The Crown star Elizabeth Debicki doesn't "have any big opinions about the royal family"
The Widows actor joins the new season of the Netflix drama as Princess Diana
As another set of actors steps into the shoes of the British royal family on The Crown, it’s time to find out what the new cast thinks of the real-life inspirations for their characters. (As Buckingham Palace and Judi Dench would like you to remember, the Netflix series is fictional.)
“I don’t have any big opinions about the royal family,” Elizabeth Debicki—the new Princess Diana—tells British Vogue in a cover story. “That’s an advantage here, right?”
The magazine also asks the Australian actor if she knows any of the royals. Earlier this year, Camilla Parker-Bowles invited her one-time onscreen counterpart, Emerald Fennell, to a royal reception at Clarence House. Matt Smith, who played Prince Philip in the first two seasons, says that Prince Harry called him “Granddad” when they happened to meet at a polo match.
“No, maybe I never will now,” Debicki says. “Prince Harry seems fun.”
Ultimately, the Tenet actor tends to steer clear of royal gossip, saying, “The Daily Mail makes me nauseous.” Of course, it’s a fitting attitude for someone playing Princess Diana, and previews of the new season show that it won’t shy away from depicting the relentless tabloid circus that surrounded her and how she struggled to take back control of her image. The recreation of one of her most famous fashion moments, the “revenge dress” that Diana wore as her marriage to Prince Charles publicly deteriorated, is one of the most anticipated scenes coming up on The Crown.
“When you’re media fodder, what sells a newspaper is everything,” Debicki says. “But it was always personal for her. How could it not be?”
Previously, The Crown’s creator Peter Morgan said that he began the series “completely anti-monarchist,” but that working on it had turned him into a royalist by 2017. Meanwhile, following Josh O’Connor’s two-season run as Prince Charles, the God’s Own Country star told British GQ, “I had no interest in the royal family before I did The Crown. And I have very little interest now!”