The furor The Crown faced for Season 5 might be nothing compared to how upset some will be with the upcoming sixth season. Over the weekend, The Daily Mail published photos of a totaled car being used to recreate the car crash that killed Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed in August 1997. The images have shocked viewers and will renew criticism of the Netflix series.
The images show a black Mercedes with damage mirroring the real damage to Diana’s car. It was taken in secret to Paris under a tarpaulin. One of two cars was taken there for filming late last year. Netflix crews were spotted in Paris in October recreating Diana’s last journey. Other scenes shot in December featured investigators at the scene of the crash.
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When it was first reported that The Crown crew planned to recreate part of Diana’s final day alive, Netflix told The Sun the “exact moment of the crash impact will not be shown.” Creator Peter Morgan also said the crash will not be filmed. However, there were reports of a divide within the production itself regarding how much to show.
“We’ve been dreading getting to this point,” a production source told Deadline in October. “The countdown is two weeks and while we’re calmly carrying on it’s fair to acknowledge that there’s a certain anxiety; a palpable sense of being slightly on edge. I mean, there’s bombshell sensitivity surrounding this one.” The source said the show will feature the events before and after the crash, including tracking Diana’s car up to the tunnel. There will also be scenes with Prince Charles arriving to collect Diana’s body, juxtaposed with Fayed’s father, Mohamad Al-Fayed, facing racism from French authorities.
‘There needs to be some respect shown’
The Crown has become increasingly controversial as it moved closer to current events. In the lead-up to Season 5’s release, critics demanded Netflix finally add a disclaimer telling viewers that it is a “fictional dramatization” of the U.K. royal family’s life. Season 5 included Diana’s infamous interview with disgraced journalist Martin Bashir and a scene suggesting Prince Charles asked U.K. Prime Minister John Major to help force Queen Elizabeth II to abdicate. Major’s office even issued a statement denying such a meeting ever happened.
‘How vile’
The Crown Season 6 is expected to track events up through at least the mid-2000s. Some behind-the-scenes photos have shown Ed McVey playing a college-aged Prince William at St. Andrews, where he met Kate Middleton, played by Meg Bellamy. Dominic West continues playing Charles, while Elizabeth Debicki returns as Diana. Imelda Staunton is back as Queen Elizabeth II and Jonathan Pryce return as Prince Philip. Lesley Manville plays Princess Margaret and Olivia Williams plays Camilla Parker Bowles. Khalid Abdilla plays Fayed. Netflix has not set a premiere date for the new season.
Could Prince Harry face backlash?
Prince Harry might also face some backlash after The Crown Season 6 is released since he and his wife Meghan Markle have a deal with the streamer. During a stop on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Harry said he was “way more comfortable” with the show than the tabloid stories he sees written about his family.
“It’s fictional. But it’s loosely based on the truth,” Harry told Corden. “Of course, it’s not strictly accurate, but it gives you a rough idea about what that lifestyle-the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else-what can come from that.”
‘A lot of people will find it quite sick’
“I think a lot of people will find it quite sick that they went into such detail to recreate how the car was smashed up,” a source told The Daily Mail. “I think it’s going to cause a lot of upset with the Royal Family. If it was any other family I’m not sure they’d do it.”
‘Gives me the chills, and not in a good way’
The images were discussed on ITV1’s Good Morning Britain, where the anchors were clearly disturbed. “It actually gives me the chills, and not in a good way,” Susanna Reid said, notes The Daily Star. She later added that Diana’s death was a “horrific event where somebody was terribly badly wounded and died, and her children are still around and will see that.”
‘The Crown has thoroughly debased itself’
The Telegraph‘s Celia Walden was not happy with the crash photos. “All too often royal fetishism obliterates sensitivity, even basic human compassion,” Walden wrote. “There’s too much relish in every tiny detail, which is paradoxically what makes The Crown the masterpiece that it is. We gorge on the array of artifacts laid out across Churchill’s desk, on the verisimilitude of Diana’s iconic off-the-shoulder black “revenge dress”. But when we’re talking about the crushed bonnet of that prop Mercedes, its smashed windscreen and buckled wheels? That’s when attention to detail goes from awe-inspiring to sick.”
