The Crown has been slammed for portraying late Princess Diana in the days that led up to her death

A RARE unseen photo has been released of Princess Diana, ahead of the upcoming controversial The Crown release.

Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, posted the poignant image, which showed him at a party with his very glamorous sister.

Diana’s gown in her brother’s photo was one of her favourites, and she also wore for a gala dinner at The National Gallery on November 11, 1985Credit: Getty

The Crown’s depiction of Princess Diana’s ghost has been blasted by royal expert Jennie Bond
The photo shows Diana in a jaw-dropping, one-shoulder gown by the Japanese designer Hach.

She paired the stunning gown with a choker necklace, exquisite drop earrings and a bracelet.

In the shot she is sitting with her brother and their father at a party at the Spencer’s family home, Althorp, in West Northamptonshire.

Although the photo was taken in 1989, when John Spencer, the 8th Earl Spencer, celebrated his 65th birthday, it was shared online last year by Charles, who is the current Earl Spencer.

He wrote on Instagram: “Today is All Souls Day – when it’s customary to remember the souls of those you love, who’ve departed: it is known in some parts of the world as the Day of the Dead.

“A deeply poignant photograph for me from the summer of 1989, when there was a party at Althorp to mark my father’s 65th birthday earlier that year.”

Sadly, Diana’s dad passed away in 1992, just three years after the photograph was taken.

It’s not the only time we have seen Diana wearing the beautiful beaded gown, as it was initially created for her first official tour of the Commonwealth in 1983.

This followed her royal wedding to the then-Prince Charles in 1981.

Diana was clearly a fan of the dress as she also wore it to two James Bond premieres – Octopussy in 1983 and Licence to Kill in 1989 – and a gala dinner in 1985.

The beautiful royal also chose it for a Vanity Fair shoot with Mario Testino, which was one of her last shoots before she died weeks later.

Many royal fans were quick to comment on the photo after it was shared by Diana’s brother, who frequently updates his Instagram fans with breathtaking images from Althorp.

One said: “A beautiful photograph. Diana looks radiant and that smile. I do miss her.”

The sixth and final season of The Crown is due to be released this month, but it has had its fair share of controversy.

Recently, a depiction of Princess Diana’s ghost appearing in front of her ex-husband Prince Charles and the late Queen has been slammed by a royal expert as “breathtakingly insensitive.”

The divisive scene comes following her death in Paris, and will see Princess Diana, played by Elizabeth Debicki, appear before a mourning Prince Charles, played by Dominic West.

In a teaser from the imagined scene, which has caused outrage amongst fans, the late Princess tells him how much she loved him as he breaks down in tears.

It comes after Charles was previously seen sobbing over her body in a hospital morgue in Paris.

Diana tells him: “Thank you for how you were in the hospital. So raw, broken – and handsome. I’ll take that with me.

“You know I loved you so much. So deeply, so painfully too. That’s over now. It will be easier for everyone with me gone.”

In response to the backlash, a Netflix source said that Elizabeth’s appearances as Diana after her death are “visualisations of innermost thoughts” rather than “intended to be interpreted as supernatural.”

Speaking to Fabulous, royal commentator and TV presenter Jennie Bond says Netflix should be ashamed: “I don’t care how ‘sensitive’ the Netflix executives say they have been.

“Depicting William’s dead mother as a ghost is tasteless, ghoulish and breathtakingly insensitive. And portraying her in the days that led up to her death, and her funeral, is shockingly thoughtless, painful and unnecessary.”

Season 6 of The Crown will be split into two parts, with the first four episodes featuring the story up to Diana’s funeral being released from November 16.

The second instalment of six episodes, which will conclude with Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles’ wedding, will be released on December 14.

The photo was taken during a party at Diana’s childhood home, Althorp, in West NorthamptonshireCredit: Getty

Diana’s brother, pictured at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s 2018 wedding with wife Karen Spencer, shared his family photo of Diana on InstagramCredit: AFP

Prince William (Rufus Kampa), Prince Charles (Dominic West) and Prince Harry (Fflyn Edwards), ahead of the release of the sixth series of The Crown

Princess Diana with Prince William and Prince Harry on holiday in 1987Credit: Getty Images – Getty