How The Crown’s Elizabeth Debicki Embodied Princess Diana
For Elizabeth Debicki, nothing’s scarier than revenge.
The actress, who took over the role of Princess Diana from Emma Corrin in The Crown season five, is sharing which of the royal’s many iconic outfits she was most nervous to take on—and, of course, it’s a fan favorite.
“We all felt the responsibility of the revenge dress because it’s something that everybody wanted to see,” Debicki exclusively told E! News. “It’s an incredibly powerful sartorial moment in the history of fashion. That dress is so emblematic of so many things because it’s so brave and beautiful, but it’s also so tinged with our understanding of what was going on in this person’s life. So the duality of that is really powerful, I think, and we really felt that we had to do it properly.”
Debicki explained that it wasn’t just her feeling the pressure—the costume department also felt a responsibility to recreate the Christina Stambolian dress as closely as they could. Diana’s look inspired the term “revenge dress,” because she wore it on the same night that ITV aired a documentary where her then-estranged husband King Charles III admitted to having an affair with now-wife Queen Consort Camilla.
“For me, I just came to the fittings and I put the dress on,” the Great Gatsby alum said. “I think the costume department—that was really a task and there were many, many hours [of work]. Many hours.”
All of this preparation, Debicki explained, went into a particularly memorable day on set at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens—the same spot where Diana wore the dress in 1994.
“It’s a powerful dress,” the actress explained. “It’s a totally unique dress too—the structure of it, the shape of it, the look of it—and so I certainly won’t ever forget that day on set. We shot it in the same location that it actually happened, so there was this slightly deep layering of things going on that day.”
The Crown season five is now streaming on Netflix. Keep scrolling to see how Debicki recreated all of Diana’s most memorable fashion moments.
Splash / BACKGRID, Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
1992
According to museum curator Matthew Storey, this dress was one of the princess’ favorite looks.
Nils Jorgensen/Shutterstock, BACKGRID
1992
On a visit to Egypt, the late royal did a bit of sightseeing.
Jayne Fincher/Getty Images/Splash News
1994
Who could forget this moment at the Vanity Fair party? The look has since been named the “Revenge Dress.”
Tim Rooke/Shutterstock, SplashNews.com
1997
Before her death, the royal supported the American Red Cross at an event in Washington, D.C.
Getty Images / BACKGRID / SplashNews.com
1997
On a trip to Northwick Park & St. Mark’s Hospital, Princess Di celebrated the laying of foundation stone for the new children’s ambulatory care center.
Getty Images/SplashNews
1997
Several weeks before her death, Princess Diana made one of her last humanitarian trips. Specifically, she visited Bosnia to show support to victims who had been injured by landmines.
Tim Rooke/Shutterstock, Click / Dean / SplashNews.com
1997
In her final public appearance, Princess Di viewed a performance of Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall.
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