Princess Diana's Relationship with Dodi Al-Fayed and The Crown's Depiction

The final season of Netflix's The Crown portrays the rise and fall of Princess Diana's relationship with Dodi Al-Fayed before their tragic deaths in 1997. Contrary to common claims that Diana and Dodi were engaged and expecting a child, a friend of Diana, as reported by royal author Amanda Platell in the Daily Mail, suggests otherwise.

According to the friend, who had a lengthy phone call with Diana a day before her death at the Ritz hotel in Paris, Diana expressed feelings of sadness, loneliness, and a longing for her boys, Prince William and Prince Harry. 

The friend asserts that Diana had no expectations of a long-term future with Dodi. Instead, her involvement with him was seen as a way to divert attention from Prince Charles and Camilla's relationship. Diana reportedly wanted to make Charles and the Royal Family furious and create a challenge for Camilla.

Additionally, Diana hoped that her actions with Dodi would make her former lover, heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, jealous. The intention was to have her exploits with Dodi prominently featured on the front pages of tabloid newspapers.

The revelations from Diana's friend, as presented in The Crown and reported by Amanda Platell, offer a different perspective on the nature of Diana's relationship with Dodi Al-Fayed and the motivations behind it.