How The Crown's Emma Corrin and Josh O'Connor unpacked the 'Charles and Diana' fairy tale
By Kahla Preston| 2 months ago
The 'fairy tale' royal romance is an intoxicating fantasy, one so many of us absorb osmosis-like as children via storybooks and movies.
Yet the union of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer — one that, on the surface, seemed like it could have been plucked from a Disney princess film — serves as a firm reminder that 'happily ever after' isn't a guarantee.
RELATED: Inside Charles and Diana's headline-making divorce
Prince Charles and Princess Diana are a major focus of Season 4 of Netflix's The Crown. (Getty)
The couple's ill-fated marriage is a major focus of The Crown's fourth season, streaming on Netflix from this Sunday, with Josh O'Connor and Emma Corrin bringing to life Britain's future king and 'people's princess'.
Speaking to 9Honey Celebrity, O'Connor said while he had "pre-existing views" of the couple's relationship and its highly-publicised demise, he and Corrin were eager to "discover" the dynamic for themselves.
"It was really important that we didn't jump to the end and play the ending, which we all know so well, [and] found the love that we both believe must have been there," the actor explains. "There are moments we wanted to highlight. There's a scene where the kids are by the pool and Charles is looking on and he loves [Diana] as a mother ... there was love in that relationship."
Emma Corrin makes her The Crown entrance as Lady Diana Spencer, the future Princess of Wales. (Supplied)
Josh O'Connor and Corrin recreate Charles and Diana's engagement interview from 1981. (Netflix)
Season 4 depicts Charles' brief first introduction to a teenage Diana years before their relationship began, before delving into the whirlwind courtship that transformed her from a shy teacher's assistant living in a London sharehouse to a media obsession and future princess.
We see the emotional and physical toll this intense public spotlight and the not-so-steady foundations of the relationship take on her. Behind palace doors, Diana was suffering from bulimia — a struggle the public wouldn't find out about for many years to come.
The Crown's portrayal of Diana's private battle is an unflinching one, and doesn't seek to glamorise the reality of eating disorders. There are numerous scenes of the princess bingeing on food before violently throwing up, visibly distressed.
The emotional toll of Diana's days in the royal family is evident. (YouTube/Netflix)
Though she felt apprehensive about taking on this aspect of the role, admitting it was a "difficult place to go" as an actor, Corrin believes it was crucial to honouring the late Princess of Wales and her experience.
"I very much wanted the scenes to be included. I also thought that for her storyline, to do it justice properly, you couldn't shy away from it," she tells 9Honey Celebrity. "Everything she was going through very much tied in with her bulimia. It was symptomatic of it, and also it caused a lot of it.
"I think these things should be depicted on screen, 100 per cent. I don't think you should shy away from them, I don't think they should be alluded to, and I think they need to be shown in full."
RELATED: The revelations from Princess Diana's explosive BBC Panorama interview
Diana addressed her bulimia struggle in her famous 1995 interview with BBC's Panorama. (Corbis via Getty Images)
Corrin adds that Diana's decision to speak publicly and candidly about her experience with bulimia in the early 90s paved the way for others to do the same.
"I thought it was an amazing thing that she felt she could do that," she says. "It's incredible when people can speak about it now so openly, and we all advocate for people being more candid with these experiences so people can share and learn about them."
For those who remember the days of Charles and Diana, there are plenty of nostalgia-inducing moments in store this season, including the couple's engagement interview and their 1983 tour of Australia with baby Prince William in tow.
There are plenty of throwbacks to Diana's most famous fashion looks. (Twitter)
Corrin's Diana pictured in 'Terra Nullius', The Crown's Australian royal tour episode. (Netflix)
"I feel like that's the closest, maybe, that they get to any blissfulness or peace or love," O'Connor says of the couple's time in Australia, which earns a dedicated episode called Terra Nullius.
RELATED: Looking back at Princess Diana and Prince Charles' 1983 Australian tour
Fashion fans will also enjoy the carousel of memorable Princess Diana outfits, ranging from her sweet patterned knits to her more glamorous red carpet looks.
None are more iconic, however, than her wedding dress, which has been recreated for the show in all its voluminous early-80s glory with the guidance of the designers of the original gown.
Corrin described the replica of Diana's wedding dress as "huge, and just amazing". (Netflix)
Corrin describes the experience of wearing the dress as "heavy, in every sense of the word." "It was huge, and it was just amazing. It was honestly like a dream. I loved the fittings as well, seeing the process of how it came together around me was lovely to feel part of," she says.
Though the replica gown only graces screens for a matter of seconds, the actress says it was "wonderful" to witness the cast and crew's reaction to seeing her in it during filming.
"It's very iconic, everyone has that image in their head, so I think on the day we were doing that scene everyone was quite emotional. It was nice," she says.
Princess Diana and Prince Charles pictured on their wedding day in 1981. (Getty)
RELATED: Why Princess Diana's wedding dress made a mark on fashion history
While Charles and Diana tend to steal the spotlight in Season 4, there are plenty of intriguing dynamics around them — including Queen Elizabeth's icy tête-à-têtes with UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and the ongoing extramarital romance of Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, now the Duchess of Cornwall.
However, O'Connor nominates Charles' relationship with his sharp-tongued sister Princess Anne, played by Erin Doherty, as a personal favourite.
Erin Doherty as "straight-up, straight-talking" Princess Anne. (Netflix)
"I think [Anne] is his only strong ally," he says. "They're kind of opposites. Princess Anne is the more straight-up, straight-talking, which is basically what Charles wants. She's kind of closer to Camilla than Charles, and Charles is probably closer to Diana in character.
"She plays an important role in the Diana and Charles marriage, actually. When Princess Anne comes in, we basically check in with the royal family. She's the one who reports back to the Queen and Philip."
Season 4 of The Crown is streaming on Netflix from Sunday, November 15
If you, or someone you know, are struggling with an eating disorder, you can find help, support and resources through The Butterfly Foundation: 1800 33 4673
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