Princess Diana's interview with Martin Bashir for BBC Panorama will be depicted in the new series of Netflix's The Crown. Photo / Getty Images
Princess Diana's interview with Martin Bashir for BBC Panorama will be depicted in the new series of Netflix's The Crown. Photo / Getty Images
The Prince of Wales believes Netflix is profiteering from his mother's BBC Panorama interview, palace sources have suggested.
Parts of the interview with Diana, Princess of Wales, will be depicted in the new series of The Crown as it delves into the "all-out war" caused by the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Charles.
It will also reflect the "deceitful" manner in which the interview, where the late Princess told Martin Bashir that "there were three of us in this marriage", was obtained and its aftermath.
In May 2021, Prince William said the interview should "never be aired again". He said it held no legitimacy and had established a false narrative commercialised by the BBC and others for more than 25 years.
He also admitted that it brought him "indescribable sadness" that the interview had contributed so significantly to the "fear, paranoia and isolation" his mother felt in the final years of her life.
A source said he had made his feelings about it "very clear" and that a fictional depiction would be "met in the way you would expect".
They added that, given the strong personal statement he had made, one could understand if he was angered about the "dramatisation of it for financial gain".
Bashir will be played by Prasanna Puwanarajah, who took on the same role in the 2013 film, Diana.
Tim Davie, director-general of the BBC, apologised to Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry earlier this year "for the way in which Princess Diana was deceived and the subsequent impact on all their lives".
He said that because of the "shocking way" the interview was obtained, it would never be shown on the BBC in whole or in part again.
However, Netflix has defied such concerns to depict the interview in the forthcoming series, which is released on November 9.
The penultimate season of the drama covers the period from 1991 until 1996, meaning that the tumultuous breakdown of Charles and Diana's marriage, and the introduction of Camilla Parker Bowles, will be the main plotline running throughout all 10 episodes.
Insiders admit the focus on the fallout from the breakdown of Charles and Diana's marriage could not have come at a worse time for the King, whose popularity has surged since his accession.
Elizabeth Debicki stars as Diana, Princess of Wales, in the new series. Photo / Netflix
A friend of His Majesty has described the drama as "exploitative" and said Netflix would have "no qualms about mangling people's reputations".
It comes as new images of the cast were released, showing Dominic West as Prince Charles and Elizabeth Debicki as Diana, pictured with their sons on a boat. The scene is thought to be based on a holiday the family took in Italy in 1991.
West said it was important to remember that the scripts were based on "imagined conversations" and that he was "evoking" the King, not imitating him.
"I think people understand, because the cast has changed every two seasons, that this is not an imitation," he said.
"This is an evoking of a character. That's really where the show lives: in the imagined conversations of their private life, which is something that no one knows."
He added: "I think that's what it gets a lot of criticism for. How can you know what they talk about in their private lives?
"The obvious answer is we don't, but we have an incredible writer, a dramatist, who imagines based on exhaustive research, and that's really part of the fascination of the show."
Olivia Williams plays Camilla Parker-Bowles and Dominic West stars as Prince Charles. Photo / Netflix
Debicki noted that the '90s was the birth of the 24-hour news cycle, meaning there was "this incredible amount of content" they could access, not least on Diana, as the most photographed person in the world at that time.
"As an actor you open the portal and this huge tsunami of information comes at you," she said. "I happily swam around in it."
Jonathan Pryce, who plays the Duke of Edinburgh, is pictured alongside Imelda Stanton, as Queen Elizabeth II, as they host a ball at Balmoral.
Pryce said that what had fascinated him about the role was "finding out what made him [Prince Philip] the man he was".
"I'm more interested in their life, their emotional life, which is what The Crown explores," he said.
Staunton said she hoped that, like her character, she had done her duty to the audience.
"What has been nice, and I hope I don't prove them wrong, is people saying, I'm really looking forward to seeing her as the Queen," she said. "So, let's just hope that works out for them because I've done it. Nothing I can do about it now!"
Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce as Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. Photo / Netflix
Lesley Manville is cast as Princess Margaret while Claudia Harrison takes on the role of Princess Anne as her marriage to Captain Mark Phillips collapsed and she married Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, a former equerry to Queen Elizabeth II. She is pictured dancing with Theo Fraser Steele, who plays Sir Tim.
Olivia Williams plays Camilla Parker Bowles as her relationship with Charles flourishes, while Jonny Lee Miller takes on the role of John Major.
Meanwhile, Salim Daw plays Mohamed Fayed and Khalid Abdalla depicts his son, Dodi.
