WARNING: This article contains spoilers from all seasons of The Crown
The new season of The Crown saw Princess Diana (played by Elizabeth Debicki) and Dodi Fayed (Khalid Abdalla) heading to Derbyshire to meet with a psychic in a whistle-stop helicopter ride there.
The scene in the Netflix drama was a short one as Dodi and Diana went to consult with a fortune teller about what the playboy should do about his engagement to American model Kelly Fisher (Erin Richards).
Many are curious to know if this strange moment had any truth or was simply added to the show for dramatic effect.
Did Diana really visit a psychic with Dodi?
In an exclusive interview with Daily Express, the author of Queen Victoria’s Descendants Marlene Koenig said: “Yes, Rita Rogers. She was Diana’s favourite [psychic]. In fact, Diana talked to her often.”
Much like in The Crown, Koenig confirmed Princess Diana and Dodi did fly by helicopter to see the medium in Grassmoor, Derbyshire.
READ MORE: We fact-checked The Crown over those Princess Diana and Dodi kiss photos
Koenig continued: “She had been there several times and would talk to Rita on the phone nearly once a week. That’s what one does when one has a psychic.
“But she actually talked about years later – Rogers said she knew they were not engaged and she wasn’t pregnant.”
Addressing why Dodi and Diana went to see the fortune teller, Koenig said: “She used psychics. Some people go to therapists.
“So this was true. I remember seeing pictures of the helicopter landing.”
Adding: “It was very, very weird but it was very, very Diana. Maybe she wanted to find out if this relationship was going to go anywhere?”
Koenig said Princess Diana was known to “drop friends in an instant” and if they said something she didn’t like the royal would cut them out.
“So she was dependent on this kind of [people] because they would flatter her and tell her what you want to hear.”
According to Rita, Princess Diana and she had a relationship whereby the princess would go to see her for advice about the future.
