One of the best-known images of Princess Diana ever taken was taken by Mario Brenna with Dodi Fayed. The photographer appears in the most recent season of the Netflix series The Crown.
The Crown has been one of the most talked-about programs in recent memory. The Netflix series, which focuses on the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II, has dramatized several facets of the royal family throughout history. In addition, there have been narratives that show the events that befell her family members, such as the connection between her oldest son, Charles, and Princess Diana.
The sixth season of Netflix, which debuted recently, will chronicle Diana, Princess of Wales’s last days before her death in an August 1997 vehicle accident in Paris, France. It will also draw more attention to the journalistic intrusion Diana endured during her lifetime and the fact that she was always being photographed. Mario Brenna, who was among those who really took professional pictures of the princess, is one of the photographers that are highlighted in the presentation.
Some aspects of the show are not completely true, as is the case with many dramas based on actual life, but Brenna did snap some of the most well-known pictures of Princess Diana ever. Learn more about him, who portrays him in The Crown, and the pictures he took of the princess by continuing to read.
Who was Mario Brenna?
The genuine Mario Brenna was a renowned photographer who shot pictures of A-list celebrities in addition to working for luxury fashion firms. Brenna did take pictures of Princess Diana and her companion, Dodi Fayed, who was also slain that night while riding in the vehicle with her.
In 1997, he also captured pictures of the couple relaxing aboard the Jonkial boat off the coast of Sardinia. Dodi’s father, millionaire businessman Al Fayed, had invited Diana and her boys, William and Harry, to vacation there. The boat was purchased just for the vacation.
Later, Dodi and Diana started a private trip on the Jonikal. Diana’s acquaintance, the writer Richard Kay, confirmed that Diana was engaging in “her first serious romance” since her divorce from the then-Prince Charles the year prior, thanks to Brenna’s images of the two in an embrace.
According to The Independent, Brenna, who was 40 years old at the time and resided in Monaco, was reportedly working on other tasks when he happened to spy on the boat and capture the now-famous photos. Brenna became a multimillionaire when those pictures appeared in the Sunday Mirror.
Brenna would later get assistance with the rights to the photographs in both the USA and Australia from London photographer Jason Fraser, who had assisted in arranging the original agreement. Brenna’s images went viral throughout the globe. It is reported that Brenna flew to Fraser’s London residence and presented him with the prints. According to reports, The Sunday Mirror paid about £250,000 for the British rights, while Paris-Match paid one million francs and further received $200,000 from The Globe, an American tabloid. It is said that he made between $5 and $7 million overall.
Fraser subsequently remembered the incident to the Mail Online: “We laid the prints out on the kitchen floor and sat silently after he showed them to me. I had no idea what to do. I was aware that nothing would ever be the same.
Brenna said that he watched the pair for three days, worried that the security officers might approach them, during an interview on an Italian talk program. He said that he “didn’t realize the importance of that shot” at first.
There’s still not been confirmation of who exactly alerted Brenna to Diana and Dodi’s whereabouts, but he was praised by the media industry for his ability to move from high end fashion photoshoots to working as a member of the paparazzi and obtaining candid celebrity shots.
