As Recent Portrayals of Princess Diana Are Deemed ‘Disrespectful’: Was It All Too Much Too Soon?

Scenes from Spencer, as well as forthcoming plot lines from The Crown, are causing controversy. The world might not be ready, Helen O'Hara writes

Princess Diana

by Helen O'Hara |
Updated on

There has been a rash of Princess Diana content recently with more coming up – Oscar-buzzed film Spencer, season five of The Crown and Broadway musical Diana – and it seemed that the informal rule against dramatizing her life had finally faded away. But a new backlash suggests that the world may not be entirely ready after all.

Discussing Spencer, This Morning’s Alison Hammond said, 'I kind of wish they wouldn’t use Diana’s names' given that they invented elements of her story, while royal experts dismissed the whole thing as 'inaccurate'. Meanwhile Jemima Khan, a longterm friend of Diana’s, was hired as a consultant to season 5 of The Crown but requested that her contributions be removed, 'when I realized that particular storyline would not necessarily be told as respectfully or compassionately as I had hoped,' she said.

The filmed version of the Broadway show Diana, meanwhile, was described as 'bizarre' and 'nightmarish' by The Guardian.

The problem is that all these portrayals deal with the most difficult period of Diana’s life. Upcoming episodes of The Crown will tackle her struggles with bulimia, and – like Spencer – her decision to divorce Prince Charles. That’s tougher material than the young, innocent Diana we saw Emma Corrin play last season, and an era that is already tainted by sensationalistic tabloid coverage.

Worse, the recent inquiry into Martin Bashir’s famous interview with Diana delivered a verdict that the BBC was 'deceitful' in securing the interview, which may also have made the public feel queasier about further delving into that part of her life. It’s one thing if you think that Diana was comfortable talking about her ordeals; quite another if it turns out she may have been pressured into doing so. Maybe there’s something to be said for letting her rest in peace a good bit longer.

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