Outraged critics round out The Crown’s callous portrayal of Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997
Head bowed in unspeakable mourning, Prince William walks alongside the Duke of Edinburgh in the procession of mourners behind his mother’s coffin.
This is Netflix’s chilling enactment of Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997, in scenes sure to cause heartache for the royal family.
In a callous recreation of the heartbreaking events, the royal standard is draped over the coffin on the carriage – just like in real life – while actors in the ceremonial uniform of the Welsh Guards march alongside.
Amid ongoing outrage at the series’ disregard for historical truth, the macabre scenes revealed in our exclusive images will plunge Netflix into a new controversy over The Crown.
This is Netflix’s chilling enactment of Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997, in scenes sure to cause heartache for the royal family
The scene, with a grieving William and Prince Harry – then aged 15 and 12 – was secretly filmed at a disused RAF base and is due to air in season six next year.
To the further dismay of Diana’s family and friends, The Crown’s production team will be in Paris next week to re-enact her final hours, The Mail on Sunday is able to reveal.
Last night, people close to the royal family slammed the Netflix series as “raw, cruel and utterly insensitive, especially given the Queen’s recent death.”
William Shawcross, the Queen Mother’s official biographer, said: “Nothing is sacred [the writer of The Crown] Pete Morgan. He has made his republican feelings and contempt for our late Queen very clear.
“This is an abominable series that has lied to the public and has hurt beyond belief the royal family from the queen to our new king. Unlike any other family, they cannot sue.”
It is highly unlikely that Morgan and his colleagues on The Crown failed to understand the sensibilities of recreating the day William and Harry had to say goodbye to their beloved mother, who died aged 36.
Both princes have spoken publicly of their agony at having to follow the coffin on its last mile along the Mall, through Horse Guards Parade, along Whitehall to Parliament Square and on to Westminster Abbey.
The family at Diana’s funeral in 1997. The Netflix scene of a grieving William and Prince Harry – then aged 15 and 12 – was secretly filmed at a disused RAF base and is set to air Season 6 next year
The Duke of Sussex was particularly candid, telling biographer Angela Levin: “My mother had just died and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on TV.
“I don’t think a child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today. No child should lose their mother at such a young age and then have their grief watched by thousands of people.’
Ms Levin said of The Crown’s decision to recreate the funeral procession: “It is inhumane, indecent and hurtful.
“When I first went to interview Harry, he asked me if I had seen The Crown, which was on Series 2 at the time. I said no and he said, ‘Oh you have to see it. My only problem is that they have to stop before they reach me.”
However, Prince Harry, who has a deal with Netflix for a docu-series, defended the crown in an interview with James Cordon last year, saying it was “obvious fiction”.
To the further dismay of Diana’s family and friends, The Crown’s production team will be in Paris next week to re-enact her final hours, The Mail on Sunday is able to reveal
In 2017, the Prince of Wales said: “It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done – that walk. It felt like she was almost walking alongside us to get us through.
Diana’s brother Earl Spencer revealed that he had told the courtiers she would not have wanted her sons to have this experience.
He said: “I’ve been a passionate advocate for William and Harry not having to walk behind their mother’s body. I found it bizarre and cruel to be asked of them.
“I was in touch with a courtier at Buckingham Palace and he mentioned it and I went, of course not, and he said, ‘Well, it’s been decided.’
This perhaps explains why Netflix chose not to shoot the scenes in central London but at a disused RAF base five miles outside of Bicester, Oxfordshire.
Last Wednesday, little-known actors Rufus Kampa and Will Powell, who portray William and Harry, Dominic West as King Charles and Jonathan Pryce as the late Duke of Edinburgh, traveled to nearby Upper Heyford where they were joined by hundreds of extras.
The show’s producers made the rare decision to shoot with a green screen, allowing production professionals to later set footage against a background of their choice. Few of the drama’s storylines have used the technology, and a source close to The Crown said the decision was made because of the sensitivity of the scenes.
Images show the funeral procession for Princess Diana, Princess of Wales, filmed for hit Netflix series The Crown in Oxfordshire
“Not only was it impossible to covertly film these scenes when they were being shot in the heart of London, but it was decided that it would be totally inappropriate,” the source said.
“They were in and out of the airbase in one day, and the scenes will be part of the funeral, which will span one episode.”
The excitement is likely to continue for the princes as Netflix crews head to Paris this week.
They will shoot scenes from Diana’s last days, which she spent with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed in the French capital. While it is understood that the crash that killed them will not be recreated, scenes of them leaving the Ritz Hotel together will be.
Meanwhile, Prince William is also said to be furious that the Netflix series – due to start next month – will fictionalize his mother’s BBC Panorama interview with Martin Bashir, which was obtained through “deception”.
As Duke of Cambridge, he recorded a rare statement saying the way the interview was obtained meant it “has no legitimacy” and “should never be broadcast again”.
He added: “It effectively established a false narrative that … was commercialized by the BBC and others.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-11344289/Outraged-critics-round-Crowns-callous-depiction-Princess-Dianas-1997-funeral.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 Outraged critics round out The Crown’s callous portrayal of Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997
