Finished 'The Crown'? Watch the Netflix documentary that tells Princess Diana's true story in her own words.
- A Netflix documentary about Princess Diana, which originally aired on National Geographic in 2017, will likely answer any questions fans have after watching the latest season of "The Crown."
- "Diana: In Her Own Words" features secretly recorded audio tapes of Diana in 1991, where she spoke about her life and the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Charles.
- The princess called her wedding day "the worst day of my life" and described herself as being "a lamb to the slaughter" in the tapes.
Fans of "The Crown" have most likely found themselves searching the internet for details every time they watch an episode of the show's fourth season. But they can watch the real Princess Diana tell her story in a Netflix documentary instead.
"Diana: In Her Own Words" features audio footage of Diana discussing her life, the royal family, and her marriage to Prince Charles for a series of secret tapes in 1991. The princess had allowed her words to be recorded by a friend on behalf of journalist Andrew Morton, according to the documentary.
The tapes were used to help Morton write the biography, "Diana: Her True Story" (1992), with the understanding that her involvement would be kept a secret.
However, after the princess died in 1997, Morton released a revised version of the book: "Diana: Her True Story — In Her Own Words," and for the first time admitted that the biography had been created "with the full co-operation and input" from the princess.
Then, in 2017 — 20 years after Diana's death — some of the secret tapes were aired in the National Geographic documentary "Diana: In Her Own Words," which has since been made available on Netflix and Disney Plus.
Diana described her wedding day as 'the worst day of my life' in the documentary
"The Crown" actress Emma Corrin has been widely praised for her portrayal of Diana, but the historical drama skims over many details of the royal's tumultuous marriage to Prince Charles (Josh O'Connor), and the struggles she faced as the newest member of Britain's royal family.
For instance, the series only shows a glimpse of Diana in her wedding dress in an episode titled "Fairytales."
The ceremony was actually incredibly significant in foreshadowing the breakdown of their marriage.
Speaking in the audio tapes featured in "Diana: In Her Own Words,' the late princess described her wedding day as the worst day of her life.
"I don't think I was happy. I never tried to call it off, in the sense of really doing that, but I think [it was] the worst day of my life," she said.
She also described herself as being "a lamb to the slaughter."
"The Crown" shows how Charles' relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles overshadowed the couple's engagement — and eventual marriage — but unlike the documentary, it doesn't show the moment Diana spotted Camilla in the crowd at her wedding.
Diana also said in the audio tapes that she would have nightmares about Camilla during her honeymoon, and that she found cuff links that she gifted to Charles — the latter of which was briefly referred to in the series.
Diana always knew that she wasn't going to be queen
"The Crown" doesn't show Charles' full proposal to Diana. Instead, it includes flashbacks of the moment as the Prince of Wales tells the Queen the good news. When asked how the then-Lady Diana responded to the question, Charles recalled her as saying it was "the happiest moment of her life."
However, it wasn't exactly like that in real life, according to the documentary.
Speaking during the secret interviews, Diana said she laughed when Charles asked the question.
"I remember thinking, this is a joke. So I said 'Yeah, okay,'" she said.
The princess recalled telling Charles "I love you so much," to which he replied: "Whatever love means" — the same response he had when asked whether he was in love during their official engagement interview.
She said the prince told her that she would be queen one day, but that she didn't believe him.
"A voice said to me inside, 'You won't be queen, but you'll have a tough role,'" Diana said in the tapes.
It could be argued, then, that the princess predicted her step back from royal duties after her divorce from Charles in 1996. Diana lost her HRH status, and her title changed to Diana, Princess of Wales.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment when contacted by Insider for this article. Netflix did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
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