9 Times “The Crown” Left Out Real Life Drama

From Princess Anne’s kidnapping plot to “Squidgygate,” involving Princess Diana and her close friend, The Crown has skipped over some pretty big events. Over the course of its 5 seasons, lots of royal drama has been missed, so let’s take a look at some of the biggest ones.

Princess Anne’s divorce

Something that was left unmentioned in season 4 of The Crown was Princess Anne’s divorce from her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, in 1992. Later that same year, Princess Anne remarried Commander Timothy Laurence. It seems that the love triangle of Princess Di, Prince Charles, and Camilla wasn’t the only love drama going on.

Diana and Camilla’s secret confrontation

It was no secret that Prince Charles was having an affair with Camilla Bowles, and Diana revealed that she finally got the courage to confront Camilla. “I was terrified of her. I said, ’I know what’s going on between you and Charles, and I just want you to know that.’”

Diana said that Camilla responded with, ’"You’ve got everything you ever wanted. All the men in the world fall in love with you and you’ve got 2 beautiful children, what more do you want?’ So I said, ’I want my husband.’ And I said, ’I’m sorry I’m in the way...and it must be hell for both of you. But I do know what’s going on. Don’t treat me like an idiot.’"

Princess Anne breaking away from tradition

Princess Anne can be considered a bit of an underrated trailblazer in the British royal family. The Crown skips on her rebellious ways, as she is actually the first of the royal family to give birth in a hospital rather than at home.

Moreover, she decided to not give her 2 children (Peter and Zara) royal titles, so they aren’t Prince Peter or Princess Zara. Princess Anne explained, “I think it was probably easier for them, and I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles... So I think that was probably the right thing to do.”

When Prince Charles and Diana first met

In season 4 of The Crown, we get the long-awaited Prince Charles and Diana love story, including how they met. However, there is no evidence that the 2 first set eyes on each other at a party with Diana dressed as a nymph — this is a result of artistic imagination.

In fact, according to Princess Diana’s sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, their meeting wasn’t a coincidence. “I introduced them. I’m Cupid,” she said in an interview soon after their engagement announcement. Also, in their engagement video, Princess Diana recalls how they met at Althorp: “We sort of met in a plowed field.”

Diana’s post-natal depression

We learn later from Diana how hard she was finding royal life to be. In her Panorama interview with Martin Bashir in 1995, she opens up about her post-natal depression after the birth of Prince William in 1982, and the pressure of being in the public eye 24/7.

To quote her from the interview, she said, “When no one listens to you, or you feel no one’s listening to you, all sorts of things start to happen,” she said. “I didn’t like myself, I was ashamed because I couldn’t cope with the pressures.”

Princess Anne’s attempted kidnapping

A huge drama for the royal family that was completely left out by The Crown in season 4 was the attempted kidnapping of Princess Anne. In 1974, she was confronted by a man named Ian Ball on her way to Buckingham Palace by car.

In an interview, she described the incident, saying, “He opened the door, and we had a sort of ’discussion’ about where or where not we were going to go.” She continued, explaining, “It’d be much better if [Ball] just went away, and we’d all forget about it.”

1992’s “Squidgygate”

This scandal was revealed when a telephone conversation between Princess Diana and her close friend, James Gilbey, was leaked. It involved a 23-minute conversation where James called Diana by an affectionate pet name, “Squidgy.”

Princess Diana went clubbing with Freddie Mercury

It’s no secret that Princess Diana was loved by everyone, including all of the biggest stars. The actress, Clea Rocos, wrote in her memoir how in the early ’80s Diana went partying with Freddie Mercury at a bar. Apparently, Diana dressed in disguise as a “male model” and she pulled it off without anyone recognizing her!

Princess Diana opening an HIV/AIDS unit in the UK

Princess Di was known for her kind heart and philanthropy. In season 4 of The Crown, we see her visit Harlem Hospital in New York City. In this scene, she embraces one of the young children in front of the cameras to break the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS. And more than that, in 1987, she opened the first purpose-built HIV/AIDS ward at the London Middlesex Hospital.

It was noted by the media that she didn’t wear gloves and was frequently photographed shaking hands with the patients. And The Crown didn’t do justice for her kindness to the LGBTQ community, as she publicly broke the stigma of HIV/AIDS.

What would you like to see more of in The Crown? What do you feel is overdone or exaggerated in the series?