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How did Diana first meet Dodi Fayed and Mohamed Al-Fayed?
The Crown season 5 depicts a pivotal first meeting.
Keith Bernstein/Netflix
- Lewis Knight
Published: Wednesday, 9 November 2022 at 12:00 pm
Just how did Princess Diana meet tycoon Mohamed Al-Fayed and his son Dodi?
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The third episode of The Crown season 5, titled Mou Mou, centres on the life story of the Egyptian business tycoon Mohamed Al-Fayed - played by Amir El-Masry as a young man and Salim Daw as an older man.
The series tackles Al-Fayed's attempts to climb the societal ladder and bring himself into the close circle surrounding the British royal family.
Towards the end of the episode, we see a friendship blossom between Al-Fayed and Diana, Princess of Wales (Elizabeth Debicki) when the latter sits beside him at a polo match he is hosting after the Queen (Imelda Staunton) elects to join her sister Princess Margaret (Lesley Manville) instead.
During this conversation, Diana is also briefly introduced to Al-Fayed's son, Dodi Fayed (Khalid Abdalla) - the man who will become her final romance.
So, how did Diana meet Mohammed Al-Fayed and his son Dodi in real life?
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How did Diana first meet Dodi Fayed and Mohamed Al-Fayed?
Diana, Princess of Wales (1961 - 1997) with Prince Charles during the Harrods Polo Cup at Smith's Lawn in Windsor, UK, July 1987. She presented some of the prizes along with Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed (right). Jayne Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images
Diana, Princess of Wales is believed to have met Mohamed Al-Fayed and his son Dodi Fayed alongside her husband Charles, Prince of Wales at a polo match in 1986.
In this first match, Charles is believed to have played on an opposing team to Dodi, reports The Independent.
It is unknown how this first meeting went - it may have even been in passing.
The royals and the Al-Fayed family began to move in similar circles and were pictured meeting at a further polo match in 1987 where Diana and Mohamed Al-Fayed presented the prize to her husband Charles, Prince of Wales.
Diana would go on to be pictured with Mohamed Al-Fayed at a number of events and was clearly on good terms with the Harrods owner.
The relationship reached a new level of closeness when the tycoon invited the Princess of Wales, now divorced from Charles, for a holiday in Saint Tropez aboard his new luxury yacht, the Jonkial.
Princess Diana with heart surgeon Magdi Yacoub, left, and Mohammed Al Fayed during a charity dinner for the Harefield Heart Unit held at Harrods, London, February 1996. Jayne Fincher/Getty Images
Diana agreed and holidayed with Al-Fayed and took her sons Prince William and Prince Harry of Wales.
The group were photographed by paparazzi and the images were widely shared.
It was only on this holiday in the summer of 1997 that Diana grew closer to Dodi and the pair soon began a romantic relationship that would be cut tragically short when they both sustained fatal injuries in a car crash in Paris on 30th August 1997.
The pair's romance and deaths will be portrayed in the sixth and final season of The Crown.
- Read More: The Crown season 5 cast: Full list of actors and characters
- Read More: The Crown season 5 timeline – what events does it cover?
- Read More: The Crown season 5 brings back Claire Foy for flashback cameo
- Read More: Who plays John Major in The Crown?
- Read More: Who is James Colthurst and who plays him in The Crown?
- Read More: Who plays Princess Anne in The Crown season 5?
The Crown seasons 1 to 5 are available now on Netflix.
Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
Looking for something else to watch? Check out our guide to the best series on Netflix and best movies on Netflix, or visit our TV Guide.
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Authors
Lewis KnightNews and Trends Editor
Lewis is the News and Trends Editor at Radio Times and leads our approach to news, reactive content, and serving audience demands and interests. An obsessive fan of television and film, Lewis is a Nicole Kidman fanatic with a side of passion for science-fiction, art-house cinema and the latest HBO drama. Lewis has a degree in Psychology and a Masters in Film Studies. After working in advertising, Lewis worked at The Mirror for three years in community management and SEO, showbiz, film and television reporting.
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