Prince William ‘Totally Sickened’ by Princess Diana’s Ghost in ‘The Crown’

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It has become as much an annual tradition as the royal family’s appearance on the balcony at Buckingham Palace after Trooping the Color.

A new series of The Crown is released, Netflix takes a few more liberties with the historical record, detractors pile in on the show, criticizing it as, for example, “malicious fiction,” and demanding it append an “inspired by real events” disclaimer.

Incredibly, however, the viewing public seem to be able to hold in their heads two ideas at the same time: a) that the big picture and sweeping themes seem largely accurate and b) that creator and writer Peter Morgan probably wasn’t privy to the queen and Prince Philip’s small talk in their elegant Jack-and-Jill bedroom/boudoir set up and has, therefore, made it all up.

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But this doesn’t stop the operators of The Crown outrage machine. Indeed, since 2020, when Prince Harry signed a multi-million dollar deal with Netflix, a new line of attack has been to mock Harry as a hypocrite and ask how a privacy and truth campaigner can continue working with Netflix, as it disseminates an invented narrative about his family.

Harry himself has been pretty clear on the matter, telling James Corden that it is clearly made up, so he has less of a problem with it than false media reports which purport to be true.

This year, protests against The Crown and Harry are likely to be louder than ever after the show, which debuts its final season on November 17, kept a part for the ghost of Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, whose death in a tragic Paris car crash was dramatized at the end of series five.

According to reports circulating in the British media, a phantom Diana will be shown talking to both then-Prince Charles and the late Queen Elizabeth.

She reportedly tells Charles: “Thank you for how you were in hospital. So raw, broken—and handsome. I’ll take that with me.”

In another scene, her ghost holds hands with Elizabeth, saying: “As long as anyone can remember, you’ve taught us what it means to be British. Maybe it’s time to show you’re ready to learn too.”

Understandably, the news hasn’t gone down too well in loyal royal circles.

A friend of Prince William’s told The Daily Beast he would be “totally sickened” by the scenes while a friend of the queen’s, who apparently never watched The Crown, said: “Thank god she will never even hear about it.”

The friend of William’s said, “It’s incredibly hurtful to have his mother exploited over and over again in this tawdry fashion by Netflix. He won’t watch it, but he will be totally sickened by it.”

Asked whether William would be angry with his brother for continuing to work with Netflix, the friend said: “William is angry about a lot of things in connection with Harry. His decision to work with Netflix, who have ruthlessly exploited the family, is certainly one of them.”

Charles, William and Harry’s offices did not return requests for comment, however a friend of King Charles and Queen Camilla sought to play down any sense of irritation they might feel, saying that while he and Camilla have watched some of the series, they “don’t really care” what Netflix does. The friend added: “It’s pretty ridiculous at this stage anyway. I think the program has lost the credibility it had in the early years.”

Asked if it would increase antipathy towards Harry, who is still in a multi-million dollar deal with Netflix, the friend said, “They don’t like some of the stuff the BBC has made over the years but they wouldn’t take against everyone who has ever made a program for the BBC.”

The attempt to disentangle The Crown from Netflix and Harry is understandable, but one television executive told The Daily Beast that for Netflix, having Harry and Meghan as well-known faces of Netflix was indeed relevant to how The Crown is perceived. “Royal content is massive for them and they probably would have signed Harry and Meghan for the documentary anyway. But The Crown is one of their biggest shows and signing Harry and Meghan certainly had a halo effect on its credibility.”

Charles has long sought to brush off any suggestion he is giving the show headspace.

Charles has, by some yardsticks, come better out of The Crown than might have been imagined. He’s weak, foolish and self-centered at times, but he is certainly not portrayed as a malicious character. The dramatization of the phone call that became the “tampon-gate” tape, for example, emphasized Charles’ naivety and invited viewers to sympathise with him over the invasion of his privacy rather than doubling down on the ick factor. One entire episode constituted a pretty amazing advert for the Prince’s Trust.

Intriguingly, Dominic West, who plays Charles, is an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust.

West previously told the Radio Times that he offered to resign from the Trust, the charity founded by King Charles III to help vulnerable young people, after he was cast in the role. His offer was refused in a letter from Charles’s private secretary. West summarized the letter as saying, “You do what you like, you’re an actor. It’s nothing to do with us.” West added, “I think that’s probably how [Charles] regards it.”

Camilla has sought to make light of the show as well. When giving a speech at an International Women’s Day event at Clarence House in March 2022, at which Emerald Fennell—who played Camilla in Seasons 3 and 4 of The Crown—was present, she joked: “For me, it’s very reassuring to know that if I should fall off my perch at any moment, my fictional alter ego is here to take over… So, Emerald—be prepared!”

A Netflix source defended the new scenes with Diana’s ghost to the Daily Telegraph, saying: “After her death, Diana appears as part of an inner dialogue in separate scenes with Prince Charles and the queen who are both reflecting on their relationship with the late Princess. These sensitive and thoughtful imagined conversations seek to bring to life the depth of emotion that was felt after such a seismic tragedy struck at the heart of the family.”

Of course, ghosts are a story-telling device as old as narrative itself, and Netflix can now convincingly argue that including such scenes make the idea of adding a disclaimer to the opening credits of The Crown completely unnecessary.

And while William may feel disgust and Charles may roll his eyes, the real question will be whether viewers conclude that The Crown, finally, has jumped the shark.