Princess Diana's famed wedding gown gets 'The Crown' treatment in Season 4 teaser
"The Crown" royalists caught a glimpse of Princess Diana's iconic wedding gown Thursday as Netflix dropped a teaser for the upcoming season of the Emmy-winning drama.
In the sneak peek, all eyes are on the People's Princess — not Olivia Colman's protagonist Queen Elizabeth II — as Lady Diana Spencer prepares to marry Prince Charles in their lavish 1981 nuptials at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
For three seasons, the Netflix series has been leading up to the tempestuous romance and royal wedding that filled global tabloids and will sink its teeth into it when Season 4 beings streaming on Nov. 15.
The monarchy. Above all else. @GillianA and Emma Corrin join Olivia Colman in Season Four of The Crown, arriving 15th November. pic.twitter.com/Z4RPvzb32R
— The Crown (@TheCrownNetflix) August 20, 2020
"Something as important as the monarchy simply cannot be allowed to fail," Colman's Elizabeth says in the clip, closing with a shot of the custom-made David and Elizabeth Emanuel gown's 25-foot train and 153-yard tulle veil that Diana wore on her wedding day.
The elaborate garment was embellished with thousands of pearls, and the lengthy train was attached to Diana's tiara. After her death in 1997, the dress was taken care of by Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, and was featured in an exhibit “Diana: A Celebration” at her family home in Althorp for two months every year. It also traveled the world in various exhibits.
The teaser's juxtaposition of Elizabeth's words and Diana's appearance suggests the beginning of the end for the stalwart House of Windsor, whose dealings with Charles, the late Diana and their children — Princes William and Harry — still make headlines today.
"Pennyworth" star Emma Corrin plays Lady Di opposite Josh O'Connor's Prince Charles. "Sex Education" star Gillian Anderson also briefly appeared in the 33-second teaser, as Margaret Thatcher, the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. The actors join the revolving-door cast playing out the biographical dramatization of the British monarchy since 2016.
Earlier this week, Netflix announced that Imelda Staunton, who will play the aging monarch in seasons 5 and 6, will be joined by Elizabeth Debicki as an elder Diana and Jonathan Pryce as an elder Prince Philip. Oscar-nominated actress Lesley Manville will take over the role of Elizabeth's sister Princess Margaret from Helena Bonham Carter.
In July, writer-creator-executive producer Peter Morgan said that the newly added sixth season won't bring the royal-family story closer to present day but will enable the series "to cover the same period in greater detail."
