UPDATE, OCTOBER 11, 2021: The superyacht Titania isn’t the only private vessel cast in The Crown’s next season. Filming has been taking place with Christina O in Palma de Mallorca, too.
Read on for our original article.
Fans of the popular Netflix series The Crown are in for a special appearance by a yacht when season five airs sometime next year. The superyacht Titania plays a pivotal role in scenes set in the 1990s.
The Crown chronicles the life of Queen Elizabeth II and the British Royal Family. Just this week, production crews and actors were in Spain, both on land and at sea, filming a variety of scenes. In fact, photographers captured actor Khalid Abdalla and actress Erin Richards, along with several of the series’ crew. They were in speedboats heading out to the 239-foot (73-meter) Titania at anchor, plus aboard the megayacht.
Since the superyacht Titania saw delivery in 2006 from Lürssen, she’s not appearing as herself in the series. Rather, she is serving the role of the yacht Jonikal. This, of course, was the yacht aboard which the late Princess Diana spent time in the summer of 1997, immediately before she died. Jonikal, a 209-footer (nearly 64-meter) from Codecasa dating to 1990, belonged to Mohammed al-Fayed, the owner of Harrods. He was further the father of the late Dodi al-Fayed, a film producer who was Diana’s romantic partner at the time. Dodi al-Fayed died in the same car crash that killed Diana. Jonikal entertained Dodi al-Fayed and Diana in the South of France and Italy. In fact, a now-iconic photo shows Diana sitting on the end of the yacht’s diving board.
Therefore, the appearance of the superyacht Titania off Puerto Banus, Marbella may seem puzzling. However, television and film crews don’t necessarily use the real-life locations of events for their productions. That further extends to the yachts that were the settings of these events.
Interestingly, Jonikal still exists, although she has changed names. Mohammed al-Fayed rechristened her Sokar the same year as his son’s and Diana’s death. “Sokar” translates to “sugar” from Egyptian. The yacht went up for auction last year, selling for just £171,000 (about $229,500 today). Her current name is Bash.
The superyacht Titania, meanwhile, belongs to John Caudwell, a British entrepreneur who runs a children’s charity and a Lyme disease research foundation. He acquired her at auction in 2010. Her original name was Apoise.
Titania further charters for parties of 12, with two master suites and a skylounge cinema among her touted amenities.
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