Did Mohammed really call photographer to take Dodi and Diana pics? The Crown fact checked
EXCLUSIVE: Royal expert Marlene Koenig shed light on the real story behind those kiss photos of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed on the yacht.
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from all seasons of The Crown
Season six, part one of The Crown arrived yesterday (November 16) on Netflix with four new episodes for fans to binge.
The new instalments focused on Princess Diana’s (played by Elizabeth Debicki) summer fling with Dodi Fayed (Khalid Abdalla), which was engineered by his businessman father Mohamed Al Fayed (Salim Daw), who was desperate to join the British establishment, as well as her tragic death.
In the show, Mohamed pushed the romance along by hiring photographer Mario Brenna (Enzo Clienti) to capture candid shots of the fledgling couple.
These images then went around the world, causing more scandal for the Royal Family and Diana as she had to endure a further paparazzi frenzy over the romance.
But how much of the scenes from The Crown actually happened in real-life?
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Did Mohammed really organise a photographer to take photos of Dodi and Diana?
In an exclusive interview with Daily Express, royal author and expert Marlene Koenig said: “Somebody had to call the press.”
She continued: “There’s no doubt. How did the press find out about being in the yacht?
“My feeling is that [Diana] was great for calling the press and there were reports that she alerted them to where she would be.”
Reflecting on whether Mohamed was the one behind calling the press, Koenig said: “I would not be surprised.
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“But once a photographer gets on your tail - and believe me, the European paparazzi have networks here and there. They’re really good at getting photos.
“So, it would not be a surprise if he was involved in but I don’t know anything about that at all.”
Koenig said reports from the time suggested Princess Diana may have called the press in a bid to get her ex-boyfriend and heart surgeon Hasnat Khan’s (Humayun Saeed) attention.
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Khan and the princess’ romances had hit an impasse given the media circus surrounding her and the reserved medic’s desire to remain fairly private.
However, she was still very much in love with him and wanted to win him back.
Other reports from the time have suggested Italian photographer Brenna had been on another assignment at the time when he caught wind of the romance.
He ended up snapping the shots of the royal with the playboy which he later sold to the Sunday Mirror and other publications around the world and made millions from the images.
The Crown season 6, part 1 is streaming on Netflix now
The Crown season 6, part 2 will be released on Netflix on December 14
