A close friend of Princess Diana has branded The Crown ‘sadistic’ and ‘wicked’ for its upcoming scenes (Picture: Getty/PA)
A friend of Princess Diana has hit out at The Crown for including a scene of the late royal in a limo, shortly before she and Dodi Fayed died.
The Netlflix series returns next month for season 5, with Elizabeth Debicki taking over from Emma Corrin as Princess Diana and Dominic West portraying King Charles III (then Prince Charles), taking over from Josh O’Connor.
Despite not being available to stream yet, season 5 has already attracted a great deal of criticism, with stars including Dame Judi Dench branding it ‘crude sensationalism.’
The upcoming fifth season will focus on the breakdown of Princess Diana and King Charles’ marriage and the effect it had on the Royal Family, however, one of the Princess of Wales’ close friends has branded their portrayal of her ‘sadistic’ and ‘wicked.’
Netflix bosses are planning on showing the Princess travelling in her limo, appearing to use Barcelona in place of Paris, moments before she was killed in a crash inside a tunnel in August 1997.
However, it seems the show is not planning to show the exact moment Princess Diana died, or the car journey taken, as a photo taken on set of the film show’s Debicki in the back of the car wearing a seatbelt.
CCTV footage captured Diana, Princess of Wales with Dodi Fayed inside the lift at the Ritz Hotel, shortly before she died (Picture: PA)
A photograph taken shortly before the car crash that killed Princess Diana, in 1997 (Picture: PA)
Elizabeth Debicki will play the late Princess in season 5 of The Crown (Picture: Netflix)
Neither the Princess nor Fayed were found to have been wearing seatbelts in the fatal crash.
Simone Simmons has now told The Sun that she has concerns about the drama forcing Prince William and Prince Harry to relive ‘the most painful time’ of their lives.
‘These are cruel, sadistic and wicked people to recreate these moments. They are the lowest of the low,’ she declared.
‘They are rewriting history as they go along and that’s what makes me very angry.
‘Netflix are deliberately reviving the most painful time in the boys’ lives.’
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Ms Simmons added that the scenes will cause ‘the pain, agony, and psychological torment’ the Princes suffered when their mother dies to resurface, branding it ‘disgusting and sick.’
‘Why are they setting out to upset William and Harry?’, she asked.
‘The makers of this programme do not care about the heir to the throne and everything he has been through.
‘Why do these callous, insensitive people feel the need to recreate that horrible day?’
She claims The Crown producers are ‘going out of their way to hurt the Royal Family.’
Dominic West will star opposite Debicki as King Charles, then Prince Charles (Picture: Netflix)
Imelda Staunton takes over from Claire Foy to play Queen Elizabeth II (Picture: AP)
Another controversial moment set to appear in the new series is Princess Diana’s bombshell interview with journalist Martin Bashir, which took place in 1995.
A trailer for the hotly-anticipated season depicts Debicki as the Royal, taking her seat before the broadcaster and vowing: ‘I won’t go quietly. I’ll battle till the end.’
It was in that candid Panorama chat that Princess Diana claimed there were ‘three of us’ in their marriage as she spoke about her husband’s affair with now-Queen Consort Camilla Parker-Bowles (played by Olivia Williams in the show) for the first time.
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Shortly after the interview aired and was watched by more than 20million people, the late Queen Elizabeth II wrote to Charles and Diana, telling them to divorce.
Children at the time, Princes William and Harry will also make appearances in season 5, with Prince William played by Senan West and Harry by Will Powell.
Imelda Staunton takes over from Claire Foy to play the late Queen.
Netflix declined to comment.
The Crown season 5 premieres on Netflix on November 9.
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She claims The Crown producers are ‘going out of their way to hurt the Royal Family.’