Widow condemns The Crown for dramatising the death of her husband

The widow of Major Hugh Lindsay has condemned producers of The Crown for dramatising the death of her husband after she asked them not to include it.

Sarah Horsley, 67, who lives in a Wiltshire village near Salisbury, revealed she wrote to the producers of Netflix’s The Crown asking them not to recreate the death of her late husband.

Major Hugh Lindsay died in the Klosters skiing disaster in March 1988 and despite his widow’s request, the show features the incident in one episode in the latest series. 

Speaking to The Telegraph, Sarah Horsley said she told producers that any recreation of the incident would cause intense pain to Major Lindsay’s family. 

The widow of Major Hugh Lindsay has condemned The Crown for dramatising her late husband’s death during the Klosters skiing disaster in March 1988. Pictured: Major Hugh Lindsay’s coffin is carried by a guard of honour

Sarah Horsley (right) had written to the show's producers asking them not to dramatise Major Lindsay's death to spare his family any upset

Sarah Horsley (right) had written to the show’s producers asking them not to dramatise Major Lindsay’s death to spare his family any upset

Mrs Horsley said the plot line that appears to show The Klosters disaster as a crucial moment in the marriage of Charles and Diana - as the Prince begins reflecting on the fragility of life and his love for Camilla Parker-Bowles - was 'nonsense'

Mrs Horsley said the plot line that appears to show The Klosters disaster as a crucial moment in the marriage of Charles and Diana – as the Prince begins reflecting on the fragility of life and his love for Camilla Parker-Bowles – was ‘nonsense’

She told the paper: ‘I was horrified when I was told it [the episode] was happening and was very concerned about the impact on my daughter. I’m very upset by it and I’m dreading people seeing it.

‘I suppose members of the Royal family have to grin and bear it, but for me it’s a very private tragedy.’ 

THE 1988 KLOSTERS SKI TRAGEDY

The Prince of Wales had been skiing off-piste with friends in his favourite Swiss ski resort of Klosters in March 1988 when tragedy struck, with the royal himself narrowly avoiding death.

An avalanche engulfed the party, sending Major Hugh Lindsay, a former equerry to the Queen, 400 metres down the mountain.

While socialite Patti Palmer-Tomkinson suffered serious leg injuries in the accident, Prince Charles made it to safety with the help of a guide. 

Major Lindsay was declared dead at a nearby hospital in Davos and his body was flown back to the UK the next day.

His wife, Sarah, was six months pregnant when she was told of her husband’s death. 

One of Mrs Horsley’s main complaints is the fact the show appears to have used the accident as one explanation for the breakdown in Prince Charles’ marriage to Princess Diana.

In the series, Charles begins reflecting on the fragility of life and his love for Camilla Parker-Bowles following the death of his close friend. Mrs Horsley said the plot line was ‘nonsense’. 

Mrs Horsley was pregnant with her daughter Alice when Major Lindsay, a former equerry to the Queen, was killed in the incident.

She said that she received a kind letter from the show’s producers which explained they understood her concerns but hoped she would see that they had treated the incident with the appropriate sensitivity.

However, Mrs Horsley believes the show’s creators should have asked her before dramatising the accident. 

The Prince of Wales had been skiing off-piste with friends in his favourite Swiss ski resort of Klosters when tragedy struck, with the royal himself dodging death.

An avalanche engulfed the party, sending Major Hugh Lindsay, a former equerry to the Queen, 400 metres down the mountain.

While socialite Patti Palmer-Tomkinson suffered serious leg injuries in the accident, Prince Charles made it to safety with the help of a guide. 

Major Lindsay was declared dead at a nearby hospital in Davos and his body was flown back to the UK the next day. 

Mrs Horsley was six months pregnant when she was told of her husband’s death. 

Mrs Horsley also said that the show's use of the accident to act as one factor leading to Charles and Diana's marriage to break down was untrue

Mrs Horsley also said that the show’s use of the accident to act as one factor leading to Charles and Diana’s marriage to break down was untrue

Mrs Horsley was invited by producers to a private screening of the episode but declined. She is now worried that younger generations who watch The Crown will treat it as fact rather than fiction.

MailOnline has approached Netflix for comment.

Mrs Horsley’s comments come after Princess Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, also expressed his concern that The Crown’s audience will forget that the show is not 100 per cent accurate. 

Earl Spencer (pictured) rejected The Crown's request to film at Althorp, the Spencer family estate

Earl Spencer (pictured) rejected The Crown’s request to film at Althorp, the Spencer family estate

Speaking on Love Your Weekend, Spencer said: ‘The worry for me is that people see a programme like that and they forget that it is fiction. 

‘They assume, especially foreigners, I find Americans tell me they have watched The Crown as if they have taken a history lesson. Well, they haven’t.

‘It is very hard, there is a lot of conjecture and a lot of invention, isn’t there? You can hang it on fact but the bits in between are not fact.’ 

Spencer also reveals during his appearance on the show that he turned down a request from the shows producers to film at Althorp, his family’s stately home.

‘The Crown asked if they could film at Althorp and I said obviously not.’