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OPINION: It is an iconic image that appeared on the front page of newspapers around the world.
Nine-month-old Prince William plays with our country’s beloved and iconic wooden toy, the Buzzy Bee, while sitting on a blanket with his parents, Charles and Diana.
History records that the photo opportunity took place on the grounds of Auckland Government House on April 23, 1983.
Not so, according to the latest season of the hit Netflix royal drama. The crown, which is scheduled to hit the global streaming service on Sunday evening, November 15.
READ MORE:
* Diana’s revealing gestures now make me so sad: former BBC reporter
* Season 4 of The Crown will include a warning before episodes describing Princess Diana’s bulimia.
* Watch Emma Corrin as Princess Diana from The Crown
Netflix (screenshot)
Season 4 of The Crown brings a famous New Zealand photo shoot to the Australian outback.
Yes, in a move that could still rival the Pavlova debate, the Phar Lap fight and the cricket armpit incident, showrunner Peter Morgan and his team have “relocated” filming to the Australian outback. Given the tenor of the narrative of season 4, episode 6, titled No man’s landIt clearly suited the show’s creators to reimagine the happy family portrait that took place earlier on their Australasian tour, but it’s a decision that should cause outrage among Kiwi viewers.
To make matters worse, less than a minute of the episode is devoted to the fifteen-day New Zealand section of their six-week tour (a lot of time is spent on the other side of the Tasman, with the great Richard Roxburgh getting plenty of opportunities to convert to Bob Hawke in a kind of relative to his beloved fictional larrikin Cleaver Greene).
Staff Photographer
The real Prince Charles, Diana, the Princess of Wales and Prince William in the grounds of Government House, Auckland, April 23, 1983. Photo: Auckland Star Historic Collection.
Many Kiwis of a certain age will clearly remember being forced to create their own Union Jacks and then walk from school to watch the caravan go by. This feels like a slap in the face.
But that’s nothing compared to true cultural controversy. The crown may be about to meet. That minute of footage juxtaposes what appears to be a stylized marae haka with Diana “praying to a porcelain god” as her mounting stress manifests itself in the form of an eating disorder.
They are crossover images that certainly did not set the right tone with this pākehā and I am sure we will hear more in the coming weeks.
Netflix (screenshot)
Episode 6 of the new season of The Crown juxtaposes a Maori haka with Princess Diana “praying to a porcelain god.”
The description of bulimia in that scene also deserves a detailed warning at the beginning of the episode, but perhaps it should be accompanied by a warning that the installment as a whole is likely to “offend New Zealanders.”
