Despite Prince William's Pleas, 'The Crown' Will Showcase Princess Diana's Martin Bashir Interview

In 1995, the BBC's Martin Bashir interviewed Princess Diana in what would become one of the most famous sitdowns of all time. It was in this interview where Diana famously said, "There were three of us in this marriage."

News that The Crown would tackle this interview in an entire episode of the new season broke recently. 

While we don't know where the episode goes, in real life, Prince William and other Royals have said that specific interview has "no legitimacy" when it was exposed that Bashir used specific tactics, including falsified documents to gain Princess Diana's trust. 

An independent investigation by Lord Dyson found that the BBC interview “fell short of the high standards of integrity and transparency which are its hallmark.”

At the time of the inquest, Prince William said, “This ‘Panorama’ program holds no legitimacy and should never be aired again. It effectively established a false narrative which, for over a quarter of a century, has been commercialized by the BBC and others.”

“The ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices ultimately took her life,” Prince Harry added. 

But still, this interview became infamous for the conversation between Diana and Basir and for the fact that it happened exactly two years prior to Diana's death. 

This of course is on-brand with The Crown, which has never shied away from the stickier or sadder moments within the Royals' lives. Still, it's surprising Netflix is letting them go there, especially with their deal with Prince Harry, who has an overall with the network. 

The Crown is there to fictionalize reality for us, so it will be interesting to see how they tread around this controversial moment in history. Although they have the benefit of having all the facts about Bashir and his tactics to dramatize. 

According to The Mirror, an insider has said, “To the writers, the stormy marriage between Charles and Di led up to her outpouring on Panorama, and the aftermath of that decision defined her final months. They are making a huge investment in that. The Crown has a track record of delving into areas of the Royal Family’s history they’d rather be left alone.”

Season 5 of The Crown is due to stream in November 2022, with Elizabeth Debicki playing Princess Diana.

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