‘The Crown’ Creator Defends Choice to Use Princess Diana’s ‘Ghost’ in Final Season

The Crown creator Peter Morgan is explaining his decision to use Princess Diana's "ghost" in the forthcoming and final season of the hit Netflix series, which is set to premiere on the streaming service in November.

Though details about Season 6 have largely been kept under wraps — as Variety notes that only a few people sworn to secrecy have seen the episodes thus far – Morgan addressed the backlash he received after a scene involving an apparition of the late Princess of Wales was reportedly leaked to the Daily Mail. 

"I never imagined it as Diana’s 'ghost' in the traditional sense," Morgan told Variety. "It was her continuing to live vividly in the minds of those she has left behind. Diana was unique, and I suppose that’s what inspired me to find a unique way of representing her. She deserved special treatment narratively."

Per the Daily Mail article, Charles (played by Dominic West) talks to Diana (played by Elizabeth Debicki) in the royal plane as her body is flown from Paris to London after a paparazzi car chase claimed her life. Diana also later appears in a scene with Queen Elizabeth (played by Imelda Staunton), per the report. 

During the interview, Morgan went on to tell Variety The Crown's creators were also intentional about the things they didn't include on the show. "Speculation about paternity, affairs, this, that. It’s unbelievable, all we could have written," he said, adding that they were "never" contemplating showing the crash that ended Diana's life.

The Crown follows the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Its first season premiered on Netflix in 2016. The first four episodes of Season 6 are slated to premiere on the streaming giant on Nov. 16, and the remaining six episodes will be released on Dec. 14.