments to an ex-member of staff of Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer. As the inquiry reported, Bashir wanted to gain the Earl’s confidence so he could introduce Diana to Bashir.
The Crown’s fifth season will begin in 1991, and the plot revolves around the failing relationship between Diana and Charles, played by Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki. In the Netflix series, Prasanna Puwanarajah is cast as the discredited reporter Bashir. It is expected he will depict how Bashir exploited Diana’s paranoia to get her to give an interview. An insider told Daily Mail the show would recreate ‘snippets’ from Diana’s Panorama segment. Nevertheless, Buckingham Palace is likely to be upset by any reference to the interview, criticizing Bashir or not.
William appealed to the BBC and its competitors not to repeat the interview last year, saying it “was a major contribution to making my parents’ relationship worse,” and added, “This program holds no legitimacy and should never be aired again.” According to the BBC, they will never broadcast the interview. There “ought to be a health warning attached” to The Crown, “as cigarettes or other noxious and dangerous substances have,” said royal author Andrew Roberts. He added, “I would suggest, ‘Despite high production values, this rubbish has no moral values.’” Daily Mail reported that a spokesperson for The Crown asserted that the interview had “historical significance.”
