The Crown: what's true and what's false in season six? We unpick part one of the new series
The first part of the most anticipated series of the year finally dropped in November; the second part is set to land on Netflix on Thursday.
The Crown season six – the show’s final installment – aims to portray some of the most controversial moments in the Royal Family's history, which all took place within living memory for most viewers: from Diana’s tragic death to Camilla's 50th birthday party.
The show’s creator, Peter Morgan, has often stressed that The Crown is a dramatisation (for which sometimes read: fictionalisation) of real-life events. But that didn't stop us from dissecting part one to figure out if Dodi and Diana’s relationship really did unfold that way, or if the aftermath of her death (which is barely shown onscreen) is true to life.
With just a couple of days left to wait until part two premieres on Netflix, here’s our breakdown of the key events of The Crown season six so far, and how well they match up to what happened in real life.
Diana’s meeting with Tony Blair
Diana’s visit to Tony Blair at the Prime Minister’s home of Chequers is one of the more surprising moments early in the series. Together with William, Diana meets the Blairs, plays football with the family and then the Princess has a quiet chat with Tony Blair about wanting to reshape her life out of the Royal Family, taking an official role doing good work on behalf of the government.
When Blair recounts this to the Queen, later, however, she's having none of it. “As a divorced woman and no longer HRH, Diana is officially learning the difference between being ‘in’ the royal family, and ‘out’”, she says. Very Harry and Meghan.
There was a lunch – but apparently, Cherie Blair was the person who invited Diana over, rather than Tony. Blair writes about it in his biography, though his recollection
