History Recap / TheCrownS6E2TwoPhotographs

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Mario Brenna abandons a celebrity couple smiling for the cameras and goes a block or so away, illegally enters someone else's property, and uses a long-range lens to take photos of the celebrities when they are in private and fighting. This makes it clear that Brenna will do anything to get the photos we wants.

** It has never been proved that Mohamed Fayed commissioned Mario Brenna to take those photographs of Diana and Dodi kissing on the yacht, although by all accounts he was quite happy with the fact that they were taken. Tellingly, Fayed died several months before this episode was broadcast, thus avoiding the prospect of a libel suit.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Mario Brenna abandons a celebrity couple smiling for the camera and goes a block or so away, illegally enters into someone else's property, and uses a longtake photos of the celebrities when they are in private and fighting. This makes it clear that Brenna will do anything to get the photos we wants.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Mario Brenna abandons two celebrities smiling for the camera and goes blocks away, breaking into someone's home, and takes photos of the celebrities when they are in private and fighting. Makes it clear that Brenna will do anything.

** While it's not known exactly who took the the photos of Princes Charles, William and Harry at Balmoral, it definitely wasn't Duncan Muir as he's a rare (for this show) fictional character. In any case, photo-shoots like this were not as out-of-character for members of the royal family as the show portrays; they routinely happened during the summer holidays at Balmoral, and still do.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Being Charles's PR advisor, Mark Boland doesn't have much time for Diana but is nevertheless sympathetic to her plight at the press conference in Bosnia, where no-one wants to talk about her landmine charity. In the next scene, William and Harry refuse to wear kilts for the photo-shoot with their father.
* KidHasAPoint: William, who's picked up on the fact that his mother is being courted by some millionaire playboy who's appeared from out of nowhere and has been trying a little bit too hard to impress everyone, tells his mother that he thinks Dodi is "weird".

* KidHasAPoint: William tells his mother that he thinks Dodi is "weird".

** While it's not known exactly who took the the photos of Princes Charles, William and Harry at Balmoral, it definitely wasn't Duncan Muir as he's a rare (for this show) fictional character.

** It has never been proved that Mohamed Fayed commissioned Mario Brenna to take those photographs, although by all accounts he was quite happy with the fact that they were taken. Tellingly, Fayed died several months before this episode was broadcast, thus avoiding the prospect of a libel suit.

* AudienceSurrogate: Philip of all people, becomes one of these with his two-word response to the news that Diana and Dodi took a helicopter to Derbyshire to consult with a psychic.

* NiceGuy: Duncan Muir, the sedate Scottish photographer who stands in contrast to the ruthless paparazzi embodied by Mario Brenna. An ardent admirer of the Queen, his "we'll all miss her terribly when she's gone" remark serves as the show's acknowledgment of the Queen's passing in 2022 (the year before this episode was broadcast). Commissioned to take photos of Charles and the boys, Duncan seems to realise that they don't really want to be there and encourages them to have some fun and they seem to be enjoying themselves.

* AudienceSurrogate: Philip of all people, becomes one of these when he mutters a heartfelt "Spare me!" upon being told that Diana and Dodi took a helicopter to Derbyshire to consult with a psychic.

* KidHasAPoint: William thinks Dodi is "weird".

* AmicableExes: In their final conversation together, Charles and Diana mutually promise to be "brilliant" at co-parenting, and he compliments her on the work she's done on raising awareness of landmines.

** It has never been proved that Mohamed Fayed commissioned Mario Brenna to take those photographs. Tellingly, Fayed died several months before this episode was broadcast, thus avoiding the prospect of a libel suit.
** The photos of Princes Charles, William and Harry at Balmoral were actually taken by a photographer called Arthur Edwards; Duncan Muir is a rare (for this show) fictional character.

* NiceGuy: Duncan Muir, the sedate Scottish photographer who stands in contrast to the ruthless paparazzi embodied by Mario Brenna. An ardent admirer of the Queen, his "we'll all miss her terribly when she's gone" remark serves as the show's acknowledgment of the Queen's passing in 2022 (the year before this episode was broadcast). Commissioned to take photos of Charles and the boys, he encourages them to have some fun and they seem to be enjoying themselves.

* AmbiguousSituation: Did Diana tell a journalist that Charles didn't want to take the boys because Camilla was staying at Highgrove? Mark Boland, Charles's PR advisor, reckons she did.

* ScatterbrainedSenior: When the family is shown their new website, the Queen Mother has to be told that "logging on" has nothing to do with timber.

** The photos of Princes Charles, William and Harry at Balmoral were actually taken by a photographer called Arthur Edwards; Duncan Muir is a rare fictional character.

* AmicableExes: In their final conversation together, Charles and Diana mutually promise to be "brilliant" at co-parenting, and he compliments her on the work she 's done on raising awareness of landmines.

The royal family is informed that Diana spent a weekend in Paris with Dodi. Mohamed Fayed arranges to have taken photographs of Diana and Dodi kissing, leading to a bidding war by the newspapers. The Queen and Diana are warned about the photographs. Diana says farewell to William and Harry, who are going to Balmoral Castle to spend time with Prince Charles, and travels to Bosnia to support the Landmine Survivors Network charity. However, her work is overshadowed by the publication of the photographs. Charles reluctantly persuades an equally reluctant William and Harry to be photographed spending time together at Balmoral. The Queen discusses Diana's erratic behaviour with Philip. Diana retreats to the South of France with Dodi.

* AmicableExes: In their final conversation together, Charles and Diana

* EveryoneHasStandards: Being Charles's PR advisor, Mark Boland doesn't have much time for Diana but is nevertheless sympathetic to her plight at the press conference in Bosnia, where no-one wants to talk about her landmine charity.

* ArtisticLicenceHistory: A couple of examples.

* {{Paparazzi}}: One of them, Mario Brenna, describes the lengths he goes to to get his photos (and is seen trespassing in order to get embarrassing shots of an unnamed celebrity). He is later hired by Mohamed Fayed to take photos of Diana and Dodi making out on the yacht.

** Although Diana did visit Bosnia in August 1997, so liberties are taken — her famous walk through a minefield in protective equipment, re-enacted here, actually took place in Angola in January of that year.

* AmbiguousSituation: Did Diana tell a journalist that Charles didn't want to take the boys because Camilla was staying at Highgrove? Mark Boland, Charles's PR advisor, reckons she did.
* TheChessmaster: Mohamed Fayed clearly has an ulterior motive for encouraging his son Dodi to court Diana — he wants to use the relationship as leverage in his dealings with the British government (particularly, his ongoing application for British citizenship). The officials at the Palace seem to be aware of what he's up to, although they probably don't realise how far he's prepared to go.

* ManipulativeBastard: Mohamed Fayed, who asks the staff on the yacht if Diana and Dodi are doing it, and then hires the most ruthless press photographer he can find to take intimate photos of them.

* TheChessmaster: Mohamed Fayed clearly has an ulterior motive for encouraging his son Dodi to court Diana — he wants to use the relationship as leverage in his dealings with the British government (particularly, his ongoing application for British citizenship). The officials at the Palace seem to be aware of what he's up to, although they probably don't realise that went so far as to hire the photographer to take intimate pictures of Diana and Dodi.

The royal family is informed that Diana spent a weekend in Paris with Dodi. Mohamed Fayed arranges to have taken photographs of Diana and Dodi kissing, leading to a bidding war by the newspapers. The Queen and Diana are warned about the photographs. Diana says farewell to William and Harry, who are going to Balmoral Castle to spend time with Prince Charles, and travels to Bosnia to support the Landmine Survivors Network charity. However, her work is overshadowed by the publication of the photographs. Charles's public relations adviser, Mark Bolland, informs him that Dodi is being sued by his fiancée for breach of contract and urges him to counter Diana with his own photographs. Charles reluctantly persuades an equally reluctant William and Harry to be photographed spending time together at Balmoral. The Queen discusses Diana's erratic behaviour with Philip. Diana retreats to the South of France with Dodi.

* TheChessmaster: Mohamed Fayed clearly has an ulterior motive for encouraging his son Dodi to court Diana — he wants to use the relationship as leverage in his dealings with the British government (particularly, his ongoing application for British citizenship). The officials at the Palace seem to be aware of what he's up to, although they probably don't realise that he hired the photographer to take intimate pictures of Diana and Dodi.

The royal family is informed that Diana spent a weekend in Paris with Dodi. Mohamed Fayed arranges to have taken photographs of Diana and Dodi kissing, leading to a bidding war by the newspapers. The Queen and Diana are warned about the photographs. Diana says farewell to William and Harry, who are going to Balmoral Castle to spend time with Prince Charles, and travels to Bosnia to support the Landmine Survivors Network charity. However, her work is overshadowed by the publication of the photographs. Charles's public relations adviser, Mark Bolland, informs him that Dodi is being sued by his fiancée for breach of contract and urges him to counter Diana with his own photographs. Charles persuades William and Harry to be photographed spending time together at Balmoral. The Queen discusses Diana's erratic behaviour with Prince Philip. Diana retreats to the south of France with Dodi.

* TheChessmaster: Mohamed Fayed, who hires a photographer to take intimate pictures of Diana and Dodi.