After debuting The Crown’s highly-anticipated fourth season in 2020, discussions of the marriage between Princess Diana and Prince Charles were rife amongst Netflix viewers. Star Emma Corrin recently revealed in an interview what she would like to say to Diana if they could meet, and also question her decisions about her complex marriage.
For season five, the main thing on people’s minds is how The Crown will portray the tragic events leading up to Princess Diana’s (played by Corrin) death.
The drama surrounding the marriage between Princess Diana and Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor) in the fourth season delighted fans as it gave an insight into their difficult relationship.
However, audiences then went on to heavily criticise Charles’ treatment of Diana, as well as his affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles (Emerald Fennell).
Star Corrin recently spoke to Gold Derby about why Diana didn’t leave her troubling marriage sooner.
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The actress revealed that if she had a hypothetical meeting with Diana, she would say: “I’d love to sit down and talk to her and discover everything about her.
“I’d like to ask her why she didn’t leave before she did,” Corrin continued.
“But I understand why she didn’t as well, so I also feel like that’s a stupid question.”
However, the star later joked she’d ask: “Maybe something really stupid, like her favourite TV show.”
The actress also explained that creator Peter Morgan was so good at detailing “these complexities in the relationship” between Charles and Diana.
“The Royal Family had never seen someone like her before, especially with how she navigated the world and presented herself.
“I suppose she was warm in a way they weren’t used to and emotional in a way they weren’t used to and empathetic.”
She also revealed that she had no input to how Diana was portrayed on-screen and it was left to Morgan to create a sympathetic evocation of the beloved Princess.
However, Corrin said to herself when she took the role that she would have to leave behind “every preconception I had of Diana”.
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“That was the biggest challenge for me.”
She explained: “I had to really work with it and work from the inside out.
“I certainly felt that my brain was so populated with these images of her and stories of her, all the things we know about her, her outfits, and the things she did like the head tilt.”
However, after reading numerous biographies and studying the Princess intently, Corrin struggled with discovering who the real Diana was and finding something “to connect with”.
Though she later let go of everything she learnt and used Morgan’s script as her guide.
“Because [his script] was the story we were going to tell.”
Corrin also spoke about her joy of receiving a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild nomination for her portrayal: “It was incredibly surreal because I don’t think that anybody at any point expects to be nominated and it was such an honour.
“Also because we’re in the middle of the pandemic and I’m just in my flat with my flatmates, it felt like a strange dream.
“But I’m incredibly honoured and excited and so proud of the show.
“[The show] has done so well and has been so broadly recognised across these two awards, which is so great.”
The Crown seasons 1-4 are available on Netflix now.