The new series of the hit Netflix show The Crown will air the incendiary allegation that Princess Diana was pregnant when she died.
The sixth and final series of the streaming sensation will show Harrods boss Mohamed Al-Fayed, whose son Dodi was dating Diana at the time and was also killed in the 1997 Paris underpass crash, making the claim, according to a report in British tabloid The Sun.
Al-Fayed, who died earlier this year, consistently claimed that the crash was an establishment plot masterminded by Prince Philip to prevent Diana from marrying Dodi and having his child. The father’s claims were dismissed as a “conspiracy theory” and rejected by an inquiry into the deaths.
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A source described as a TV insider told The Sun: “This is likely to enrage the Prince of Wales, who has been upset by many Crown storylines that have featured his mother… Hearing the claims about his mother’s pregnancy and the plot will feel like salt in the wound, particularly as so many of them have been debunked over the years.”
Peter Morgan, the creator and chief writer of the show, gave an interview to Variety last week in which he said that any criticism of the show made before it airs should be disregarded.
“All the criticism about The Crown’s attitude to the royals comes in anticipation of the show coming out. The minute it’s out and people look at it—whether it’s Judi Dench or John Major—they instantly fall silent. And I think they probably feel rather stupid.”
He also told Variety that a scene where a reported “ghost” of Diana appears, for example, has been widely misrepresented, saying: “I never imagined it as Diana’s ‘ghost’ in the traditional sense… It was her continuing to live vividly in the minds of those she has left behind. Diana was unique, and I suppose that’s what inspired me to find a unique way of representing her. She deserved special treatment narratively.”
He said he will not portray the moment of the princess’ death. “Oh, God, we were never going to show the crash. Never.”
The Sun said Netflix declined to comment.
