A recent departure from The Crown staff has some fans wondering if Season 5 will be accurate in its portrayal of Princess Diana.
Jemima Khan, who joined the hit Netflix series as a consultant for the fifth season, has left the show due to its portrayal of her late friend.
According to Jemima, she removed herself from working on the upcoming season because a particular storyline involving Diana was written.
Jemima Joined The Crown Because of Her Friendship With Diana
In an interview done with The Sunday Times, Jemima explained she initially joined the show because of her close relationship with Diana.
After countless projects failed to portray Diana correctly, at least according to Jemima, she was hopeful Season 5 of The Crown would be different.
“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,” she shared.
Jemima also revealed she was asked to cowrite the fifth season because of her closeness with Diana, but she claimed her co-writing agreement “was not honored.”
“In 2019, [creator] 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. After a great deal of thought, having never spoken publicly about any of this before, I decided to contribute,” she explained.
“When our cowriting 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 and I declined a credit.”
Netflix Responded to Jemima’s Claims
Following Jemima’s claims, Netflix released a statement and said she was never asked to be a writer on the series.
“Jemima Khan has been a friend, fan, and a vocal public supporter of The Crown since season 1,” they said in a statement.
“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.”
Season 5 Will Return in One Year
Despite the drama surrounding the Season 5 storyline, the new season is expected to drop exactly one year from this month.
And, while Emma Corrin played Diana in Season 4, Elizabeth Debicki will be taking on the role in Season 5.
Are you excited for the new season despite the drama?
