How Accurate The Crown Season 6 Is To The True Story Of Princess Diana’s Death

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Crown, season 6, part 1

The Crown season 6, part 1 focuses on Princess Diana’s death, incorporating both accurate and inaccurate details about the true story. In the first five seasons, the series depicts numerous difficult events, such as King George’s cancer, Charles’s boarding school experience, and the Buckingham Palace break-in. Still, The Crown season 6 has finally portrayed one of the most anticipated and sensitive events: the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Diana Spencer, better known as Princess Diana, was King Charles’s first wife. The icon was best known for her down-to-earth nature and philanthropic endeavors, winning her the moniker of “the People’s Princess.” On August 31, 1997, Princess Diana died alongside her boyfriend Dodi Fayed after sustaining fatal injuries in a car crash. Due to her fame and her charity, Princess Diana’s death had a worldwide impact. The Crown season 6, part 1 sensitively and thoughtfully depicts the Princess of Wales’s final days, as the episodes build a strong narrative by effectively harnessing correct details while fictionalizing other elements.

Correct: Charles & Diana Had A Good Relationship Before Her Death

The interaction between Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles is one of the bittersweet scenes before Princess Diana’s death in The Crown. After a highly tumultuous relationship, they agree to be great at divorce for their and their kids’ sake. While there’s no evidence this specific conversation happened, the shift in their relationship certainly did.

According to Hugo Vickers – a Royal expert – things settled between the pair close to Princess Diana’s death. Biographer Tina Brown claimed that the pair even became good friends, sometimes having tea together at her Kensington Palace home (via Time). Princess Diana’s death would have been tragic either way, but this fact adds an extra layer of sadness. If the Princess of Wales hadn’t passed away, Diana and Charles could have found a place where they, their respective partners, and their sons would have been happy.

Wrong: Dodi Proposed To Diana

There has long been speculation about an engagement between Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed – rumors that The Crown uses for narrative development. In the series, Princess Diana and Fayed pick out the ring together while in Monte Carlo, and then he proposes to her on the night of their deaths. This entire storyline comes from real-life assertions made by Fayed’s father, Mohamed Al-Fayed. However, Operation Paget, conducted before the ’07 to ’08 inquiry, investigated these claims and discovered they were mostly unfounded.

According to the Operation Paget Inquiry Report, there are contradictory accounts about whether Princess Diana and Fayed went into the shop in Monte Carlo; however, her bodyguards asserted otherwise when interviewed for the inquiry. CCTV footage confirmed that Fayed bought a ring from the Repossi Jewellers beside the Ritz hours before the car crash. London’s Detective Chief Inspector told the inquest the ring was later found in Fayed’s Paris apartment (via Reuters). These facts imply that Dodi Fayed planned to propose but died before he got the chance. As such, Dodi and Diana’s proposal storyline is one of The Crown season 6’s biggest changes to the true story.

Correct: A Decoy Car Sat Out Front To Trick Paparazzi

In The Crown ​​​​​​season 6, episode 3, “Dis-Moi Oui,” a decoy car sits in front of the Ritz to distract the paparazzi so that Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed can escape out the back without attention. Unfortunately, a few paparazzi are waiting at the back entrance, causing the fatal high-speed chase. This part of the story seems fictionalized because it’s so similar to action movies; however, the decoy cars existed in real life.

Based on information in the Operation Paget Inquiry Report, drivers Philippe Dourneau and Jean-François Musa stayed at the front of the hotel with the Mercedes and Range Rover, the cars that Princess Diana and her bodyguards rode in from the airport. Meanwhile, Princess Diana and Fayed left in a different Mercedes from the back of the hotel. Though seemingly inconsequential, this detail included in The Crown shows how unchecked and invasive the paparazzi were.

Partially Correct: The Paparazzi Followed Diana & Dodi On Motorbikes

One of the most significant factors in Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed’s deaths in The Crown is the paparazzi following their car on motorbikes. According to information in the Operation Paget Inquiry Report, this is partially true. According to the eyewitnesses, paparazzi on motorbikes and in cars followed the Mercedes to the Alma underpass, where the car crashed. The Crown‘s choice to put everyone on motorbikes likely comes from a practical cinematic place. By making this change, shots don’t look cluttered and unreadable. There’s less focus on logistics and more on Princess Diana’s desperation to escape.

Partially Correct: The Driver Of Diana & Dodi’s Car Was Drinking

The Crown only vaguely references the fact that Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed’s driver, Henri Paul, was drinking before the crash. As Paul leaves the bar, the camera focuses momentarily on a halfway-drunk glass of alcohol. This visual hugely undervalues the severity of the situation. According to the Operation Paget Inquiry Report, Paul’s first toxicology report showed that the driver’s blood alcohol level was 1.87 grams per liter, over three times the legal limit in France at the time of the accident. His blood also contained fluoxetine, a medication that can increase sedation when mixed with alcohol.

If The Crown intended to depict the events of Princess Diana’s death properly, they should have included more than a blink-and-miss-it reference to Paul’s inebriated state when getting behind the wheel. Instead, the series pays more attention to the paparazzi, the other culpable parties involved in the accident. While this choice tightens the narrative, the deviation paints a skewed picture of what led to Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed’s deaths.

Wrong: Prince William Went Missing After Diana’s Death

In The Crown, season 6, episode 4, “Aftermath,” Prince William goes missing for 14 hours after receiving news of his mother’s death. Everyone unsuccessfully searches Balmoral for the prince, but he returns on his own, soaking wet from the rain. While this scene provides a dramatic impact, it is fictional – only loosely adapting actual events. In 2021, Prince William said that the service at Crathie Kirk, a church near Balmoral, gave him solace on the day of Princess Diana’s death. He also reportedly spent time in the Scottish outdoors while grieving (via The Standard). However, at no point does he or any other source indicate that he went missing.

Correct: Harry Received A Birthday Present From Diana After Her Death

The most difficult-to-watch parts of The Crown season 6 part 1 are Prince William and Prince Harry’s reactions to their mother’s death. The younger royal gets emotional after receiving a birthday gift from his late mother. Unlike Prince William’s storyline, Prince Harry’s is entirely true. According to his autobiography, Spare​​​​​​, Harry received the gift from Diana’s sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, on his 13th birthday. The son reported the gift as an Xbox, which wouldn’t have been possible since that video game console came out in November 2001, but that doesn’t negate the compelling possibility that the Princess of Wales selected a gift he received weeks after her death.

Wrong: Dodi & Diana Appeared As Ghosts

The Crown season 6, episode 4, “Aftermath,” takes one of the most significant narrative risks of the series, bringing Dodi and Diana’s ghosts back to visit their loved ones. Princess Diana’s ghostly return is one of the many reasons The Crown season 6’s Rotten Tomatoes score is so low. The Crown‘s creator, Peter Morgan, stated Diana’s ghost was meant to represent her impact on those she left behind (via People), not be literal. Additionally, no member of the Royal Family has ever come out claiming to have seen Princess Diana as a ghost after her death.

Partially Correct: Queen Elizabeth Was Hesitant To Give A Speech Addressing Diana’s Death

After the Princess of Wales’s death in The Crown, Queen Elizabeth II is shown to resist the idea of treating Diana like an HRH. By the end of The Crown season 6 part 1, the Queen finally publicly addresses Princess Diana’s death, giving a speech on live TV. This storyline is one of the few moments where the series paints Queen Elizabeth in a harsh light. The reigning monarch’s words come across as unnecessarily cruel, considering this is the mother of her grandchildren. In reality, The Crown misrepresented the Queen’s motivations in waiting to address the Princess of Wales’s death.

According to the Washington Post, the Queen didn’t prioritize addressing the public, waiting five days to make a statement. However, Queen Elizabeth explained during her speech that she focused on caring for Prince William and Prince Harry as they grieved their mother’s death. The Queen also showed empathy and reverence when she bowed to Diana’s casket. This falsity in The Crown is exceptionally frustrating. If the series wanted to question Queen Elizabeth’s choices, they could go so many directions that it wouldn’t involve rewriting history. Moreover, by sensationalizing Princess Diana’s death more, The Crown misses its own point about the media.

Sources: Time, Operation Paget Inquiry Report, Reuters, The Standard, People, Washington Post