The Crown sparks row over replica of mangled Mercedes which carried late princess

It’s an award-winning show that has courted controversy countless times as it follows the fates of the Royal Family since the 1940s.

Now The Crown risks a fresh row after pictures emerged showing a replica of the mangled Mercedes which had carried Princess Diana – on set at Elstree Studios.

Diana and Dodi Fayed died in the early hours of August 31, 1997, after the S-Class they were travelling in crashed at the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris.

Images obtained by the Daily Mail show a recreation of the wreckage with the front wheel of a black Mercedes buckled, the bonnet crushed and the dashboard hanging out of the obliterated front windscreen.

The vehicle was said to be transported in secret under tarpaulin to Paris – one of two cars taken there for filming last year. 

The Crown actors Elizabeth Debicki and Khalid Abdalla pictured filming Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed’s tragic final day

A scene from the upcoming season of Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ is seen filming in October last year

In October, Netflix crews in the French capital were seen reconstructing Diana’s final journey. Other scenes shot in December depict investigators examining the wreckage.

While Netflix insisted at the time: ‘The exact moment of the crash impact will not be shown,’ a source has told the Mail: ‘I think a lot of people will find it quite sick that they went into such detail to recreate how the car was smashed up. I think it’s going to cause a lot of upset with the Royal Family. If it was any other family I’m not sure they’d do it.’ 

Mr Fayed and the driver, Henri Paul, 41, died instantly, while Diana, played by Elizabeth Debicki, was taken to hospital and later died of her injuries. British bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones was the only survivor.

The sixth series will follow the royals from the late 1990s through to the early 2000s. Netflix last night declined to comment.