The royal refuses to watch the show as he is 'sickened' by his mother's portrayal. Photo / Getty Images
The royal refuses to watch the show as he is 'sickened' by his mother's portrayal. Photo / Getty Images
Royal insiders claim that Prince William has been left “totally sickened” by Netflix’s decision to feature Princess Diana’s ghost in the latest season of The Crown.
The series, which will hit screens next month, will see Elizabeth Debicki return in her role as the late Princess of Wales, who is said to have an emotional reconciliation with a grieving Prince Charles, played by Dominic West.
However, word of the phantom Diana in the final season of the Netflix show has allegedly left her son William “totally sickened”, reports the Daily Mail.
The outlet reported a close friend of the future King spoke to the Daily Beast revealing that it is “incredibly hurtful” for the royal to “have his mother exploited over and over again in this tawdry fashion”.
The insider went on to say that the father-of-three will not be watching the latest season, but will be “totally sickened” by it, nonetheless.
As the sixth and final season of the royal series is set to bring Diana back as a spirit, another insider close to the late Queen Elizabeth told the outlet that they were grateful that Her Majesty hadn’t been around to hear about it.
Elizabeth Debicki as Diana and Dominic West as Charles in season 5 of The Crown.
The source added that William is “angry” with his brother Prince Harry for his connection with the streaming platform, which he thinks has “ruthlessly exploited” his family.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have produced several projects with Netflix, such as their bombshell six-part docuseries Harry & Meghan, which hit screens last December and hurled various harsh claims at the royal family.
Harry and Meghan also narrated the Live to Lead series about inspirational leaders such as US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Harry released Heart of Invictus in August, which was filmed during the Invictus Games last year at The Hague in The Netherlands.
The news of William’s anger with Netflix comes after royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline: “The idea that they have even contemplated Diana as a ghost seems absolutely weird”, especially because it has been slammed in the past for its controversial portrayal of real people.
One scene from The Crown series five shows the late Princess sitting down with Bashir for the 1995 Panorama interview. Photo / Netflix
He also thought that the King would remain silent on the matter, but his sons William and Harry could speak out, as they did against BBC regarding Princess Diana’s 1995 Panorama interview.
Fitzwilliams said: “It is going to be a controversial series anyway with what they are already showing - the Panorama documentary, her death and the funeral - and in my opinion it should never have made this final series in the first place.
“The whole idea that [show creator] Peter Morgan has scripted ghostly appearances by Diana is utterly tasteless. It is pitiful that someone with his skills has reduced what is undoubtedly a tragedy to something that he knows perfectly well will be controversial.
“The idea that he has scripted a ghostly figure of the mother of Prince William and Harry is obviously tasteless and the whole concept, whatever the ghost says or does, seems utterly bizarre.”
Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana in season 5 of The Crown. Photo / Netflix
He went on: “We may well hear what they think of the portrayal, but the trouble is if they do make a statement it will only add to the hype surrounding The Crown and there you have a problem.
“If Prince William or Prince Harry were to comment on this it would make headlines and even more people would watch it than they intended to.
“Whether they would watch such a thing, I have no idea of course. The King will make absolutely no comment at all. I think the Royal Family decided long ago what they think of The Crown - that it seems to have totally forsaken taste.”
