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Princess Diana’s friend quits as The Crown consultant over inaccuracies

Princess Diana's longtime friend and confidante Jemima Khan has 'pulled out' of working on The Crown because of its "disrespectful" portrayal of the Diana's final years.

According to The Sunday Times, the 47-year-old screenwriter claims she was asked to come on board to help creator Peter Morgan - who she briefly dated until February this year - with scripts covering the time before her friend died in a Paris car crash in 1997, but she has now withdrawn from the project and asked for her contributions to be removed.

Diana, Princess of Wales, sits next to Jemima Khan (L) during a visit to Shaukat Khanum Hospital
Jemima Khan claims she has 'pulled out' of working on The Crown. Photo: Getty

Jemima had never spoken publicly about her friendship with Diana, but recently said she was keen to help give an "accurate" version of events.

"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," she told the publication.

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Jemima reportedly worked on outlines for season 5 scripts, starring Aussie actress Elizabeth Debecki as the late Princess Diana, which were to include her relationship with Dodi Fayed - who died in the same crash - and her infamous 'Panorama' interview with Martin Bashir.

Elizabeth Debecki as the late Princess Diana on The Crown
Season 5 of The Crown stars Aussie actress Elizabeth Debecki as the late Princess Diana. Photo: Netflix

But she ultimately felt Netflix didn't want to deal with the princess' story as "respectfully or compassionately" as she had hoped.

"We worked together on the outline and scripts from September 2020 until February 2021," she added.

"When our co-writing agreement was not honoured, and when I realised that particular storyline 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."

Diana Princess Of Wales
Season 5 was to cover Diana's relationship with Dodi Fayed and her 'Panorama' interview. Photo: Getty

Following her exit, however, Netflix released a statement to set the record straight over Jemima's involvement in the fifth season of the much-loved royal drama.

"Jemima Khan has been a friend, fan and a vocal public supporter of The Crown since season 1," the statement read.

"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."

Prince William was also said to be "frustrated" with the programme's future plans to portray his mother's life – and in particular her interview with Martin Bashir.

Additional reporting by Bang Showbiz.

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