The shock of The Crown

The temporarily last season of The Crown is on Netflix and that had to be devoured, of course. It has something strange: you know how it was and ends (at least, I thought so) and yet you can't wait to see how the epic unfolds.

Everything was as I imagined it, except for one incredibly important aspect: the love between Dodi and Diana. Where I was under the impression that this was a heavenly love, it was actually more of an escape route. Diana didn't want to be in England during the weekend that Charles would throw a big party for Camilla who turned 50 and seized the invitation to stay on Mohammed Al-Fayed's yacht with both hands.

What Diana didn't know is that Mohammed was meanwhile playing Cupid and did everything to connect Diana and Dodi.

Of course, that worked. Put two quite desperate people together on a million-dollar yacht, immerse them in champagne and luxury, and the chances are high that something will happen. And undoubtedly they must have had feelings for each other. But, as it is highlighted in The Crown at least, it wasn't a sparks-flying-this-is-bigger-than-everything kind of love.

What I also found so intensely painful is the terrible chain of coincidences that led to all this happening. Here's how it went. Diana wanted to go to London, she missed her boys terribly and wanted to see them. Dodi thought it was a bad idea for her to fly on a regular plane and insisted that she fly on a private jet. He did want to make a stop in Paris because he wanted to buy a ring for her there (they were fleeing from a group of tourists who had recognized them) and then propose to her. Not that he himself was so eager, but his father put a lot of pressure on him.

So off they went. Reluctantly. At least, Diana didn't really need to go. She was homesick for William and Harry and felt incredibly chased. Everywhere they went, photographers and people on the street gathered, fighting for a photo.

So the circus moved from the Ritz to the restaurant and then back to the suite and ultimately to Dodi's apartment. When you look at the footage, it's incomprehensible that they were fed to a pack of hungry lions like a couple of lambs and that no police escort was arranged. Or at the very least, a car with tinted windows. It was terrible. Meanwhile, you see Diana who is only busy calling William and Harry (for which she is again late due to all the delays). What happens in the series, and of course we don't know if it's true, is that she broke up with Dodi. Or at least she doesn't take his proposal seriously at all and tells him wisely and maturely that he is still involved in an engagement and that this is all going way too fast. Because she feels chased in the hotel, they spontaneously and unexpectedly decide to go to his apartment. The driver thought he was off duty, so he was already enjoying himself at the bar with a Pernod when he had to drive after all. And yes, thus the chain of coincidences that led to a catastrophe was complete. They were still being followed, drove too fast, the driver was drunk, and in her haste, Diana hadn't fastened her seatbelt.

I already found it one of the saddest moments in history, but to now see the total unnecessary nature of the situation is hard to digest. I could only think of those poor William and Harry.

Image: Netflix