Fans and royal commentators alike were left infuriated by the recent fourth season of The Crown with criticism aimed at the unflattering portrayal of Princess Diana (played by Emma Corrin) which was described as ‘unhinged’ and ‘attention seeking’.
And this weekend, creator Peter Morgan shocked the nation again, after his romance with Jemima Goldsmith, a close personal friend of the late royal, was revealed, just weeks after the end of his four year relationship with Gillian Anderson – who plays Margaret Thatcher in the Netflix hit.
Princess Diana knew Jemima most of her life, as their families were close, and she saw Lady Annabel Goldsmith ‘like a mother’.
Not long before her death, when Diana considered marrying British-Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, she came to Jemima for advice, as she was living in the south Asian country with her then husband Imran Khan – who has gone on to become Prime Minster.
So will Peter Morgan rely on his new partner’s insight into the beloved royal for the penultimate season of the hit Netflix show, which will look at the early nineties where the pair became close? And will Diana, set to be played by Elizabeth Debicki, be portrayed in a more flattering light in season five?
Here, FEMAIL looks at the friendship and what could be in store.
Princess Diana knew Jemima most of her life, as their families were close, and she saw Lady Annabel Goldsmith ‘like a mother’ She is pictured with Imran Khan and Jemima in 1997
Gillian Anderson is said to be ‘bemused’ by how quickly her ex Peter Morgan (pictured together right, in a virtual launch of The Crown Season Four Premiere from her home in November last year) has moved on, moving in with film producer Jemima Khan (left) just weeks afterwards according to friends
CLOSE FAMILY FRIENDS
Diana would often take Prince William and Harry, to play at the Goldsmith’s large property in Richmond Park, south-west London when they were young boys, according to ITV’s Royal Correspondent Chris Ship, who adds the late royal looked up to Jemima’s mother, Annabel Goldsmith as a maternal figure.
When Jemima, who was married to Pakistani cricket legend Imran Khan from 1995 to 2004, lived in Lahore,Diana joined the couple to campaign to raise funds for a children’s cancer hospital in the city.
Season five of The Crown, which show start in the late eighties and go into the 1990s, may well show the relationship with the Goldsmith’s and Diana’s romance with British-Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan which bought the couple closer.
DIANA WOULD GO TO JEMIMA FOR RELATIONSHIP ADVICE
Diana spent the last two years of her life in a relationship with Dr Hasnat Khan, a British-Pakistani heart surgeon, who she met in London.
Dr Hasnat was a distant cousin of Imran Khan, and Diana often sought Jemima’s advice on the relationship, particularly relating to cultural differences between the two women and their partners.
During her two year relationship with the doctor, Diana visited Pakistan three times and was often photographed in traditional clothing with Jemima.
Jemima Khan, pictured with Diana in Pakistan in 1997, said the Princess went to the country to secretly meet Hamzat Khan’s family and discuss the possibility of marriage
In 2013, Diana’s close friend Jemima Khan, who was with her on her 1996 Pakistan trip, said the Princess was so ‘madly in love’ with Mr Khan that she considered moving to Pakistan to be with him
During their fling, which ended in the summer of 1997, Diana – who is said to have considered him the love of her life – met the surgeon’s family during a 1996 visit to Pakistan (pictured) and even considered converting to Islam
CONFIDED ABOUT MOVING TO PAKISTAN
Princess Diana even considered moving to Pakistan to live with the ‘love of her life’ Hasnat Khan, and had conversations with Jemima about life in the south Asian country.
‘She had long conversations with Jemima Khan, who had married Imran Khan and Diana was wondering if it was something she could do,’ royal expert Eve Pollard said in a documentary last year.
In a Vanity Fair article titled: ‘The Grandmother Prince George Never Knew’, Jemima says Diana, who dated the heart surgeon from 1995-97, sought her advice during fundraising visits to Lahore.
‘She wanted to know how hard it had been for me to adapt to life in Pakistan,’ Jemima told the magazine’s contributing editor Sarah Ellison.
‘Both times she also went to meet [Hasnat’s] family secretly to discuss the possibility of marriage.’
In the summer of 1997, Princess Diana flew to Lahore with Jemima, on her father James Goldsmith’s private jet.
Pictured, Emma Corrin as Diana and the princess at the Royal Opera House in 1982 (left) and Diana (right). Corrin’s portrayal was branded ‘hysterical’ so will it be more sympathetic in later seasons?
RUMOURS THEY WERE SISTERS
The pair were so close, in 2004 Australian magazine even alleged they were sisters – as a result of an affair between Sir James Goldsmith and Diana’s mother – although the claims have been wildly disputed.
In 2004, New Idea magazine alleged ‘aristocratic sources’ say both women were fathered by tycoon Sir James Goldsmith.
They claimed that Frances Shand Kydd – then Viscountess Althorp – was going through a ‘very bad patch’ in her marriage to Viscount Althorp.
While there is little to no evidence to back the claims.
Meanwhile, Jemima said she ‘fell in love with Diana’ again after watching the fourth series of The Crown, despite widespread criticism of the portrayal.
In November, she took to Twitter to write: ‘Season 4 of #TheCrown in my humble opinion is the best yet.
‘Emma Corrin has captured all the magic of shy Di.
‘Prepare to fall in love with Princess Diana all over again.
‘It only came out today and I’m on a deadline but that hasn’t stopped me from watching 5 episodes already.