A young Diana in The Crown season 4: five of her looks recreated faithfully in the hit Netflix series
- The highly anticipated season 4 of The Crown will star actress Emma Corrin as a young Diana Spencer, the royal family’s first genuine fashion star
- The series has gone to great lengths to capture her style before and soon after her marriage. Here are five looks from the show and their real-life inspirations
Season 4 of The Crown, which will debut on November 15 on Netflix, is making headlines thanks to the long-awaited arrival of a key character in the seemingly never-ending royal saga: a young Diana Spencer, played by British actress Emma Corrin.
Created by Peter Morgan, the series has received accolades for its clever dramatisation of the history of the house of Windsor, dating back to Queen Elizabeth’s early days as a young girl who did not expect to be enthroned at the age of 25.
Amy Roberts, the show’s costume designer, has done a great job of recreating the clothes worn by the myriad characters who populate the hallowed grounds of Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street, Sandringham Estate, Balmoral Castle and more illustrious locations in the British Isles and beyond (a tipsy – and very stylish – Princess Margaret at the White House is one of the highlights of season 3).
For the fourth season, Roberts faced the task of bringing to life the style of the royal family’s most celebrated fashion lover, Diana, who stole the spotlight with her photogenic smile and demure outfits as soon as she started dating Prince Charles.
While we will have to wait for season 5 to relive Diana’s most glamorous – and final – years, these looks from her early days as a newly minted member of the royal family reveal a fashion icon in the making.
1. Diana was a kindergarten teacher when she officially started dating Prince Charles, before marrying him at the age of 20. Her predilection for knitted vests paired with crisp white shirts has a preppy flair that Roberts recreated in this scene, in which Diana looks in awe at her engagement ring.
2. Peter Pan collars, lace details and simple jewellery such as pearl necklaces reflect Diana’s modest style when she joined the royal family as a barely 20-year-old girl.
The slightly conservative looks she favours as a young woman are in stark contrast to the glamorous outfits that she wore in her later years, especially after her separation from Prince Charles.
3. For her wedding to Prince Charles in 1981, Diana wore a dress designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel.
She paired the frothy confection, made of ivory silk taffeta and antique lace, with diamond jewellery, including the Spencer tiara, which had belonged to her family. The gown was painstakingly recreated for the wedding episode of season 4.
4. Diana wore this floral-print one-shoulder Catherine Walker evening dress for a soirée in London in 1991, the year before the announcement of her separation from Prince Charles. The look reflects her style evolution as she starts to become more independent from the trappings of the royal family.
5. It’s not easy to pull off a tiara but Diana always does it with aplomb. She is especially fond of the Spencer tiara, which she wore at her wedding and then again for various appearances, such as this public engagement in Brisbane, Australia, where she paired the family heirloom with a pink dress from designer Victor Edelstein.
