The Story Behind Princess Diana’s Blue Swimsuit Featured in ‘The Crown’ Season Six

The sixth and final season of Netflix’s long-running hit series “The Crown” arrived on Netflix on Thursday. The sixth season covers the 1997 to 2000 period, chronicling the untimely death of Princess Diana, the rise of Prime Minister Tony Blair and the start of Prince William’s and Kate Middleton’s relationship.

Out of the many images that have made the rounds on the internet since the season premiere is of Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Princess Diana, in a Tiffany blue one-piece swimsuit. When Diana wore the swimsuit in 1997, it was just days before her death.

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In “The Crown,” the swimsuit is featured in two key scenes. In episode two of the sixth season, Diana wears it standing alone on a diving board. In episode three, she wears it in a pre-credits close-up scene. Debicki in the swimsuit also serves as key artwork for the season six promotional poster.

The blue swimsuit comes from an image taken of Diana by paparazzi as she sat on the plank of a yacht as she was on a Mediterranean holiday with Dodi Al Fayed, son of the then-Harrods’ boss, the late Mohammed Al Fayed. Diana was romantically linked to Dodi Al Fayed at the time leading up to her death.

The blue swimsuit is among one of Diana’s more notable looks, as it was one of the last the paparazzi captured her in. However, it has been only since the debut of the current season of “The Crown” that the swimsuit began being discussed with the same gravitas as some of her more iconic looks.

While the princess’ style was celebrated throughout her time as a member of the royal family — and since — among other outfits that have become indelibly linked to her are the black “revenge dress” designed by Christina Stambolian that Diana wore the night Prince Charles revealed his infidelity with Camilla Parker Bowles and Diana’s sheep sweater by Warm & Wonderful that she wore to a 1981 polo match featuring Prince Charles. The sweater sold for $1.1 million at auction last September.

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