“Having done it, we could feel, ‘Wow, we’ve actually honoured that moment in time.'”
Khalid Abdalla has opened up about filming “iconic scenes” in The Crown season 6, which further explores Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed’s relationship.
With four episodes now available to watch on Netflix, viewers are able to see the complex relationship between the two and the moments leading to their deaths, which RadioTimes.com has said will “emotionally floor you”.
Following the release of season 6 part 1, Abdalla explained that one of his most memorable scenes was filming on the yacht.
In season 6 part 1 of The Crown, a lot of the action of the first episode takes place on a yacht in which Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) goes on holiday to the South of France with William and Harry and the Fayed family.
Speaking about the scene, Khalid Abdalla said: “I remember arriving at that yacht and being incredibly intimidated – not just by the yacht itself, but also by the knowledge that we were about to approach all of these iconic scenes that have been in the public imagination.”
One of the many “iconic scenes” Abdalla is referring to is the recreation of Princess Diana sitting alone on a diving board in a blue swimsuit and Dodi and Diana kissing on the yacht, moments that still remain famous to this day.
“The time and space they spent on there was obviously incredibly special and full of fun,” Abdalla continued.
“It was really a space in which me and Elizabeth got to explore and know each other – and build that deep collaboration. But a scene that I really care about from life was when we left the boat after three weeks of filming there.
“Finally, having done it, we could feel, ‘Wow, we’ve actually honoured that moment in time.’ As we left as cast and crew, I remember there was this moment when the boat blew the horns to say goodbye. That was a precious moment. It was very, very precious.”
Jonathan Pryce, who portrays Prince Philip, has a fairly different memorable scene from The Crown.
Pryce reminisced on spending time with the actors who star as Prince William in the sixth season.
He said: “[Philip] became his mentor in trying to show him the way to deal with the aftermath of his mother’s death and whether he should attend the funeral and how life was going to be for him moving on. I enjoyed my time with [actor] Ed McVey, who was the second William. I think I enjoyed time with both Williams, actually.
“With the first William [Rufus Kampa], the most interesting aspect for me was sitting in a Land Rover with him in the Scottish Highlands. We were waiting and I started whistling – and the next thing I knew he was staring at my lips. I taught him how to whistle.”
The Crown season 6 part 1 is streaming now on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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