Now onto its sixth season, expected to be released in November 2023, Netflix's The Crown has proved hugely popular. The historical drama gives a glimpse into the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II from her younger years courting and marrying Prince Phillip all the way to the 21st century, with the later seasons focusing more on Diana and Charles' relationship.
To date, two actresses have taken on the role of Princess Diana in The Crown – Emma Corrin in season 4 and Elizabeth Debicki in season 5, who will be reprising her role for season 6.
As with many of the roles on The Crown, actors are changed to portray the passing of time, as the characters age according to the era the series is focusing on.
Who plays Princess Diana in The Crown Season 5 and 6?
Australian actor Elizabeth Debicki picked up the mantle of Princess Diana in the fifth season on The Crown and will also play the princess in season 6 of The Crown.
As if playing such a well-loved and recognisable figure wasn't enough pressure, the main focus of the entire season was on the marriage between Diana, Princess of Wales and Prince Charles, followed by their divorce and private romantic lives. Season 5 also introduced Hasnat Khan and Dodi Fayed, two of Diana's lovers, as well as diving into the relationship between Charles and Camilla.
Elizabeth actually first auditioned for the series in season 2, but her likeness to Diana was picked up and she was asked if she'd be interested in taking on the role in the future.
While in the beginning the idea of playing Diana overwhelmed her, Elizabeth was encouraged by what she had seen from the series so far. “I’ve watched this show and loved it for years. I knew I was stepping into working with people who were extremely intelligent and very sensitive about how they went about creating the script and making decisions. So I never felt like I’d jumped on unstable ground.”
On playing Diana, Elizabeth said, “I will say it’s a huge gift to learn what I’ve learnt about this person. In so many ways, it’s a story of immense transformation – and triumph too. The public got to watch her evolve into an incredibly strong woman, trying to control a narrative that was the slipperiest thing ever.”
The actor originally trained as a ballet dancer, and prior to The Crown was best known for playing Jordan Baker in Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. You may recognise Elizabeth for her role as Jed Marshall in the 2016 BBC drama The Night Manager. She has also appeared in films such as Widows, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 and Tenet.
Who played Princess Diana in The Crown season 4?
Emma Corrin played a young Diana in season 4 of The Crown, depicting Di from age 16 to 28, when she first met the then Prince Charles and was propelled from the life of a normal teenage girl into one as the Princess of Wales.
Season 4 covers the "Thatcher years" from 1979 to 1990, a time of great tensions and divisions, into which the romance and marriage of Charles and Lady Diana Spencer was a welcome fairytale for Britain. Across the series Diana goes on a transformational journey to become a global superstar, but the fairytale marriage portrayed in the world’s media isn’t quite what it appears to be.
Emma earned rave reviews for her work on the series as Diana, and did a lot of character research to prepare herself for the role. "From my research I felt she was always balancing the different sides of herself, she was able to radiate that brilliance and compassion that we all fell in love with even when she was suffering.
"When I got the script, I realised to an extent I had to set the research aside in a sense, and concentrate on the material I had in front of me - the scripts and the character that Peter had created. It felt like it was now up to me to flesh this person out."
Emma's favourite part of the role were the costumes, "Diana's Wardrobe is like a character in itself, so to go through that and do the fittings, with the wedding dress making, was so fun."
Emma Corrin was born on December 13, 1995 in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, UK. As well as her appearance in The Crown, Emma is also known for Lady Chatterley's Lover (2022) and My Policeman (2022).