British television producer and close friend of the late Princess Diana, Jemima Khan, says she has pulled her contributions from the upcoming season of The Crown. Khan told the U.K.’s Sunday Times that the show’s creator Peter Morgan asked her to consult on season five of the Netflix show, which recounts the years leading up to Diana’s death in 1997. Khan says she worked on the outline and scripts with Morgan from September 2020 until February 2021. “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,” said Khan. “When our cowriting agreement was not honoured, and when I realized that particular story line 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.” The period of time covered in season five includes Diana’s romances with British-Pakistani surgeon Hasnat Khan and Egyptian film producer Dodi Al-Fayed, as well as her controversial interview with Martin Bashir. (Hasnat Khan is a distant cousin of Jemima’s ex-husband, Imran Khan.)
“Jemima Khan has been a friend, fan and a vocal public supporter of The Crown since season 1,” Netflix said in a statement to the Times. “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.” Netflix is expected to release the new season of The Crown in November 2022, starring Elizabeth Debecki as Princess Diana, Khalid Abdalla as Dodi Al-Fayed, and Dominic West as Prince “Whatever Love Means” Charles.
