​'Sad and tasteless': Princess Diana depiction in The Crown blasted 'offensive' by royal expert

“I think it's demeaning to the people who survive and it's demeaning to the memory of those who have sadly gone before us.“

“The idea of introducing a ghost into anything, let alone the ghost of Diana, after you've also done the portrayal of the moment of her death, I think is deeply, deeply offensive to the vast majority of the British public.”

Although Netflix has elected to stop short of showing the fatal crash which killed Diana, it is said her ghost will appear to speak with ex-husband Charles after her passing.

Christys weighed in, saying: “You don't regularly hear me have sympathy for Harry necessarily, but the idea of your mum being portrayed as a ghost in The Crown, which apparently he watches…”

Cole was a fan of the Netflix series during its first few series, saying “Claire Foy as the young Queen was utterly brilliant!”

“Buckingham Palace was hugging itself with glee that it was such a brilliant advertisement for the monarchy. But this series is, I think, the Crown's bridge far too far.”

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Cole also questioned the quality of the show’s writing, and its historical accuracy, as it enters its sixth and final series.

“I think it cheapens it. It is rather a cheap conceit and I wish they hadn't gone there.”

“Of course there have been mistakes, but by and large the theme has been correct. The facts have been well within the bounds of what actually happened.”

“Isn't the story strong enough without conjuring up ghosts from the grave?”

Finally Cole wondered at Netflix’s motives, not only for the controversial scene in question, but for the show’s entire final series.

“If you remember Patrick, it was said by Peter Morgan, the originator of this, that it was going to end at the end of the last series.”

“And then they decided for whatever reason, Netflix wanted to squeeze the last drop of juice out of the lemon.”

“Diana is dead. We miss her. I certainly do, 26 years later. Let her rest in peace. I think it's unfair to her sons and everybody else, and even to the King and the Queen.”