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Prince William is said to be aghast at reports that season 6 of The Crown, which airs next month, will be showing a ghost of his late mother, Princess Diana.
While the British royal has previously made his disdain for the Netflix series, which is loosely based on his family, clear, those close to him say he will be even more appalled by the lengths to which the show has gone to depict his mother.
A close friend of the prince told the Daily Beast it is “incredibly hurtful” for William to have his mother “exploited over and over again in this tawdry fashion”.
The anonymous pal says the heir to the throne will not be watching the show, but will be "totally sickened" by it nonetheless.
Season 6 will see Elizabeth Debicki reprising her role as Princess Diana in spiritual form as she visits her grieving ex-husband, Prince Charles (played by Dominic West), after her death.
It will be the final season of the hit series, which has stirred up plenty of controversy with its depiction of the royal family.
Several critics agree the new scenes where Diana appears to Charles and the late queen in ghost form are beyond tacky.
READ MORE | Family of Princess Diana’s chauffeur slam The Crown’s fatal crash reconstruction as ‘inhumane’
"It is pitiful that someone with his skills [writer and director Peter Morgan] has reduced what is undoubtedly a tragedy to something he knows perfectly well will be controversial," royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline.
The series creators decided not to recreate the fatal 1997 car crash which claimed Princess Diana's life out of respect for the royal family. Instead they focused on the run-up to the accident and the aftermath which saw Charles travelling to Paris to retrieve his ex-wife's body.
READ MORE | Prince William furious at The Crown for wanting to include Diana's controversial Panorama interview
The streaming giant ignored pleas from the Prince of Wales not to exploit Diana's bombshell Panorama interview in 1995 in the fifth season. In fact William was even shown watching it on TV as a schoolboy while his outraged father cried: "What the hell is she doing?"
Sources say William remains angry with his brother, Prince Harry, for partnering with Netflix, which he believes has “ruthlessly exploited” his family.
Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, have made several projects with Netflix, including their explosive six-part docuseries Harry & Meghan and their latest one, Heart of Invictus, about the Invictus Games.
READ MORE | How Elizabeth Debicki stepped into Diana's shoes and stole the show in The Crown
Meanwhile, newcomers in season 6 include young actors Rufus Kampa and Ed McVey, who will play Prince William at 15 and in his early twenties respectively. Meg Bellamy also makes her series debut as Kate Middleton.
Imelda Staunton remains as Queen Elizabeth.
Sources: dailymail.co.uk, radiotimes.com, standard.co.uk
