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'Let her rest in peace': Internet fumes as 'The Crown' recreates Diana's bombshell Panorama interview

The fifth season of the highly anticipated Netflix series will have an entire episode focusing on Princess Diana's 1995 bombshell interview with Martin Bashir

LONDON, ENGLAND: Netflix has used a dramatized recreation of Princess Diana's Panorama interview with BBC journalist Martin Bashir to advertise their new season of 'The Crown'. The fifth season of the series will have an entire episode focusing on Diana's bombshell interview with the disgraced journalist in 1995. In the interview, she had said, "There were three of us in the marriage", referring to King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla.

The interview was originally broadcast by Panorama but was discredited after the revelation that interviewer Martin Bashir used falsified information to gain Diana's access and trust. As many as 23 million people watched it, and it is believed that the interview prompted her divorce from King Charles in 1996. This was a year before she was killed in a car crash.

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Bashir was accused of showing Diana's brother Earl Spencer false bank statements, suggesting his former head of security had been receiving money from tabloids and the security services in an attempt to spy on his sister. Now, the recreation of the interview by Netflix has not been received well by the royals, especially Prince William, who called for the scenes to never be aired again. The trailer shows Diana sitting down with Bashir with a voiceover saying, "I won't go quietly". Elizabeth Debicki portrays Princess Diana in the new series. 

Diana's two sons, William and Harry, have accused the interview of ruining their mother's life and prompting the tragic series of events that led to her death. Netflix, which struck a £112 million deal with Harry and Meghan after the pair quit royal duties, is going ahead with the special episode anyway. In the trailer, Bashir says, "She opens her mouth and a grenade comes out. She wants to tear down the temple."

An insider had said, according to the Daily Mail, "The Crown's creators see the interview as the keystone moment in series five. To the writers, the stormy marriage between Charles and Di led up to her outpouring on Panorama, and the aftermath of that decision defined her final months. They are making a huge investment in that. The Crown has a track record of delving into areas of the royal family's history they'd rather be left alone."

Bashir was accused of telling Diana lies, convincing her that Charles had an affair with then-royal nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke, now Alexandra Pettifer. Bashir also claimed she became pregnant and had an abortion. In 2021, Prince William said in a televised statement, "This Panorama program holds no legitimacy and should never be aired again. It effectively established a false narrative which, for over a quarter of a century, has been commercialized by the BBC and others."

According to an independent report, Bashir used "deceitful" methods and lied to obtain the interview. He allegedly later covered up by a "woefully ineffective" internal investigation conducted by Tony Hall. Hall went on to become BBC director-general.  

Many users on social media claim Netflix's decision to show the recreated interview is distasteful. "Netflix don't care for anything except $$$$$$$$. Certainly not the feelings of Diana's children, Diana's brother and sisters, Diana's nieces, nephews, grandchildren, God children, friends etc," one user wrote on Twitter.

"Why would they want to, given that it is now proven that she was manipulated and lied to, increasing her paranoia. Anyone who does agree with it being shown, does NOT respect her memory, simply monetizing off her fragile state of mind at that time," wrote another.

One user said, "Time to cancel Netflix if they air this. I don’t get how the living family of a country’s Head of State gets depicted like this (if rumors of certain depictions are true). When does it b/c a political or undiplomatic incident? It feels to me “filthy lucre.”."

"This, if they show how she was manipulated then maybe others would understand why it shouldn’t be shown any longer. If they don’t then it’s trash!" one user wrote, while another said, "They are never going to let her rest in peace, are they...?" "This must all stop enough sadness for those left behind and deep hurt.," said another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.