July 11, 1997: Eager to show William (Rufus Kampa) and Harry (Fflyn Edwards) some summer fun, Diana jets off on holiday to France with the boys — a bonus is she’ll be out of town for Camilla’s upcoming 50th birthday bash too. Luckily, Mohamed al-Fayed has invited them to spend some time at his 10-acre estate above the sea at Saint-Tropez. A few days later, Dodi arrives, and life on the Fayeds’ recently purchased £15 million, 140-foot yacht, The Jonikal, begins. [Dodi’s fiancée, Kelly Fisher (Erin Richards) follows him to France, but is forced to stay on a different yacht.]

July 14, 1997: Dressed in a leopard-print swimming costume, Diana holds an impromptu press conference from a motorboat, speaking directly to British journalists who are based on another hired boat.

July 18, 1997: Back in the UK, Camilla celebrates her 50th birthday with a lavish, black-tie party organized by Charles at his country estate at Highgrove. More than 80 guests attend. The Prince of Wales makes a heartfelt speech, praising his longtime love. The press can’t help themselves, comparing Di’s fancy vacation to Charles and Camilla’s more staid life back home.

July 31–Aug. 6, 1997: After spending a private weekend in Paris, Dodi and Diana sail around Corsica and Sardinia on The Jonikal. Italian paparazzo Mario Brenna (Enzo Cilenti) takes photographs of them kissing on the yacht and sells them to the Sunday Mirror for £250,000. Combined worldwide sales to newspapers and magazines in Germany, the US, and France garner £1million.

Aug. 8–11, 1997: The princess spends time with land mine victims in Bosnia. Though her humanitarian efforts should be the newsworthy story, the photos of Diana and Dodi kissing on The Jonikal are splashed across the tabloids’ front pages, leaving the Bosnia trip somewhat eclipsed. The Sun writes, “A new love affair can be as dangerous as the Bosnian minefields.”

Aug. 12, 1997: Nothing beats the Scottish countryside as a photo shoot backdrop. While Charles and the boys are holidaying in Balmoral, Charles’ press team comes up with the idea that he and his sons should pose for press photos, securing a narrative about stability to counter Diana’s perceived frivolous jet-setting. Charles dons a kilt for the photo op on the banks of the River Dee. William does not, and is rather reluctant to take part. Down in Derbyshire, Diana arrives in a Harrods helicopter for a visit with her psychic Rita Rogers (Sandra Hale).

Aug. 24, 1997: Clad in a turquoise bathing suit, Diana lounges on the end of The Jonikal’s diving board, her legs dangling over the Mediterranean as a lone seagull swoops overhead. What should have been a peaceful moment becomes an iconic shot when a paparazzi captures it on camera: Just a day later, on Aug. 25, photos are published everywhere around the world. If “going viral” had been a thing in the ’90s, this moment would’ve been the epitome of the term.

On Set: The yacht used on set was a real contemporary yacht, so to make it look like it was from the ’90s, the set decorators had to bring in fabric, pictures, and paintings from that decade. “We had to make it a little less on point in terms of proper superyacht decor today,” head set decorator Alison Harvey tells Tudum. “So we kitsched it up a little bit by taking it back in time and just tried to add nods to Mohamed’s world a bit more.”

Aug. 30, 1997: Diana and Dodi make plans to return to the UK, but ultimately change their minds and decide to make a quick stop in Paris on the way. They trade in the ocean blues for the city lights, looking in at Villa Windsor before they head to the Ritz hotel. In Paris, Dodi makes a visit to luxury jewelers Repossi to check out rings for Diana, as she’d previously pointed out one by the brand that she liked. Later that evening, the couple meets to eat dinner at the Ritz. They soon retire to the Imperial Suite, planning to leave soon after to return to Dodi’s flat for the night. Given the press scrutiny, Dodi informs his security team of a plan to leave the hotel unseen. 

Meanwhile — believing he’s off duty — Henri Paul (Yoann Blanc), the Ritz’s acting head of security who had been driving Diana and Dodi around that day, enjoys some drinks at the hotel bar. On hearing the couple wants to leave, he tries to lose the paps by announcing at the main entrance to the hotel that Dodi and Diana will be out in 10 minutes. He then sneaks them out a back exit. The veteran paparazzi, however, aren’t fooled.

Aug. 31, 1997: Back at Balmoral, the castle wakes to the sound of the phone. Elizabeth, Philip, and Charles receive the news that Dodi and driver Henri Paul (Yoann Blanc) have died instantly in a car crash in Paris, while Diana is still alive but in critical condition. By 3:15 a.m. BST, Elizabeth, Philip, and Charles are informed that Diana has also been pronounced dead. Charles decides to let his sons sleep, waiting to tell them the news later in the morning. He goes for a walk alone around Balmoral.

Aug. 31, 1997: Following some discussion as to whether Diana’s passing should be treated as a royal death, and after consultation with his mother and top advisers, Charles decides that he’ll fly to Paris later in the day on an RAF plane to bring back his ex-wife’s body. Before he leaves, the royal family attends church at Crathie Kirk near Balmoral. Diana isn’t mentioned during the service.

Aug. 31, 1997: Charles arrives in Paris to reclaim the body around 4 p.m. After spending time with Diana at the hospital, the prince accompanies the hearse through the streets of Paris, where mourners crowd the streets to pay their respects. At Balmoral, the queen does her best to shelter the boys from the world’s reaction to their mother’s death, removing all newspapers from their sight and keeping them away from the television. One day later, Dodi’s funeral takes place at Regent’s Park Mosque.

Sept. 6, 1997: Preceding Diana’s funeral at Westminster Abbey, Philip, Charles, William, Harry, and Charles Spencer (Philip Cumbus) join in a one-hour, 47-minute procession from Kensington Palace to the abbey, passing Buckingham Palace on the way. More than 1 million people line the streets of London, crying over the loss of the “people’s princess.” William and Harry walk in the procession, during which Philip talks to his oldest grandson under his breath in an effort to keep him calm. On top of the coffin, alongside three wreaths of white flowers, sits a letter addressed to “Mummy.”

Nov. 20, 1997: Soon after the death of his mother, Princess Diana, William returns to boarding school, keen to get back to some form of normalcy. But there’s not much chance of a quiet life with girls around the country and beyond becoming increasingly infatuated with the teenage prince. A frenzied era dubbed “Willsmania” kicks off. Back at the palace, the queen and Philip are celebrating 50 years of marriage with a commemorative event that includes an official photo at Buckingham Palace, a thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey, and lunch at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich. On arrival at the Royal Naval College, William is treated like a pop star as the crowds go crazy.

March 1998: Even on the other side of the Atlantic, William can’t escape the manic public attention when he, Harry, and Charles jet off on holiday to western Canada. After making some official appearances and visits in Vancouver, the family retires to a ski resort in Whistler for a more relaxed few days. Wills is unhappy to have to pose for a press photo call on the slopes too and makes it clear to his father he hates all attention.

March 24, 1999: In response to human rights abuses that are being perpetrated against the ethnic Albanian population in Kosovo, NATO forces initiate an air war against Serbia. Tony Blair — whose popularity has been on the rise since Diana’s death — is one of the strongest proponents of the offensive, emphasizing the humanitarian necessity of intervention. The bombing lasts 78 days, ending on 10 June after the Yugoslav government agrees to withdraw. Blair’s actions give Britain increased authority on the world stage, and his popularity levels at home soar. At the 2001 general election, Labour is reelected in a landslide victory.

June 21, 2000: Soon after his birthday, William sits his A-level exams at Eton, earning an A in geography, a B in history of art, and a C in biology. He applies to the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and is accepted to study history of art but decides to take a gap year before continuing his studies. He spends most of August 2000 to June 2001 abroad, volunteering with a Raleigh International expedition in Chile and traveling around Africa, among other places.

September 2001: Starting at uni is a crazy time for anyone, but even more so if you’re a royal. William receives a lot of attention as he arrives on campus, but he meets a fellow student by the name of Kate Middleton who’s also studying art history. They share lecture notes and get to know one another, but both date other people initially. It’s still an overwhelming time for William, and by Christmas he’s contemplating whether he should continue at St. Andrews. Ultimately, he decides to persevere with his classes but switches to studying geography.

Feb. 9, 2002: Between February 1998 and March 2001, Margaret suffers multiple strokes. The first is reasonably mild and occurs when she’s on vacation in Mustique in 1998. After a short stay in a hospital in Barbados, she flies home two days later for further tests, rest, and rehab. Margaret makes some lifestyle changes and a slow recovery. A year later, the princess is back in Mustique and having a bath when she scalds her feet in hot water. Unable to walk due to her burnt soles, she returns to the UK in a wheelchair. Despite enjoying a glitzy 70th birthday party at the Ritz in October 2000, her recovery is short-lived. The princess endures a second confirmed stroke in January 2001 and then a third in March 2001. Margaret’s fourth and final stroke takes place two days before her death on Feb. 9, 2002. She’s the first senior royal to be cremated since the Middle Ages, making that choice because there wasn’t enough space for a coffin, and this meant she could be buried alongside her father (and her mother and sister in the future).

June 1–4, 2002: Elizabeth enjoys a weekend of jubilee celebrations, marking 50 years on the throne. On the final day of festivities, the queen travels in the ornate Gold State Coach from Buckingham Palace to St. Paul’s for a jubilee service, followed by a Guildhall luncheon, during which Blair tells her, “Deference may be inherited but affection is earned, and the affection this country feels for you is real.” After lunch, the royal family wave to the crowds from the palace balcony, with William joining the family for the photo op — much to the adoring crowd’s pleasure. 

Jan. 6, 2004: A police inquiry is launched into the cause of Princess Diana and Dodi’s deaths. As part of the investigation, Charles is questioned at Clarence House for several hours about events leading up to his ex-wife’s death. The results are published in 2006 and include the findings that Diana was not pregnant at the time of her death and that the driver, Henri Paul, was more than twice over the legal drink-drive limit. The inquiry finds that the British establishment is not responsible for the deaths of Diana and Dodi. Mohamed al-Fayed calls the royals a “dracula family” in the press. 

After Charles asks for the queen’s blessing to marry Camilla, Elizabeth meets with the Lord Bishops, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Bishop of Salisbury to seek advice. She grants Charles his wish to wed, and, decades later than he would’ve hoped, it’s royal wedding bells once more for Charles! The longtime lovers marry in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall. Though the queen doesn’t attend the ceremony, she does go to the church blessing that follows at St. George’s Chapel and hosts the buffet reception at Windsor Castle’s State Apartments. Elizabeth even makes a toast to the newlyweds, joking that announcing the winner of the Grand National is actually  the important news of the day. Winners all round. 

On Set: Filming Charles and Camilla’s wedding required the most cast present on set of any day of the entire production. Twenty cast members were there for one scene, alongside 450 supporting artists.