Royal experts slam The Crown’s Diana bulimia scenes as ‘too graphic’ after viewers see her gorging on desserts before forcing herself to be sick in palace toilets
Royal experts have criticised graphic scenes in The Crown which portray Princess Diana’s struggle with bulimia.
In one distressing sequence Emma Corrin’s Diana is shown putting her fingers down her throat to be sick following a heated argument with Prince Charles.
In another, she is seen gorging on desserts before again forcing herself to be sick in a toilet in the palace.
In one distressing sequence Emma Corrin’s Diana is shown putting her fingers down her throat to be sick following a heated argument with Prince Charles (scene from The Crown)
Some of the scenes are so graphic that viewers are given an on-screen warning at the beginning of the three episodes where her bulimia is depicted.
Royal biographers have asked whether The Crown could have treated the subject with greater sensitivity.
Writer Ingrid Seward told the Daily Mail: ‘It was a significant thing in her young life, so I think it needed to be depicted in some way.
‘It would have been absolutely fine having her bending over the loo, but I don’t think you need quite such detail. I think it perhaps was a bit over embellished.’
Last week Miss Corrin said the graphic portrayals of Diana’s bulimia were written into the script at her request (above Emma Corrin as Diana)
The Queen’s ex-press secretary Dickie Arbiter said the drama could not ignore Diana’s bulimia but added that it was important for viewers to remember that ‘the script is fiction, the words are fiction and some of the actions are fiction’.
In 1991 Diana told biographer Andrew Morton: ‘The bulimia started the week after we got engaged.
‘My husband put his hand on my waistline and said something like, “Oh, a bit chubby here, aren’t we?” And that triggered off something in me.
‘I remember the first time I made myself sick, I was so thrilled.’
In 1991 Diana told biographer Andrew Morton: ‘The bulimia started the week after we got engaged. ‘My husband put his hand on my waistline and said something like, “Oh, a bit chubby here, aren’t we?” And that triggered off something in me. (Pictured: Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1985)
Last week Miss Corrin said the graphic portrayals of Diana’s bulimia were written into the script at her request.
‘I felt that if we were trying to depict bulimia in an honest way, we had to actually show it – otherwise it’s a disservice to anyone who has been through that,’ she told the Radio Times.
A Netflix spokesman said: ‘The Crown producers worked closely with the eating disorder charity BEAT to ensure that their portrayal of Princess Diana’s bulimia was both accurate to the disorder and sensitively handled.
‘When viewers watch the series on Netflix they will see warning cards at the beginning of the episodes giving details of how to seek help if required.’