Watchers of The Crown were left reeling after the opening scene of the new season depicted the tragic circumstances under which Princess Diana passed away.
The scene depicts the paparazzi-led pursuit that took place before Diana and Dodi Fayed’s chauffeur crashed the car in which they were travelling in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France.
The crash led to all three of their deaths.
Read more: Mystery reason behind why William and Kate were late to coronation explained
The final series of The Crown depicts the blossoming relationship between Diana, played by Elizabeth Debicki. and Dodi, played by Khalid Abdalla.
It also explores the relationship between a young Prince William and Kate Middleton when they attended the University of St Andrews.
Fans of the show were shocked with the decision to depict the Paris scene immediately in the new season, with many thinking they would build up to the tragic passing of The Princess of Wales throughout the season.
During the scene, The Crown showed a dog walker in Paris who rang the emergency services after witnessing the car crash.
They then flashed back to eight weeks before the incident.
Viewers were shocked to be greeted with the depiction immediately in the final season, and took to social media to express their distress, as they thought they would have more time with the show before reaching that part of the storyline.
"The first scene of The Crown season 6 episode 1 is literally Diana's accident- I can't do this rn I swear, I'm crying with the first 4 minutes of the episode," said one.
Others said that a scene depicting a final phone call between Diana and her sons Prince William and Prince Harry was the most heartbreaking moment of the series so far.
“The last phone call between Harry, William and Diana broke my heart,” one fan wrote on X.
Another penned: "The last call between Harry, William and Diana is heartbreaking."
Despite the controversial opening scene, many fans of the show heaped praise upon actor Elizabeth Debicki for her portrayal of Diana.
"Just finished part 1 of #TheCrown ’s final season.There’s so much to say :)) but right now the only thing I want to say is an absolutely brilliant acting of Elizabeth Debicki.
It’s her tribute to Lady D, to a woman who will never be forgotten," one tweeted.
Another added; "Just finished the first part of the final season of #TheCrown and I am in tears. Give Elizabeth Debiki all the awards."
Speaking to PA news agency, Elizabeth Debiki explained that she felt like it was "groundhog" day having to shoot those difficult scenes over and over again.
“I always was very clear that, rather than feeling like a victim in it, I was really just trying to get from A to B," she said of her acting work on the scenes.
“It’s just about getting somewhere, and that should be a set thing but because of the way the media were pursuing them so relentlessly and aggressively, what happens is the energy around your journey is just so panicked, it’s so kind of frazzled.
“It’s really uncomfortable and especially being stuck in traffic when you can’t move and they (the media) were, by all accounts very aggressive, sort of banging on the cars and yelling and flashing.
“It’s just completely invasive. And it sort of feels like a stunt. Your body reacts to it quite strongly.
“You have this very strong fight or flight response. You want to be able to, sort of like, escape what’s going on, but you just need to get to your destination.
“So we shot those sequences a lot.
“Obviously, they happened over weeks of re-entering that kind of environment where we’re in a car and we’re moving and people (are) sort of yelling and then, stop, start, stop, start.
“After a while you sort of feel like you’re in this kind of groundhog day experience and it’s super unpleasant.
“One thing that becomes immediately clear to you is that nobody should ever have to endure that.
“People should be able to be protected from that kind of behaviour.”
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