As fans eagerly binged the first four episodes of “The Crown” Season 6, captivated by the series’ portrayal of Princess Diana and the tragic events surrounding her life, there’s one crucial aspect of Diana’s legacy that remains conspicuously absent. While “The Crown” delves into the weeks leading up to and following Diana’s death in 1997, it regrettably overlooks her profound impact on AIDS activism in the late 1980s.
The show introduces Diana, played by Emma Corrin, in Season 4, where she is portrayed before her marriage to Prince Charles. By the season’s finale, set nine years later, her marriage has unraveled, and Diana embarks on her first solo overseas trip as a member of the Royal Family, visiting New York City in 1990.
During her visit to New York, Diana’s compassionate side shines as she visits a pediatric AIDS unit in a Harlem hospital. The Princess’s interaction with a young boy with AIDS, which involves a heartfelt hug, strikes a chord with viewers. While this moment indeed occurred, the show takes creative liberties with the timeline, setting the trip in 1990 to align with other plot points. In reality, Diana’s visit to New York took place in early 1989.
However, what “The Crown” fails to convey is that Diana’s involvement with the AIDS epidemic extended far beyond this visit and was not limited to pediatric AIDS patients.
In April 1987, nearly two years before her New York trip, Diana made headlines by attending the opening of the U.K.’s first AIDS ward at Middlesex Hospital in London. During her visit, she courageously refused to wear gloves, shook hands with 12 adult male patients suffering from AIDS, and posed for photographs. This act was described as “the shake felt round the world.”
Professor Rob Miller, who worked on the hospital’s AIDS ward at the time, emphasized the intense stigma surrounding AIDS, with hospital staff concealing their work from their families and patients unwilling to be photographed. Diana’s decision to shake hands with AIDS patients without gloves was a powerful message, demonstrating that HIV could not be transmitted through everyday contact.
The impact of Diana’s visit extended far beyond the hospital walls. She helped destigmatize AIDS, which was primarily associated with gay men and sex, at a time when society struggled to address the issue. Her actions contributed to changing public and media attitudes towards individuals with HIV.
Despite “The Crown’s” dramatic interpretations of historical events, its omission of Diana’s significant role in AIDS activism is a missed opportunity. The series focuses primarily on the British royal family and has often taken creative liberties. However, the decision to ignore this essential aspect of Diana’s life and activism, which included close relationships with gay individuals, overlooks a crucial part of late 20th-century history.
In reality, “gay men formed much of the support network of Diana’s life,” and her friendships with gay members of the palace staff and the fashion industry brought the HIV/AIDS crisis closer to her. As AIDS took its toll in the 1980s, Diana was deeply affected by the peril faced by her friends.
While the New York trip featured in “The Crown” aligns with the narrative of Season 4, it overlooks the equally compelling Middlesex Hospital visit from two years earlier. By focusing on pediatric AIDS patients and neglecting Diana’s interactions with the LGBTQ+ community, the series misses an opportunity to highlight her pioneering efforts in fighting AIDS stigma and advocating for those affected by the epidemic.