The makers of acclaimed TV drama The Crown faced a barrage of criticism last night over ‘a monstrous lie’ blaming Prince Philip for the death of his sister.

In a tragedy that has always haunted Philip, his sister Princess Cecile, eight months pregnant with her third child, was killed in a plane crash in 1937 while flying from Germany to London.

But the writers of the £100 million Netflix series, which chronicles the Queen’s life, have invented a scene in which Philip’s father cruelly turns on him at the funeral, saying: ‘You’re the reason we’re all here burying my favourite child.’

The makers of acclaimed TV drama The Crown faced a barrage of criticism over ‘a monstrous lie’ blaming Prince Philip (left as a schoolboy) for the death of his sister Princess Cecile (right)

Royal historian Hugo Vickers called it a ‘monstrous lie’ adding: ‘This is a truly shocking invention since Prince Philip had nothing to do with his sister’s air flight to Britain. He was in no way responsible for the accident.’

The scene features in the penultimate episode – entitled Paterfamilias – of the second series which explores Prince Charles’s unhappy school days at Gordonstoun, interwoven with flashbacks to his father’s time there.

It is suggested – wrongly – that in November 1937, Philip, then 16, was due to spend half-term with 26-year-old Cecile, married to Grand Duke George Donatus of Hesse.

This arrangement is said to suit his sister, apparently terrified of flying, because it will enable her to avoid travelling to London for a wedding.

But Philip then punches a fellow pupil and as punishment is forced to remain at school during the holiday, leaving Cecile no choice but to accompany her family to London.

Philip rings his sister hoping she will support him. Speaking from a German airport, she tells him she agrees with the head’s decision and says she is now ‘obliged’ to fly to the wedding. The camera then cuts to her boarding the plane.

The writers of the Netflix series have invented a scene in which Philip’s father cruelly turns on him at the funeral, saying: ‘You’re the reason we’re all here burying my favourite child’

Mr Vickers added: ‘It’s all a fiction: it was always Cecile’s intention to go to the wedding.’

Her plane crashed after hitting a factory chimney in fog near Ostend on November 16.

Also killed were her mother, her husband, their sons aged six and four, a lady-in-waiting and the best man. Firemen found the remains of an infant, prematurely delivered when the plane crashed, lying beside Cecile’s body, suggesting the pilot tried to land because she had begun to give birth.

Prince Philip was particularly close to Cecile, the youngest of his three sisters, and being called into his headmaster’s study to be told of her death was one of the worst moments of his life.

Years later he wrote: ‘I have the very clearest recollection of the profound shock with which I heard the news of the crash and the death of my sister and her family.’

It is true that Philip travelled to Germany for the funeral. But what happens next in The Crown, say Royal experts, is pure fiction. Young Philip, played by Finn Elliot, is presented to his mother Princess Alice and father Prince Andrew at the funeral.

In the programme, a young Philip, played by Finn Elliot (pictured) is led away in tears after the cruel outburst

His father says: ‘I’m surprised he dare show himself here,’ adding: ‘Had it not been for Philip and his indiscipline she would never have taken that flight. It’s true, isn’t it boy? You’re the reason we’re all here burying my favourite child. Get him out of here.’

A tearful Philip is then led away.

Royal biographer Penny Junor said: ‘I know this is not pretending to be factual but it sails very close to the wind and I think this is a particularly nasty thing to suggest.

‘I personally have never heard of any suggestion that Prince Philip was in any way responsible for his sister’s death. It is very harsh and unfair to Prince Philip who is still living with this tragedy.’

Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said: ‘It’s not surprisingly the most traumatic thing that’s ever happened to Prince Philip and it is cruel, particularly towards a man in very advanced years with great public service.’

It is understood Paterfamilias was jointly written by the show’s creator, Peter Morgan, director Stephen Daldry and scriptwriter Tom Edge. Mr Edge said last night: ‘I can’t comment.’

Neither Mr Morgan nor Mr Daldry could be contacted. Netflix and Left Bank Pictures, the TV company which makes The Crown starring Claire Foy and Matt Smith, did not return calls. Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

Film-makers have twisted this awful tragedy, says royal historian HUGO VICKERS

When I was researching the biography of Prince Philip’s mother, Princess Alice of Greece, I met his archivist, the late Dame Anne Griffiths.

Calmly, she told me that one of the worst things that ever happened in Prince Philip’s life was being called into his headmaster’s study to be told of the death of his sister and that he minded this all the more because she was pregnant.

Now, in a monstrous lie, the makers of The Crown have devised a shocking invention that makes the boy Philip responsible for the plane crash in which his sister and her entire family died.

I am probably one of the few people who does not like The Crown – because some of it is based on truth and an awful lot of it is based on falsehoods.

Claire Foy stars as Queen Elizabeth II in the £100million Netflix series The Crown and has received critical acclaim for her performance

Still, I recognise it is very well written and beautifully acted, and in particular Claire Foy is stunning as the Queen. She has mastered the Queen’s superb timings, the well-placed silences and the quick asides in a commanding and charismatic performance that makes it all but impossible to take one’s eyes off her.

The enormous budget Netflix has lavished on the series can be seen in the incredible visual spectacle in almost every scene.

The makers have gone to great trouble over the period costumes, and in the search for accuracy have sought out stately buildings to match the Royal palaces: Wilton stands in for Buckingham Palace, Belvoir Castle for Windsor and Englefield House for Sandringham.

Yet to my mind, all that care, artistry and brilliance only makes this pernicious lie all the more wrong. The Crown has previously strayed into controversy by feeding upon rumours. This creation of a falsehood around the tragedy that haunted Philip’s family is entirely worse. Prince Andrew of Greece was deeply upset by Cecile’s death, writing later: ‘It was a very hard blow and the weight of it becomes heavier as time passes.’

He and his son, Prince Philip, travelled out from London to Darmstadt together, where they were reunited with Princess Alice (Philip’s mother) for the first time since 1931, the death of her daughter having coaxed her back into the family from years of seclusion. It is beyond me how serious film-makers would wish to turn such a dreadful tragedy into a series of invented scenes bearing no relation to the truth.

- Hugo Vickers is author of The Crown: Truth And Fiction (Zuleika).