Diana’s GHOST is star of The Crown: First trailer for series 6 shows Imelda Staunton’s Queen tell the late Princess: ‘You’ve finally succeeded in turning this house upside down’
A new trailer for the sixth and final series of Netflix‘s The Crown has been released today – with Princess Diana’s controversial ‘ghost’ featuring as one of the key characters.
Sensationalised conversations between Diana and the late Queen, a watery-eyed King Charles and a ‘final’ phone call with William and his mother – The Crown’s finale does not hold back on creative license.
Netflix bosses are set to prompt controversy with the first part of their final series of the drama as the trailer reveals it will portray the royal family’s most intimate moments in the run-up and aftermath of the crash that killed Diana on August 25 1997.
Elizabeth Debicki, 33, returns for her second season playing the late Princess of Wales and is seen having a ‘final’ phone call with a 15-year-old William, played by Rufus Kampa, 17, before the fatal Paris crash.
William asks Diana if she is okay before she morbidly responds: ‘It’s all just been a bit mad recently,’ before there is a flash of bulbs and audiences see her stepping into the black Mercedes that would drive her to her death.
A new trailer for the sixth and final series of Netflix’s The Crown has been released. Pictured, Diana’s ‘ghost’ speaking to Imelda Staunton’s Queen
The crash is not explicitly revealed in the cryptic trailer but audiences glimpse a shot of Diana clutching onto Dodi Fayed’s hand in the back of the car.
A tight-lipped Queen, played by Imelda Staunton, 67, sensationally declares to Diana, ‘You’ve finally succeeded in turning this house upside down. It’s nothing less than a revolution,’ despite her late Majesty never revealing how she felt about her daughter-in-law.
Another brazenly dramatised scene shows Charles, played by Dominic West, on the phone after the Princess’s death as he grimly declares the funeral, ‘Will be the biggest thing that any of us have ever seen’.
The funeral, which was not shown in the trailer, was filmed at a disused RAF base five miles outside Bicester, Oxfordshire.
Scenes will show Princes William and Harry walking alongside King Charles, the Duke of Edinburgh and Earl Spencer in the procession of mourners behind the coffin of his mother.
The first four episodes, which will drop on the streaming giant on November 16, will heavily feature the young princes as teenagers during the summer of 1997, when they split their time between their mother, who is with the Fayeds on board a yacht in the South of France and their father at Balmoral.
Viewers will also see the Queen being caught off-guard by the vast outpouring of grief following Diana’s death – which is almost certain to upset members of the royal family.
The shows will also feature Mohammed Al Fayed, who died earlier this year, processing the loss of his son while being shunned by the royals as Prince Williams returns to Eton school where he struggles to deal with his mother’s death.
Fans will have to wait until December 14 for the final six episodes which Netflix insiders say will be more ‘jolly.’
The scenes will show Prince William and Kate Middleton meeting at St Andrews University and the final programme will show King Charles and Queen Camilla – played by Olivia Williams – marrying in April 2005.
Today’s trailer, shared on social media by the streaming service, centres on the royal and her tragic death after the fatal Paris car crash in 1997.
Playing Queen Elizabeth II in the final season, Imelda’s character is seen telling Diana’s ‘ghost’ that she’s ‘finally succeeded in turning this house upside down’.
The trailer opens with Elizabeth Debicki’s Diana playing the piano, while explaining in the voiceover: ‘I don’t really understand how I ended up here. Dashing around… and losing sight of myself in the process. I think that’s been the story of my whole life.’
Her Majesty, played by Imelda, appears sombre during one scene shared in the teaser clip
Happy times: During the trailer, scenes play of the Princess singing during a car drive with a young Prince William (pictured together)
The teaser also shows Diana having difficulties dealing with media attention following the end of her marriage to Charles (Dominic West, pictured), the then Prince of Wales
It also shows Diana having difficulties dealing with media attention following the end of her marriage to Charles (Dominic West), the then Prince of Wales.
A royal advisor, while flicking through newspaper front pages dominated by Diana, then tells The Queen: ‘I’m afraid, Your Majesty, interest in the princess’s private life is unlikely to die down any time soon.’
To which Her Majesty responds: ‘All one wants is for that girl to find peace’, while scenes play of the Princess singing during a car drive with a young Prince William.
Her eldest son, played by Rufus Kampa during his teenage years, asks: ‘Mommy, you OK?’. The princess replies: ‘I’m OK, it’s just… It has all been a bit mad recently.’
Diana is then filmed receiving roses from lover Dodi Fayed (Khalid Abdalla) alongside a note, reading: ‘Paris next week?’ before the clip skips to the princess in a car surrounded by photographers.
The final moments of the trailer appear to look at the aftermath of Diana and Dodi’s deaths following a car crash in a Paris tunnel in August 1997.
In the teaser, Dominic as Prince Charles can be heard saying the Queen should ‘be mother to the nation’ as there is talk of silence from Buckingham Palace.
He adds: ‘You’ve seen the images on the television, Diana gave people what they needed, all over the world in their thousands, and they adored her for it.’
The trailer ends with the line: ‘This is going to be the biggest thing that any of us have ever seen.’
Royal insiders suggested the latest instalment will likely be considered in poor taste, particularly as ‘deeply painful memories for members of the family are reduced to sensationalism’.
Speaking to MailOnline, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said that ‘the idea that they have even contemplated Diana as a ghost seems absolutely weird’.
Mr Fitzwilliams said: ‘It is going to be a controversial series any ways 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.
Netflix recently released new images to promote the final series of the hit drama – including a poster (above) showcasing the three actors who played Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown standing side-by-side
‘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.’
The drama will air in two parts, with four episodes up to Diana’s funeral streaming from November 16.
The second part, consisting of the final six shows and concluding with the wedding of Prince Charles to Camilla Parker Bowles, will stream from December 14.
Over the last year, as the show began filming the last series which moves towards the current era, it has been hit with an array of criticisms from charges of fictionalisation to reinterpretation of events.
Former prime minister Sir John Major slammed the series last year after it portrayed that King Charles – then Prince of Wales – had encouraged Sir John to convince the Queen she should abdicate.
Sir John said the scenes ‘will be profoundly hurtful to a family who are still grieving for the very person on whose life the entire drama was founded’.
Former Labour prime minister Tony Blair also slammed the storyline as ‘complete and utter rubbish’.
Meanwhile it received further backlash as it recreated Diana’s car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997, when she was travelling in a car with Dodi Fayed, the son of late Harrods boss Mohammed Al-Fayed.
The moment of the fatal crash in a Paris tunnel was not shown although pictures taken during filming showed a replica of the mangled Mercedes.
Friends of Diana said the show’s makers could face accusations of ‘insensitivity’ and slammed Netflix for ‘raking over the bones’ of the fatal crash.
Debbie Frank, who was Diana’s astrologer, previously told the Mail that it would be ‘terrible’ for William and Harry to see a recreation of the moments leading up to their mother’s death.
‘It’s obviously terrible for Diana’s children to have to see that again. It’s insensitive,’ she said. She added: ‘I feel Diana’s death and the crash was the biggest shock our generation. It had such a huge impact across the national psyche.
‘I guess the makers of The Crown feel they are entitled to show a re-enactment of scenes leading up to her death and that it has dramatic impact. But relatives would think otherwise.’
Executives insisted at the Edinburgh TV festival in August this year that the depiction of Diana’s death had been done with the utmost sensitivity.
Producer Suzanne Mackie said: ‘The show might be big and noisy, but we’re not. We’re thoughtful people and we’re sensitive people. There were very careful, long conversations about how we were going to do it.
In one of the last and most defining acts of her life, Princess Diana was seen walking through a minefield in Angola (pictured left) to promote the vital work of the Halo Trust. Pictured right, recently-released images show actress Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Diana in season six of the royal drama, re-enacting the Princess’ walk
‘The audience will judge it, in the end. But I think it’s been delicately, thoughtfully recreated.
‘Elizabeth Debicki is an extraordinary actress and she was so thoughtful and considerate. She loved Diana. There’s a huge amount of respect from us all. I hope that’s evident.’
Last autumn Netflix bowed to pressure and started to preface the show with a disclaimer saying: ‘Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatisation tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign.’
In an earlier interview, creator Peter Morgan admitted to ‘unavoidable accuracy blips’ but said: ‘I’m absolutely fastidious about there being an underlying truth.’
The release of the trailer comes after it was revealed Princess Diana‘s famous landmine walk has been recreated in the sixth and final season of Netflix’s The Crown.
In one of the last and most defining acts of her life, the princess was seen walking through a minefield in Angola to promote the vital work of a warzone charity.
Now, images from the hit series show actress Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Diana in season six of the royal drama, re-enacting the princess’ walk in 1997.
Debicki is seen wearing an exact replica of Diana’s outfit, which meticulously mimics her chunky gold earrings, blown-out hairstyle and white shirt.
It comes as Netflix boss Ted Sarandos revealed there’s a ‘wall around’ discussing The Crown with Prince Harry.
The streaming service’s CEO told Variety how he has never talked about the hit royal drama with the US-based Duke of Sussex, 39, who has an estimated £80million development deal at Netflix.
‘We keep a wall around this topic when we talk,’ he said, ‘for obvious reasons’, while The Crown’s creator Peter Morgan added that he’s also ‘never had the conversation with [Harry] about it’, despite the royal previously joking he ‘fact-checks’ the series.
Morgan, meanwhile, explained that he’s not read the Duke’s bombshell memoir Spare, explaining: ‘I’ve not read a word of it. Not that I wouldn’t be interested. But I didn’t want his voice to inhabit my thinking too much. I’ve got a lot of sympathy with him.’
It comes after Netflix released new images to promote the final series of the hit drama – including a poster showcasing the three actors who played Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown standing side-by-side.
Shared to X, formerly Twitter, the touching image was posted with the caption: ‘Duty lasts a lifetime.’
The Crown returns to Netflix on November 16.
