Netflix suffers furious backlash after erasing charity from pivotal Princess Diana moment
Elizabeth Debicki in The Crown
Netflix
Netflix has suffered a backlash over erasing a charity from an iconic Princess Diana scene in The Crown.
In a scene showing Diana in 1997 walking through a minefield in Angola, the Halo Trust, a warzone charity supported by the late Princess of Wales, will be replaced by a New Zealand-based group.
Netflix’s images from the upcoming series show Elizabeth Debicki, the actress playing Diana, re-enacting her 1997 walk across the minefield, which was cleared by the Halo Trust.
Debicki can be seen wearing a replica of Diana's outfit, including her chunky gold earrings, blown-out hairstyle, white shirt, cream Giorgio Armani chinos and beige Tod’s loafers.
Princess Diana in Angola in 1997
PA
But The Crown omitted any details that showed the Halo Trust logo, despite Diana originally wearing a protective vest from the company.
One fan posted on X: "The Crown is a fantasy series with smidgeons of fact interspersed!
"Sadly many think it’s a documentary!"
Another added: "Not surprised! The Crown lost me a while back."
Princess Diana wore The Halo Trust protective vest
PA
The Halo Trust, which clears deadly landmines from conflict zones, was surprised by the snub.
A spokesperson for the charity said: "We weren't asked or consulted about the scene.
"Obviously, we would have been delighted had our logo been on the PPE, which is what really happened."
They also told The Mail: "Princess Diana's advocacy helped to get the 1997 landmine ban over the line and that is an incredibly powerful legacy."
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The Crown has a global audience of 73 million viewers, therefore, insiders at the Halo Trust felt it was "a shame" that Netflix chose not to promote them.
The trust relies on donations to clear landmines and explosives across six continents.
Instead of a protective mask and vest showing the Halo Trust, Debicki's vest read "ReliefAid".
This stirred confusion in New Zealand, as there is a real humanitarian organisation called ReliefAid based in the country that provides emergency aid to conflict zones.
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Anne Bulley, ReliefAid's communications director said: "Netflix did not contact us and ReliefAid did not agree for Netflix to use our name.
"We were founded in 2015, have never worked in Angola and do not do mine clearance.
"Perhaps Netflix would like to make a donation to The Halo Trust and ReliefAid to recognise their misrepresentation of both our organisations and the vital work we do to help victims of conflict.
"I suspect the use of the name is a coincidence, because to my knowledge we are the only registered charity using the name ReliefAid."
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