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Princess Diana in Netflix’s The Crown vs real life: how accurately does the royal drama portray her relationships with Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth?

Then and now: Elizabeth Debicki and Emma Corrin as Princess Diana in Netflix’s The Crown. Photo: Getty Images, @thecrownnetflix/Instagram
Then and now: Elizabeth Debicki and Emma Corrin as Princess Diana in Netflix’s The Crown. Photo: Getty Images, @thecrownnetflix/Instagram
Royalty

  • Season 5 moves into the 90s and deals with characters increasingly dear to popular memory – none more so than the late ‘People’s Princess’
  • How true to life was Emma Corrin’s portrayal of Diana’s rocky marriage to Prince Charles – and will Elizabeth Debicki do the role justice in the new season?

The hit Netflix series The Crown has fired the imaginations of millions, giving viewers an unfiltered vision of the private life of privilege enjoyed by the British royal family. But while the first four seasons, focusing on the period from Queen Elizabeth’s coronation to 1990, have been praised for their relative fidelity to the facts – with some very notable exceptions – the series will doubtless meet extra scrutiny as we move into more immediate history, and encounter more figures who are currently in the global spotlight.
Princess Diana, pictured giving a bombshell interview to journalist Martin Bashir. Photo: BBC News
Princess Diana, pictured giving a bombshell interview to journalist Martin Bashir. Photo: BBC News
A young Princess Diana was portrayed convincingly by Emma Corrin in season 4, but now, as is routine for the series, new actress Elizabeth Debicki will take over the role for the next season, which is currently in production.
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Elizabeth Debicki and Emma Corrin as Princess Diana in The Crown. Photo: Netflix
Elizabeth Debicki and Emma Corrin as Princess Diana in The Crown. Photo: Netflix
Among the most sensitive subjects is surely the legacy of the “People’s Princess”, so let’s look at how the character of Diana, Princess of Wales, stacks up against the facts we already know about the late royal.

In The Crown: Diana runs into Charles (played in season 4 by Josh O’Connor) at her home, Althorp, when he arrives to collect her sister Lady Sarah Spencer (now McCorquodale) for a date.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana in The Crown. Photo: @thecrownnetflix/Instagram
Prince Charles and Princess Diana in The Crown. Photo: @thecrownnetflix/Instagram

In reality: The Spencers and the royal family have a long history, and while Prince Charles did date Diana’s sister, how the future Princess of Wales met her husband wasn’t as accidental as the show would have us believe.

In real life: Britain’s Charles, Prince of Wales, and his then fiancé Lady Diana Spencer pose on the day their engagement was announced in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, in February 1981. Photo: EPA/STR
In real life: Britain’s Charles, Prince of Wales, and his then fiancé Lady Diana Spencer pose on the day their engagement was announced in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, in February 1981. Photo: EPA/STR

In fact, McCorquodale told The Guardian in 1981 that she introduced the pair, even referring to herself as “cupid”.