The Crown: Susanna discusses Princess Diana crash scene
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
Piers Morgan’s wife Celia Walden argued that “we already know far more than we should” about the tragic Paris car crash that caused Princess Diana’s death, and criticised Netflix show The Crown for creating a replica of her wrecked Mercedes to show onscreen. She praised the show for “undoubtedly” being “a work of art” but branded it “sick” for the prop after new images emerged.
Celia, a 47-year-old French-born journalist who is also the wife of 57-year-old Piers Morgan, wrote an article for the Telegraph detailing her feelings about the choice the show bosses made to dramatize the tragedy.
She described the mangled S-Class Mercedes replica, now on set as a prop at Elstree Studios, as “triggering”.
Celia added that, even for those who did not know Diana in real life, her reputation as the people’s princess made their relationship to her “deeply personal”.
She also referenced the fact that Netflix had made a promise to the public not to screen “the exact moment of the crash impact”.
READ NOW: Denise Van Outen opens up about ‘strange’ relationship with ex-husband
In Celia’s eyes, leaked photos that have since emerged of the destroyed prop car have made a “mockery” of that vow.
On the positive side, Celia praised the show’s “genius” creator Peter Morgan, declaring that the series “is undoubtedly a thing of beauty, a work of art”.
However, she then argued that while some of the show’s previous “insensitivities” might be passed off as “artistic licence”, she felt this latest move had gone too far.
Celia suggested that “royal fetishism” had obliterated sensitivity, and declared that in this case, The Crown’s otherwise gripping portrayal of Britain’s most renowned family had transformed from “awe-inspiring” to “sick”.
Recalling members of the public sobbing when they heard of Diana’s death, she reasoned: “If a shot of a mangled car can trigger all that in those of us who never knew Princess Diana, imagine what it must do to her sons, family and loved ones.”
This is a matter that Prince Harry recently discussed in a televised interview to promote his memoir, Spare.
He revealed he’d been grateful to his secretary, Jamie, for removing photographs of the crash from his sight that he deemed too graphic and gruesome for him.
“I don’t know where I’d be now if I saw the stuff that I wanted to see, that I demanded to see,” he told ITV interviewer Tom Bradby.
“The idea that she’d been taken away and that William and I were now motherless, was something that I just couldn’t comprehend,” he explained.
He added that people had been discussing photographs of the wreckage, prompting him to ask for proof that his much-loved mum had really died.
However, he is now thankful that he was shielded from the worst of the images.
Specifically, he recalled that he saw “the back of her blonde hair slumped on the seat”, but that photos portraying her face and her blood had been withheld from him to safeguard his mental health.
“I will remain eternally grateful for Jamie for showing me what he believed I needed to see, but removing the stuff that he knew I didn’t need to see,” he clarified.
Meanwhile, The Crown has also proved divisive with viewers for its hard-hitting and intensely personal storylines.
In one scene depicting King Charles during his early days as a prince, he tells his mother, Queen Elizabeth II: “If we were an ordinary family and social services came to visit they would have thrown us into care and you into jail.”
However, show bosses have insisted that the events portrayed are a dramatization and not intended to be an accurate portrayal of life behind closed doors.
Meanwhile, Celia’s views of The Crown’s car crash portrayal echo husband Piers’ thoughts about how the show portrayed the Queen, with him tweeting that it was “a slur” and “grotesquely unfair”.
Source: Read Full Article