Prince Harry is being urged to get a Netflix musical about his mother pulled, days after he signed a multimillionaire-pound deal with the streaming service.
Netflix will screen the controversial musical, named ‘Diana: A New Musical’, which features a fictitious scene where the Queen labels her a ‘tart’.
Other controversial lines include the Queen saying to Diana: ‘In the old days we would have chopped off your head,’ while another scene sees Diana in bed with James Hewitt.
Now a former bodyguard of the late princess is calling on her son to get the musical pulled from the streaming service.
The calls come after the prince and Meghan Markle signed a deal, believed to be worth up to £112million, with Netflix this week for their new yet-to-be-named production company to make documentaries, feature films, scripted shows and children’s programming.
Ken Wharfe, 72, Diana’s former bodyguard, The Sun: ‘The Diana musical, soon to be premiered on Netflix, presents a huge dilemma to them both.
Netflix will screen the controversial musical, named ‘Diana: A New Musical’, which features a scene where the actor playing the Queen labels her a ‘tart’. Pictured: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle who this week signed a deal with Netflix
Other controversial lines in the musical (pictured left and right) include the Queen saying to Diana: ‘In the old days we would have chopped off your head,’ while another scene sees Diana in bed with James Hewitt
Roe Hartrampf playing Prince Charles and Jeanna de Waal playing Diana, during a preview for the musical “Diana” at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway
‘If the critics are to be believed, this musical story is not a joyous journey of love with a happy ending but an episodic account of untruths, scandal and sex.
‘He now has the chance, irrespective of his lucrative deal with Netflix, to stand alone from his wife and make clear his abhorrence of such a musical and call Netflix to account.’
The musical began previews in March but never officially made its debut on Broadway due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In an unconventional step, the musical is set to skip Broadway and go straight on to Netflix.
The musical began previews in March but never officially made its debut on Broadway due to the coronavirus pandemic
In an unconventional step, the musical is set to skip Broadway and go straight on to Netflix.
The cast and crew are set to reunite in an empty theatre this month to perform the musical for cameras and put the finished product on the digital platform for broadcast next year, before the show welcomes a live audience again.
‘We speak for the entire company when we say that we couldn’t be more excited to finally be able to share our show with theatre lovers everywhere,’ the show’s producers said in a statement last month.
Diana is advertised as the tragic and yet inspiring story of a young woman learning to break free of the confines of the British royal family.
It has songs by Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan and a story by playwright Joe DiPietro. The pair also collaborated on the Tony-winning Memphis.
Diana stars Jeanna De Waal in the title role, and explores Diana’s glamour and charity work and the slow public crumbling of her relationship with Prince Charles.
She died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi.
Her story is also featured in season four of The Crown and her sons – princes Harry and William – are a source of constant news.
But it also features topics including the breakdown of Diana’s marriage to Prince Charles, with swathes of vulgar dialogue and scenes of fiction, reports The Sun.
Diana is also shown to self-harm after Charles moans about ‘another boy’ when Harry is born, the paper says.
Pay back Frogmore millions! Calls for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to refund £2.4m owned to the taxpayer for renovations on their Windsor home
A former Lib Dem MP has called on The Duke and Duchess of Sussex to pay back money for renovation work on their Windsor home.
Former Lib Dem MP Norman Baker says the couple should offer to pay the £2.4million they owe for the extensive renovation to Frogmore after signing a multimillion-pound deal with Netflix this week.
The house was extensively renovated for the couple after their marriage in May 2018, with the intention of it being a family home for son Archie.
But they have since left to live in America, where they have purchased a £14.7million mansion in California.
The house was extensively renovated for the couple after their marriage in May 2018, with the intention of it being a family home for son Archie
Mr Baker says they should offer to stump up the full sum after their recent deal with Netflix
As part of their ‘exit package’, often referred to as ‘Megxit’, the couple offered to refund the cost of building work at their UK family home paid for by the Sovereign Grant, money given by the Government to the Queen.
It is believed they will pay back around £18,000 a month, which will take them 11 years to clear.
But Mr Baker says they should offer to stump up the full sum after their recent deal with Netflix.
He told The Sun: ‘They should pay the taxpayer back immediately for Frogmore renovations rather than wait eleven years.
“They can both definitely afford it. They should either pay it when the Netflix money arrives or give up the cottage.’