Netflix drama The Crown is full of drama, both onscreen and off. Princess Diana’s friend Jemima Khan has just announced that she left the show after disagreeing with co-writers about the portrayal of the late princess.
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Diana’s Story Will Not Be Told ‘Respectfully or Compassionately’ – Khan
“In 2019, Peter Morgan asked me to co-write on the fifth series of The Crown, particularly those episodes which concerned Princess Diana’s last years before she died,” Khan told the Sunday Times. “After a great deal of thought, having never spoken publicly about any of this before, I decided to contribute.”
“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… We worked together on the outline and scripts from September 2020 until February 2021.”
She continued, “When 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, I requested that all my contributions be removed from the series.”
Netflix Claims Khan Was Never A Writer For The Show
In response to Khan’s interview, Netflix released a statement saying she never served as a co-writer, but made no mention of the show’s portrayal of Princess Diana.
“Jemima Khan has been a friend, fan, and a vocal public supporter of The Crown since Season 1,” the statement read. “She has been part of a wide network of well-informed and varied sources who have provided extensive background information to our writers and research team — providing context for the drama that is The Crown. She has never been contracted as a writer on the series.”
This isn’t the first time the show has been criticized for taking liberties with history, but The Crown has never claimed to be a completely accurate retelling. They simply dramatize moments that are rooted in historical fact.
The upcoming fifth season will recount the years leading up to Diana’s death in 1997, including her divorce from Prince Charles and her romances with surgeon Hasnat Khan and film producer Dodi Al-Fayed. It will also include her explosive interview with Martin Bashir.
The role of Princess Diana was played to critical acclaim by Emma Corrin, but is being passed to Elizabeth Debecki to account for the time jump.
Season 5 of The Crown is expected to be released in November of 2022.