The Crown: Netflix Series Faces Criticism Over Depiction of Princess Diana's Death

The Queen's former press secretary accuses The Crown of "dramatic license gone bonkers".

By Nicole Drum

The first part of The Crown's sixth and final season is now on Netflix, but the long-running series is facing some backlash — specifically over how it portrayed the death of Princess Diana. According to Deadline, Dickie Arbiter, who worked for Queen Elizabeth II during the time period portrayed in Season 6 of The Crown, is accusing series creator Peter Morgan of "dramatic license gone bonkers" with Arbiter in particular being critical of scenes in which Diana's death is broken to her sons.

"The sequence of Charles telling his sons of their mother's death was so insensitive, it was so unnecessary," Arbiter said. "The death of their mother is still raw with both of them. The scenes between Charles and his mother, in which he blurted out that she wanted Diana to come back in a Harrods van were absolute nonsense. It just didn't happen like that. Of course, an aircraft was going to be made available [to bring her body home from France]. The Queen was the first one to agree to that."

Arbiter also had comments about other scenes, particularly those regarding preparations for Diana's funeral. The series portrays it as the Queen deciding that Diana's funeral should be public when Arbiter says it was in fact Diana's brother.

"I was in charge and media arrangements for that week," Arbiter said "[Charles] Spencer thought that because Diana was a public figure, because she was very popular and people adored her, that it should be something handled by the royal family to make it a public event rather than a private family event."

The Crown Producer Previously Addressed How They Would Approach Princess Diana's Death

Earlier this year, executive producers Andy Harries and Suzanne Mackie addressed how the series would take on Princess Diana's death in Season 6.

"The show might be big and noisy, but we're not," Mackie said. "We're thoughtful people and we're sensitive people. There were very careful, long conversations about how we were going to do it."

"The audience will judge it in the end, but I think it's been delicately, thoughtfully recreated," Mackie continued. "Elizabeth Debicki is an extraordinary actress and she was so thoughtful and considerate. She loved Diana. There's a huge amount of respect from us all, I hope that's evident."

Related:

What Is The Crown Season 6 About?

The final season of The Crown, which will be divided into two parts, is set to cover the time period between 1997 and some major events, including the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the premiership of Tony Blaire, and the early relationship of Prince William and Kate Middleton. "The final chapter begins November 16th. Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatisation tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign. Seasons 1-5 now streaming, only on Netflix," the streaming site shared with the release of the trailer.

The first four episode of Season 6 of The Crown are now streaming on Netflix.

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