Will The Crown finally lay Diana’s ghost to rest?
The new season of the Netflix drama covers the death of the Princess of Wales
After The Crown comes to a close, can we finally lay Diana to rest? That’s the question Kerry asked in her column for The Sunday Telegraph. Here’s an extract:
This week, the trailer launched for Season Six of The Crown. The final season will air in two parts, from November 16 and cover one of the most seismic events in the Windsors’ history, the death of Diana.
Diana, played by Elizabeth Debicki, died, as we all know, aged 36, in a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris on August 31, 1997, with Dodi Fayed. And while the streaming service says the crash itself will not be recreated, her last summer is, in detail. In one poster, Debicki appears as Diana, in the iconic image of her in a swimsuit, sitting on the diving board of a yacht in Portofino, just before she died. Looking at that picture makes me feel sad all over again that such a terrible end was about to befall Diana, at the point she finally felt free. It also makes me reflect what it must feel like for her sons, family and friends, to see it all again.
Netflix says they are treating the story reverently, but if you thought her spirit could rest after this, think again, because the UK Telegraph revealed Diana will appear in the series as a ghost, speaking to the late Queen and Prince Charles. It’s reported she thanks Charles for weeping over her body, saying, “Thank you for how you were in hospital. So raw, broken and handsome. I’ll take that with me.” And there’s a scene where she holds hands with the Queen and tells her, “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.” Yuk.
A Netflix source described the scenes as “sensitive and thoughtful imagined conversations”. “Mawkish and maudlin” are alternative adjectives, I suggest, but perhaps I’m too cynical.
Having sworn he was going to finish the series after Season Five, Peter Morgan changed his mind. But what’s the betting Netflix execs want to him to continue a little longer and end what he described as a “love letter to the Queen”, with her death? I think The Crown is in danger of turning what was a love note into a poison pen letter, the longer it continues. So, I’m hoping there’s no postscript.
What can we expect to see in the series?
The final season is understood to run from 1997 to 2005, so will cover:
The aftermath of the death of Diana and the Queen’s famous speech from Buckingham Palace.
Prince William (played by Rufus Kampa, then Ed McVey) meets Kate Middleton (played by Meg Bellamy). Will Powell and Luther Ford play Prince Harry.
The deaths of the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret in 2002.
The marriage of Charles and Camilla in 2005.
William & Kate mark Mental Health Day
William and Catherine were busy this week carrying out engagements up and down the UK marking World Mental Health Day.
The Prince and Princess were in Birmingham on Tuesday, hosting a mental health forum for young people called Exploring our Emotional Worlds. In her speech, Catherine said: “William and I believe we need to do all we can as a society to help young people develop the emotional and social life skills they need for good mental health, and to thrive in the world around them. Both learning about the world and learning about how to be happy and thrive within it, should go hand-in-hand.”
The following day saw Catherine meeting students at Nottingham Trent University, while William met emergency responders at the Milton Keynes Blue Light Hub. Their series of well-being events ended with a joint visit to Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre on Thursday, where they tried playing the paralympic game, goalball, while blindfolded.
The couple, who launched Heads Together campaign in 2016 with Prince Harry, are, according to Telegraph reports, preparing to launch a new mental health initiative next year through their Royal Foundation.
Royals share their horror
The latest news coming out of Israel and Gaza is horrendous, triggered by the abhorrent Hamas attacks against Israeli civilians during the morning of Saturday 7 October. The atrocities have left the world appalled, prompting the King to condemn “the barbaric acts of terrorism”, while William and Catherine said they were “profoundly distressed”.
Charles, who visited Israel and the West Bank in 2020, was said to be “extremely concerned” by developments, and on Wednesday Buckingham Palace made an announcement: “His Majesty is appalled by and condemns the barbaric acts of terrorism in Israeli.” The spokesperson continued: “His thoughts and prayers are with all of those suffering, particularly those who have lost loved ones, but also those actively involved as we speak.”
A few hours later Kensington Palace said: “The Prince and Princess of Wales are profoundly distressed by the devastating events that have unfolded in the past days. The horrors inflicted by Hamas’s terrorist attack upon Israel are appalling; they utterly condemn them. As Israel exercises its right of self-defence, all Israelis and Palestinians will continue to be stalked by grief, fear and anger in the time to come. Their Royal Highnesses hold all the victims, their families and their friends in their hearts and minds.”
Charles also called Israel’s President Herzog, and King Abdullah of Jordan. On Thursday the King had a private audience with Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis at Buckingham Palace, where they spoke about “their continued hope about a path to peace in Israel and Palestine”.
Meanwhile, on Harry and Meghan’s Archewell website, a post announced: “At the Archewell Foundation, with Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, we stand against all acts of terrorism and brutality.”
Sophie visits Ethiopia
To mark World Sight Day on Thursday, the Duchess of Edinburgh has been visiting Ethiopia, in her role as Global Ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). One of our favourite royals has been touring the country, also travelling to Tigray, where she saw the work of UNICEF combating conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and gender-based violence. She visited Sabacare IDP Camp and a clinic in Hawassa which carries out sight-saving screenings and surgeries, to eliminate trachoma.
“So much has been achieved both here in Ethiopia and around the world. But now is the time that we must all redouble our efforts if we are to achieve our aim of eliminating trachoma by the year 2030,” the Duchess said. “We are on the cusp of achieving something almost unimaginable in previous years.”
Would you bid for 88-year-old royal chocolates?
A box of uneaten 88-year-old commemorative chocolates is going up for auction. The tin of Rowntree’s chocolates was made for the Silver Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary and given to Vera Petchell from Leeds by her dad. She thought she lost them, but after she died, the tin was found by her daughter in a drawer under a bed.
Auctioneer Charles Hanson said the chocolate was in good condition considering it was almost 100 years old and had been “treated like treasure”. It’s expected to make around £200 and goes up for auction on October 19. A previous tin of 1902 Coronation chocolates went for £1000.