The Way The Crown Is Approaching Princess Diana's Death Is Making Some Crew Members Jittery

Princess Diana is one of the most beloved royals in history but, by choosing to focus on her, "The Crown" is wading into increasingly controversial waters. Diana's friend walked away from working on Season 5 of "The Crown" because she wasn't convinced the show was going to do justice to her dearly departed friend's memory. Vulture reported Jemima Khan had been working closely on scripts for the project since September 2020 but, in February 2021, she abruptly left.

As Khan clarified to The Sunday Times, "It was really important to me that the final years of my friend's life be portrayed accurately and with compassion, as has not always happened in the past." Khan decided to walk away from the project for good after "our co-writing agreement was not honored, and when I realized that particular storyline would not necessarily be told as respectfully or compassionately as I had hoped." 

Khan didn't take any credit for her work, and in fact, requested that her contributions thus far be removed. Elsewhere, Diana's controversial interview with Martin Bashir takes up an entire episode in Season 5 of "The Crown," suggesting salaciousness is the order of the day. Unfortunately, fans' worries won't be calmed by on-set reports about how the princess's final moments are being dealt with.

The upcoming season of Netflix mega-hit "The Crown" is set to be its most shocking yet, following widespread reports that Princess Diana's tragic death, during a paparazzi skirmish in Paris, will be recreated. According to The Sun, crew members working on the show are even worried that "a line has been crossed." The content of Season 5, which stars Elizabeth Debicki as the beloved royal, has already been headline-grabbing thanks to its dubious plotlines, including one about Prince Philip's rumored affair. 

But it's nothing compared to what's planned for the people's princess. As one source put it, as noted in The Sun, "To be going back to Paris and turning Diana's final days and hours into a drama feels very uncomfortable." As they explained, although "The Crown" has always dealt with the real-life history of the royal family, the more recent the stories are, the harder it is to show the required "sensitivity" to them — especially considering some are "still so fresh and upsetting." Thus, the production staff is fighting back and making their concerns known.

Deadline confirmed the fatal crash, which killed Diana, will not be shown onscreen. Instead, the events leading up to it will be covered in depth, followed by the aftermath accordingly. Regardless, the atmosphere on set is tense, with one source pointing to the "bombshell sensitivity" around this particular moment in the late princess's life.