The Crown season 5 timeline – what events does it cover?

Read on for a comprehensive timeline of the events covered in the show.

The Crown season 5 timeline

1991

Charles and Diana's Italy trip - it was marketed as a 'second honeymoon' to celebrate their 10-year wedding anniversary. In the drama, Charles leaves the holiday early to return to England.

Andrew Morton's book, Diana: Her True Story - the Princess recorded her answers to Morton's questions remotely via tape, with her friend Dr James Colthurst delivering them to the journalist.

"The book trade didn’t think the world was interested in another Diana publication, so early subscriptions were paltry and only 18,000 copies were printed," Morton told The Telegraph in 2015. "We subsequently lost sales because there were weren’t enough books to go around. Similarly, no newspaper wanted to serialise it."

But that soon changed.

"It was only when a friend of Princess Diana's, who had a contact at News International, whispered that my story was true, that Andrew Neil, the then editor of The Sunday Times, decided to look at it again. The book went on to sell about seven million copies in 80 countries, and I made more than £1m over several years."

1992

'Annus horribilis' - 1992 was described as such by the Queen for a number of reasons:

Diana and Charles' separation - the announcement came after 11 years of marriage.

"The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, though saddened, understand and sympathise with the difficulties that have led to this decision," said Buckingham Palace in a statement. "The fact is that, with great sadness, they have recognised that their continuing relationship would be better under separate domestic arrangements.They are still fond of one another and fully supportive of one another's intentions to fulfil their individual public duties as wholeheartedly as before."

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson's separation - intimate photographs of Sarah on holiday with Texan multimillionaire Steve Wyatt were published by the press. According to Vanity Fair, Diana first introduced the pair to one another.

Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips' divorce - they had separated in 1989. A short time later, her relationship with Timothy Laurence, who she remains married to today, was made public.

Windsor Castle fire - a curtain next to the altar in Queen Victoria's Private Chapel was set ablaze by a faulty spotlight. 115 rooms were damaged and the repairs cost roughly £36.5 million.

1993

Tampongate - the transcript of a 1989 phone conversation between Charles and Camilla was made public. The audio was picked up by a ham radio and later published by the Daily Mirror. The newspaper waited until Charles' marriage to Diana had fallen apart before pressing ahead. Camilla was married to Andrew Parker Bowles when the phone call took place.

It was dubbed both 'Camillagate' and 'Tampongate', with the latter referring to the following:

Charles: "Oh, God. I'll just live inside your trousers or something. It would be much easier!"

Camilla (laughing): "What are you going to turn into, a pair of knickers? (Both laugh). Oh, you're going to come back as a pair of knickers."

Charles: "Or, God forbid, a Tampax. Just my luck! (Laughs)"

1994

Prince Charles' interview with journalist Jonathan Dimbleby - in the televised conversation, titled Charles: The Private Man, the Public Role, he addressed his marriage to Diana and his "friendship" with Camilla, plus his belief that the monarchy was in a "make or break time" following repeated debate about the role of the Royal Family.

Diana's revenge dress - she attended a Vanity Fair party at the Serpentine Gallery in the now iconic LBD on the same evening as the Dimbleby interview. It was made for her by Greek designer Christina Stambolian and was described by The Telegraph Magazine as 'The piece de resistance ... the brave, wicked, historic little 'Serpentine Cocktail''.

Boris Yeltsin - Prime Minister John Major travelled to Moscow to meet with the Russian leader. He was the first Western leader to visit the country since the coup. Yeltsin later paid a visit to Buckingham Palace to meet with the Queen.

That episode also explores how the British Royal family is connected to the Romanovs.

1995

Diana's relationship with Dr Hasnat Khan - her relationship with the British-Pakistani cardiac surgeon ended in 1997, just five weeks before her death.

In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, he said: "I found her a very normal person. We all have our drawbacks, but I found her a very normal person with great qualities, and some personal drawbacks, like bad habits. We all have drawbacks."

He added: "I think she did great work for the country and for people all over the world – not just in the UK but everywhere. I think that is important."

Diana's Panorama interview with Martin Bashir - it was during that exchange that she remarked there were "three people" in her marriage. Diana also asserted that she would "not go quietly". It was later uncovered that the journalist had forged fake documents to secure the interview.

1996

Charles and Diana's divorce - it was finalised almost 15 years after their wedding, but the pair had long gone their separate ways by that point.

"After considering the present situation the Queen wrote to both the prince and princess earlier this week and gave them her view, supported by the Duke of Edinburgh, that an early divorce is desirable," said a Buckingham Palace spokesperson.

"The Prince of Wales also takes this view and has made this known to the Princess of Wales since the letter."

1997

Labour wins the General Election - under Tony Blair and his New Labour banner, the party achieved a landslide victory, with the Tory party suffering its greatest defeat in its history. It had been 18 years since the party was last in power. Blair was the youngest PM since Lord Liverpool in 1812.

Royal Yacht Britannia to be decommissioned - it was launched by the Queen in 1953. Over time, the cost of its upkeep had become a source of fierce debate. Its final official trip saw Charles travel to Hong Kong to mark the handing over of the region to China from the UK.

Season 5 also covers key events in the lives of Mohamed Al-Fayed and his son Dodi:

1979

Mohamed purchases the Ritz hotel in Paris - it's the last place Diana and Dodi stayed before the fatal car crash.

1981

Chariots of Fire Oscar win - the film was produced by Mohamed's company Allied Stars LTD. Dodi was the chief executive.

1986

Diana and Dodi's first meeting - their paths first crossed at a polo match when she was still married to Charles. The pair didn't begin dating until July 1997 after Diana joined Dodi and his father on a holiday to St Tropez.

1990

Villa Windsor renovation - following the Duchess of Windsor's death (she was married to the former King of England Edward VIII), Mohamed leased the property and spent more than $12 million restoring it to its former glory.

You can watch seasons 1-5 of The Crown right now on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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