How Does ‘The Crown’ Handle Princess Diana’s Death in Season 6?
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Crown, Season 6, Part 1, Episodes 1-4.]
The Crown‘s biggest question was finally answered in Part 1 of its sixth and final season as Princess Diana‘s (Elizabeth Debicki) death was addressed across four intriguing episodes.
Since Peter Morgan‘s Netflix darling debuted, the question of how it would handle the beloved Princess’ fatal car accident has hung over the royal drama, and the big moment has finally come to pass by the time Part 1 of Season 6 wraps up. For that reason, if you haven’t tuned into the four-episode section, it might be best to turn back now as we dive into spoiler territory, below.
Beginning in the first installment, “Persona Non Grata,” the scene opens with a man walking his dog when suddenly the camera pans out to reveal the Eiffel Tower, indicating the Parisian setting. When a car races by him with resulting crash sounds upon entering a tunnel, he pulls out his cell phone to call for help, unaware of who is inside.
This is just a taste of things to come though as the scene shifts to a moment eight weeks earlier, toward the beginning of summer. Still friendly with Mohamed Fayed, a.k.a. Mou Mou (Salim Daw), Diana vacations with him on a yacht alongside her sons Prince William (Rufus Kampa) and Prince Harry (Fflyn Edwards).
(Credit: Netflix)
But as the getaway carries on, Mohamed has plans of his own, forcing his son Dodi (Khalid Abdalla) to come to visit and entertain the princess to push them together romantically. At first, Dodi is hesitant but follows through for the sake of his father’s approval. Meanwhile, Diana sends her boys back home and decides to get swept up in Dodi who has destroyed an engagement to pursue her.
While her boys and charity work are Diana’s first priority, she uses her extended free time to connect with Dodi, unaware of what’s about to happen for them both. Mohamed stokes the flames of press intrigue, sharing information on where the couple will be and things escalate to an extreme by the third installment, “Dis-Moi Oui,” when the pair take a detour to Paris after a brief getaway together.
Insistent about returning home, Diana doesn’t understand why Dodi is so eager to make a day trip to Paris, but he’s been encouraged by Mohamed to propose, and he’s gone to pick up the ring she liked at a Parisian jewelry store. While Dodi works to please his father, Diana seemingly has the day from hell in the hours leading up to her demise.
Upon landing in Paris, she wants to get on a phone so she can chat with her boys, but after being re-routed and re-directed, and caught in the paparazzi storm awaiting them, Diana misses her shot and is forced to try again later. Instead, she gathers a present for Harry’s upcoming birthday and hides away in Dodi’s apartment.
(Credit: Netflix)
Every time the couple exits a building, they’re swarmed and it is terrifying. Eventually, Diana does connect with her sons who worry about her and even ask if she’s planning to marry Dodi. She reassures them that she has no plans to marry, unaware of what Dodi has planned for that evening.
When the couple tries going to dinner, they reroute to the Ritz, where they’re also ogled to the point that Diana ends up in tears. Instead, they retire to a room upstairs for dinner in private. That’s when Dodi’s proposal plans kick in and Diana is forced to shut it down, saying as kindly as possible that she cannot marry him, and giving several good reasons in the process, including her divorce, his broken engagement to another woman, and their own personal journeys.
That doesn’t make them care any less about one another though despite the series taking some big swings with its execution of Diana’s final moments. When Mohamed calls Dodi for an update on the proposal effort, he tells the old man an agreement was made, but proceeds to turn the phone off before saying what really happened.
(Credit: Netflix)
Agreeing to depart the Ritz together, Dodi informs his and Diana’s security team that they’ll take a private car out the back in an effort to avoid the cameras for once that day. A call is made downstairs to inform the driver who is seen drinking heavily at the hotel bar, that he’s been summoned to escort Dodi and Diana.
Promising they’ll be protected as he takes off, the paps are hot on their tail and Diana ducks her head to avoid the flashing lights. Sadly, we return to that scene from the season’s opening moments as a Parisian pedestrian witnesses the accident in real time. Then the action shifts over to the royals at Balmoral where calls come in to inform the Queen (Imelda Staunton) and Charles (Dominic West) about Diana’s situation.
When it’s confirmed she’s died, the reaction is strong, and Charles laments Diana’s loss in the countryside after having made amends as co-parents. Forced to tell his sons in the morning, Charles tries his best before requesting permission to take the Queen’s jet to pick up Diana’s body. At first, Prince Philip (Jonathan Pryce) is resistant, but the Queen allows Charles to follow through.
While Dodi’s body is shown when Mohamed goes to identify him in the morgue, Diana’s is never seen. Instead, when Charles goes to see her, the camera angles up at him to capture his distraught reaction and everyone can hear him sobbing from the other side of the door within the hospital.
The gut-wrenching moment is juxtaposed with a moment aboard the jet when Diana’s ghost visits Charles. She thanks him for his reaction, and they have a moment of closure, even though he swears he’ll always feel guilt over her. Dodi’s ghost also visits Mohamed, giving the old man a chance to apologize for his behavior, but as the rest of the episode plays out, it’s clear he thinks that he’ll be welcomed with open arms by the royals for their shared loss, but he receives no such comfort.
When it comes to deciding Diana’s funeral arrangements, Charles is insistent on a public event in accordance to the public’s mood surrounding the sudden loss. This causes tension within the family as Harry and William struggle to cope and the Queen isn’t sure how to be the figure her people expect at this time. After Diana’s ghost visits her, Elizabeth approaches the situation as a grandmother, opting for more warmth and protection toward her family, but also showing Diana respect by embracing the public funeral which is a misery for the late Princess’ sons.
The fourth episode, “Aftermath,” sees the funeral come together in the final moments, with the Queen delivering her public statement, and praying at bedtime following the memorialization. She peeks over her shoulder, whether it’s for Diana or something else, it’s unclear, but Diana’s finals weeks and looming loss take center stage throughout the four-episode half of the final season.
How do you think the show handled Princess Diana’s death? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section, below, and stay tuned for Part 2 of Season 6 in December.
The Crown, Season 6, Part 1, Streaming now, Netflix (Part 2 Premieres Thursday, December 14)
