Spoiler warning: The following article contains major spoilers the crown Season 5. If you don’t want to ruin the show for you, please go back and watch the 10-episode season on Netflix.
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’ve completed it the crown Season 5 or never mind ruins key plot points of a historical drama series. And if any of those statements are, in fact, true, there’s probably a higher chance you’ll want to separate fact from fiction with the events of the penultimate season of the incredibly popular and expensive Netflix series.
Below, three scenes said to have happened in real life and two scenarios that were dreamed up will be detailed the crown Creator Peter Morgan and his writing team. It should be noted that this is not an attack on creatives who work hard the crown (Royal dramas make for excellent TV), but rather to provide greater context for one of the most challenging times in the royal family’s fairly recent history. However, let’s dive into some of the most important moments from the crown Season 5 and find out what’s real and what’s imaginary…
Fact: Queen Elizabeth II had a strong romantic relationship with the Royal Yacht Britannia
the crown Season 5 was booked with two episodes that focus in part on Queen Elizabeth II (this time played by Imelda Staunton) fondness for Britannia, the royal yacht having to travel around the world again and again for so long. From the first five decades of her reign. When it came time to decommission the old ship, she (and other members of the royal family) tried to prolong the Inevitability, in part because of her emotional attachment to the ship.
According to Robert Lacey, who served as a historical consultant at the crownThe real-life Queen Elizabeth II had a deep relationship with Britannia as portrayed in the series. when talking with Washington PostLacey noted that the only time the king, who passed away in September 2022, wept publicly was “when [the] The royal yacht was decommissioned” in 1997. Earlier in the piece, a quote from biographer Robert Hardiman is used, saying “There have been few places where the Queen is happier” than on the ship.
Fiction: John Major says discussion of “abdication” with Prince Charles never happened
While Queen Elizabeth II was trying to save Britain from being decommissioned during… the crown Season 5’s opening, her son and heir, Prince Charles (Dominic West) is wrapped up in a recent poll about his mother and what’s called the “Queen Victoria syndrome” (he doesn’t step down until the youngest Prince of Wales becomes king). This plot line, which plays out at several points throughout the rest of the season, leads to a somewhat uncomfortable meeting between Charles and new Prime Minister John Major (Johnny Lee Miller), as the Queen’s son talks about his mother’s abdication.
There is only one problem, at least in the eyes of the realist John Major, who told L.A daily Mail that the conversation depicted in the series never happened, describing the scene as a “barrel load of malicious nonsense”. And the chances of King Charles III now commenting on the matter appear to be less than zero, as the monarch allegedly stopped watching the crown before the final season. However, those close to the royal family have spoken out about a number of problems with the Netflix show.
Fact: Mohamed Al-Fayed hired King Edward VIII’s former longtime servant
Mohamed Al-Fayed (Selim Daou), the father of Dodi Al-Fayed (Khaled Abdullah), who also died in a car accident in Paris in August 1997 that claimed the life of Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki), is the primary focus of the crown Season 5 episode “Mou Mou.” The episode follows the rise of an Egyptian businessman from a poor boy selling Coca-Cola bottles to a co-owner of the Ritz Paris and an Oscar-winning producer (Fire vehicles). Another aspect of Al-Fayed’s life that touched him was his fascination with the royal family, which began when he saw the former King Edward VIII after he abdicated the throne. This near obsession with the royal family goes so far as to see the business tycoon hire Edward’s former longtime servant.
during a loop of The official podcast of the crown (across the The New York Times), the show’s creator, Peter Morgan, revealed that he initially had some difficulty finding a way to connect Mohamed Al-Fayed to the royal family, but was relieved to discover that Sidney Johnson (Connie Magadzah) served Prince Edward, Duke. Windsor, 30 years after he abdicated, saying “The story fell into my lap.” Throughout the discussion, Morgan also provides some major insights into the relationship the Bahamas servant had with the Windsors and Al-Fayeds throughout his life.
Fact: Martin Bashir used fake documents to interview the BBC
Princess Diana panorama An interview given by former BBC journalist Martin Bashir (Prasanna Bwanarajah) in November 1995 has been a major topic in much of the the crown Season 5, and had segments from several episodes detailing how it all came together, as well as the implications of the controversial reveal. One aspect of the saga covered in great detail was the process of how Bashir persuaded the Princess of Wales to sign off on the interview in the first place: using forged documents to make it appear as if the royal family and government were. spy on her.
After an internal inquiry, BBC published a report In 2021 claimed the former journalist, who also stirred controversy with his 2003 book Live with Michael Jackson Documentary, he acted in a “disingenuous” way to get close to Diana in the first place. This included going to her brother Charles Spencer (Philip Combs) with fake bank statements that indicated alleged espionage by the government. The report also alleged that Bashir lied to several people inside the BBC before and after the explosive interview that shook a nation more than 25 years ago.
The last two episodes of the crown Season five focused heavily on fallout panorama Interview, including the heated interactions between Princess Diana and Prince Charles during and after the divorce proceedings. At one point, the Princess of Wales talked about feeling isolated yet panorama In an appearance, he reveals that Hasnat Khan (Humayun Saeed), the Pakistani cardiac surgeon with whom she fell in love, wanted nothing to do with her in the fallout.
During a 2008 interview with The telegraphPrincess Diana’s former butler, Paul Burrell, revealed that the couple did not separate for good until July 1997, a month before the Princess of Wales died after a car wreck in Paris. According to Burrell, Diana was still “burning a candle” for Khan, even after her engagement to Dodi Al-Fayed.
All five seasons the crown Available to anyone with a Netflix subscription. The final sixth installment of the royal drama is currently in production, which means soon enough, we’ll be breaking down all the crucial scenes to find out what’s fact and what’s fiction.