Diana’s final days – and the death of The Crown: As the final series airs, the cast of The Crown reveal how the tragedy in Paris – and the death of the Queen – created a somber atmosphere on set

Death hangs over the sixth and final series of The Crown. Filming had just begun when it was announced that the Queen – whose unwavering sense of duty and dedication have always been the beating heart of this comprehensive biography of her reign – had died last September.

Along with the nation, many of the cast fell into mourning, but then filming resumed and The Crown’s version of Her Majesty had to be brought back to life.

“We started filming, and very soon afterwards the Queen died, so it was quite difficult to be honest,” says Imelda Staunton, who won critical acclaim for her portrayal of the Queen in the fifth series and, along with the rest of the series spoke. the cast, before the current actors’ strike.

“We carried on with as much dignity and grace as they always have at The Crown, but there was clearly a very different feeling in the world and in England, and even more so at The Crown.

‘We couldn’t do anything else. We had to keep going, but we were all a little sad. I think it probably just affected our mood, rather than changing the material. But there’s no doubt it was different.’

However, it’s another death that will be the primary focus of the storyline when the first half of the series is released.

The emotional first four episodes cover the tragic car crash in Paris that killed Princess Diana in August 1997 – along with her lover Dodi Fayed and their driver Henri Paul – and the royal family’s reaction to it, as well as Diana’s summer holiday and Dodi were enjoying in St Tropez prior to the tragedy.

The Paris scenes were shot in the French capital, while a yacht was rented for the St. Tropez scenes, although they were actually shot in Mallorca.

For sensitivity reasons, the exact moment of Diana’s death is not recreated, but there are controversial scenes in which Charles tenderly talks to an imaginary Diana in the cabin of the royal plane as he accompanies her body from Paris to London, and later when she also appears to the Queen.

Critics who have seen these scenes have called them “farcical” for depicting Diana as a ghost, but series creator Peter Morgan has insisted this was not the intention.

“I never imagined it would be the ghost of Diana in the traditional sense of the word,” he told Variety magazine. “It was her life that lived on vividly in the minds of those she left behind.”

The Crown was created by Morgan after the success of his 2006 film about the royal family’s response to Diana’s death, The Queen.

And the series – which has earned 21 Emmys and dozens of BAFTA nominations, not to mention some criticism for its historical inaccuracies – covers the same ground, but uses new information gathered in the 17 years since the Oscar-winning movie was made.

In fact, the scripts had to be constantly updated as the Royal Family was in the news throughout the filming period, not only after the Queen’s death, but also after the publication of Prince Harry’s memoir Spare.

“I assumed that Charles is an emotional and quite outspoken man, despite the buttoned-up appearance he has to have in public,” says Dominic West, who plays the then-Prince.

“But when Harry wrote his book and said he never hugged him or anything, we had to change that.”

The first few episodes were particularly tough for the entire cast as Diana’s final days were recreated with new love Dodi aboard his father’s yacht.

At the end of series five we met American model Kelly Fisher, who Dodi was dating when he started seeing Diana.

While courting the princess on a family yacht, Jonikal, Kelly was left alone on another boat. She later claimed they were engaged.

For Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Diana, filming these scenes was quite a challenge. “Even though I had a physical break before that, I was probably always thinking about what was coming next,” she says.

‘We see her going on holiday with the boys to St. Tropez and then to Paris. A lot of it was actually a lovely time.

“We were in a really beautiful part of the world, so I was just letting that wash over me all the time and trying to relax a little bit, knowing what was coming.”

The story then continues in Balmoral, where the family must deal with the devastating news.

For Jonathan Pryce, who plays Prince Philip, filming the scenes brought back emotional memories of Diana’s death.

“I remember turning on the radio and hearing something about Diana and Paris and I thought, ‘What the heck?'” he says.

‘And when I turned on the television it was such a shock. It made both my wife and I quite tearful, and I never thought I’d be crying over a member of the royal family.

‘When we were filming in Scotland, the director of the episode around Diana’s death put together a reel for me and I couldn’t stop crying.

‘Neither could the cameraman who filmed it, nor could the director. It was an extraordinary moment. I relived waking up and listening to the radio.’

The difficulty of that time is recreated as we see how Charles tells William and Harry that their mother has died, and how he deals with the demands of the nation who wanted the family to be seen.

“It’s pretty much the worst period of Charles’ life, so there are a lot of scenes where he’s trying to come to terms with Diana’s death and breaking the news to his sons, trying to help them grieve and having varying degrees of success in doing so.” he says. Dominic.

“There were some really tough scenes and a lot of tears for Charles. But I love crying, so it was great.

‘Then there were lots of teas at Windsor Castle or on Christmas Day or family photos or weddings that we were all at and that was the biggest joy because you sit in a room and everyone looks like part of the Royal Family so it’s hilarious. Then Imelda comes in and you say, ‘My God, there’s the queen!’

The final six episodes of the series, which will be available in December, will see the family pick up after Diana’s death, covering William and Kate’s budding romance in St Andrews, ending with Charles and Kate’s wedding Camilla in April 2005.

The college scenes were actually filmed at St Andrews and the wedding at York Minster.

Netflix boss Ted Sarandos has explained why the series ends there. “The limit was to keep it historical, not journalistic,” he said. “Stopping almost twenty years before the day makes it worthy.”

Dominic – whose wife Catherine FitzGerald, a gardener, is friends with Charles in real life – says he fought against Koningshoek.

‘I really like him and admire him. “I think he’s a good guy who gets a lot of attention and I didn’t want to add anything to that,” he says.

“But there were plenty of people around me who expressed the opposite view, so hopefully the outcome is compassionate but relatively balanced.”

Fans will once again enjoy recreating key moments and sometimes eerie portraits of characters we know so well, although Dominic reveals he has ditched the use of ear popping for this series.

“They popped my ears out, but it was quite a hassle and they were quite uncomfortable and didn’t make much difference,” he says. “Unfortunately, they didn’t make me look more like Charles.”

Instead, he focuses on an impression of the character rather than a full likeness, revealing that he and Olivia Williams, who plays Camilla, had “trigger phrases” to get into the character.

‘My main one was based on an interview with Charles on a plane to Australia when he said, ‘I’m just doing it for jolly old Britain.’

“Olivia would say, ‘Modern democracy’ to get into her role, and then I’d say, ‘Very old Britain,’ and then we’d start the scene.”

For Imelda Staunton, his on-screen mother, it was the outfits that made the difference.

“Everything I wear is handmade and all those details help,” she says.

‘We do the make-up and when the wig goes on we say, “Here we go, that’s it.” But actually the lipstick does it.

‘It’s like putting all the ingredients into a fantastic meal. They have to be right and it has to be cooked for the right amount of time, but for two and a half years they have made me feel like the queen every day.”

• The Crown can be seen on Netflix from Thursday.