‘The Crown’ actress on the ‘unique challenge’ of portraying Princess Diana in her final days

Australian actress, Elizabeth Debicki, has spoken candidly about the responsibility of portraying Diana, Princess of Wales, in her heartbreaking final days.

Debicki described the experience as a “unique challenge” and that she stuck closely to the “emotional blueprint” for Diana that was created by Crown producer, Peter Morgan, as reported by the Mirror.

“I think it’s a unique challenge as an actor, to portray those days. It’s his interpretation (Morgan’s) and it made emotional sense to me, so I clung to that. Because, obviously, it’s devastating and it’s fraught and we can never know,” she told the Mirror. 

The Crown is one of Netflix’s most praised original series, telling the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the British Royal Family with the sixth and final season set to deliver the same mix of drama, grandeur, and royal intrigue, along with an exciting royal wedding.

Set to return to our screens next month, part one featuring four episodes, will stream on November 16 and part two, featuring six episodes, will stream from December 14.

There has been much controversy around the recreation of Princess Diana’s death with some labelling the streaming giant as “sadistic and wicked”. A close friend of the late Princess even accused the series of forcing Prince William and Prince Harry to relive the tragic moment they lost their beloved mother.

However at a panel discussion at the Edinburgh TV Festival earlier this year,  Netflix producer Suzanne Mackie promised to tackle the immense task of capturing her untimely demise with the utmost care, sensitivity, and respect. 

Part one of the highly anticipated sixth and final season shows the budding relationship between Lady Diana and Dodi Al Fayed. It reveals how the happy couple holidayed in St Tropez with Diana’s sons Princes William and Harry in July 1997.

A month later the show alludes to the tragic accident when the People’s Princess and Dodi were killed. Their black car is seen entering the tunnel on that fateful night in Paris followed by paparazzi on motorbikes.

It then immediately cuts to the aftermath of the tragedy and includes scenes of Diana’s ghost visiting her ex-husband, now King Charles III, and the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Part two of the new series jumps ahead to the early noughties with the storyline including Diana’s sons struggling to come to terms with her death, the new romance between Prince William and future wife Kate Middleton, and the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles.

The show is expected to close with a sensational and fitting tribute to the late Queen as a mark of the abiding respect and affection felt by the Netflix creators for the late Monarch.

The final episodes will bring together all four actresses, Viola Prettejohn, Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, and Imelda Staunton, who have embodied Queen Elizabeth during the Crown’s six seasons.

The move is thought to be a clever one on behalf of Netflix as they bring the story of Her Majesty to a sensational end covering her whole life in 60 episodes.