The Crown star Elizabeth Debicki urges critics to stop complaining about show’s plotlines
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Critics who have condemned The Crown for its portrayal of the royal family have been ordered by one of the show’s stars to continue.
Elizabeth Debicki, who will play Princess Diana on the upcoming season of the Netflix show, said it was an “interpretation” of events and “maybe we can stop talking” about the controversy.
The streaming giant was recently forced through the queue to add a disclaimer to the trailer for season five stating that it was a “fictional dramatization… inspired by real events.”
It followed accusations of insensitivity, amid reports that the show will recreate the Paris chase that resulted in Diana’s death and scenes of young Princes William and Harry following their mother’s coffin in a future season.
Crown’s Diana: Critics who have condemned The Crown for its portrayal of the royal family have been told to ‘move on’ by one of the show’s stars, Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Princess Diana
But Miss Debicki, who appears in new photos as Diana in Radio Times, told the magazine: “I respect people’s views and I, as an actor on the show, understand the nature of what the show is.
“It was always very clear to me that you can never know what goes on behind closed doors and that a writer is interpreting what may have happened.
“Now that the disclaimer is in place, we may not be able to talk about it anymore and move on. If that’s helpful to certain people, so be it, and now the conversation can be traced back to the creative effort of what the show is.”
She added: ‘There’s a huge amount of room for interpretation and that’s the value and beauty of The Crown, that you receive a different message depending on who you are. That’s a good drama for me.’
New series: It will document Diana’s divorce from then Prince Charles. It features a reenactment of when the princess wore what became known as her ‘revenge dress’ (pictured)
The new series, which begins next week, will document Diana’s divorce from then-Prince Charles. It features a reenactment of the moment the princess wore what came to be known as her “revenge dress” – an off-the-shoulder silk number by Christina Stambolian.
Diana wore it at a Vanity Fair party at the Serpentine Gallery in June 1994, the same night a documentary aired in which Prince Charles admitted to being unfaithful to Camilla.
Miss Debicki, who has replaced Emma Corrin as Diana, revealed that she had been so nervous after accepting the role that she was unable to continue with simple chores at home.
The Australian-born actress said: “My sister would see me staring at the sink full of dishes and say, ‘Oh my God, what’s going on?’ and I’d say, “I can’t do it. I don’t know how to do it.”
‘It was a lot of pressure. It feels insurmountable until the scripts are delivered to you and the whole process begins.”
Friends: Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip and Natascha McElhone as Penny Knatchbull, who shared a passion for equestrian sports
The upcoming series will span the 1990s and will reportedly feature controversial scenes, such as a reenactment of the “tampongate” phone conversation between Charles and Camilla.
It was recorded by an amateur radio enthusiast and leaked to the press, discussing their intimate relationship.
Dominic West, who plays Prince Charles alongside Olivia Williams as Camilla, said his investigation into the scandal in 1993 showed him “how badly Camilla was treated.”
“I don’t think that would happen today. It happened for many reasons, one of them being that she is a woman,” he added.
Striking Resemblance: Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana in a Golden Sweater Cardigan
“I remember thinking it was a filthy, embarrassing discussion, but when I re-watched it, I found it was just an intensely personal conversation, and what was filthy was the lecherous interest in it.
“It’s very sweet, tender and gauche, but like any intense personal conversation, just not for public consumption.”
The series will also air fictional scenes in which Prince Charles discusses the possibility of the Queen’s abdication with Sir John Major, which the former prime minister has dismissed as “evil nonsense”.
New photos also show Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip with his confidant Penny Knatchbull, the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, played by Natascha McElhone, on a carriage ride after the couple bonded in 1975 over their shared love of equestrianism.