Netflix crash scene is voyeuristic and cruel, says French priest who gave Diana last rites
THE priest who gave Princess Diana the last rites has furiously condemned the makers of The Crown for ‘hurting’ Prince William and Prince Harry by depicting the scene of their mother’s fatal crash.
Speaking exclusively to The Mail on Sunday, Father Yves-Marie Clochard-Bossuet tore into Netflix for recreating the tragic accident.
His powerful tirade has plunged Netflix into a fresh crisis over the hugely controversial royal saga.
Last night, politicians and authors echoed his condemnation and said the crash scenes – filmed for the sixth season to be broadcast next year – must never be shown.
In ghoulish scenes last week in Paris, The Crown production team filmed exactly where Diana, who is played by Elizabeth Debicki in the drama, was left with fatal injuries.
The French priest with her in hospital as she lay dying said: ‘It’s crass, and it’s certainly not necessary. Netflix are being voyeuristic. Their filming is commercially driven, and they are simply interested
‘No need for new images of this terrible event’
in attracting as many viewers as possible.
‘There is no need to recreate the events of that night. This is because Diana has children, she has a brother and sisters, and it affects the feelings of her entire family. They will all be hurt by the reconstruction of this accident.
‘We all know the facts of what happened – it is all very clear, so there is no need to produce new images of this terrible event.’
It comes after repeated calls – led by this newspaper – for the drama to carry a disclaimer that it is a work of fiction.
And last week, The Mail on Sunday revealed the macabre staging of Diana’s funeral by The Crown, branded ‘crude, cruel and totally insensitive’ by those close to the Royal Family.
The 200-strong Crown film crew in Paris reconstructed the princess’s last journey in a Mercedes limousine before it crashed in the Alma Tunnel in August 1997.
Diana’s boyfriend Dodi Fayed, 42, and the driver, Henri Paul, 41, died instantly, while British bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, 29, was seriously injured but survived.
An ambulance rushed Diana to the Pitié Salpêtrière hospital, where Father Yves-Marie was the duty Christian cleric. He prayed over her body for ten hours before attending a grim meeting with Prince Charles, senior French and British officials.
Father Yves-Marie said: ‘When I found myself alone in the room with her, the first thing that came to my mind were her two children.
‘These two young children to whom we were going to announce the tragic death of their mother.
‘At the time, the only two things I really knew about Diana was that she had two young sons, and that she was divorced. These were the two things that really moved me.’
Following the tragedy, he struck up a close friendship with Diana’s mother, Frances Shand Kydd, who was a convert to Catholicism.
Netflix paid Ville de Paris – Paris council – to shut the Alma Tunnel and surrounding streets for three nights until Friday morning. The crew placed cameras in front of the pillar the Mercedes crashed into.
In reality, the paparazzi were some distance behind Diana’s limousine, yet the Netflix reconstruction showed them around it on motorbikes, lenses pointing inside.
Father Yves-Marie was not asked to help Netflix, but ‘would certainly have said no’. He said: ‘What touched me most personally about this tragedy is the friendship that Diana’s mother showed toward me. I now say a mass for Diana and her mother regularly.’
Former UK Cabinet Minister David Mellor said: ‘These scenes should never be aired. It shows grotesque bad taste to do this for which they should be ashamed.’
Royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith said: ‘These scenes belong on the floor of the cutting room.’
Netflix said last night: ‘The Crown Season 6 will cover the lead-up and aftermath, but the crash will not be featured.’