The Crown Season 5 tackles the end of Prince Charles (Dominic West) and Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki)’s marriage. The season includes their second honeymoon vacation with Prince Harry (Will Powell) and Prince William (Senan West), which did not help smooth things over. This episode is based on a true publicity stunt Prince Charles once pulled.
The Crown head of research Annie Sulzberger and the episode’s director, Jessica Hobbs spoke about it on The Crown: The Official Podcast episode released Nov. 9. Find out how accurate the second honeymoon scene from The Crown Season 5 was from these two sources.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana were already going their separate ways in the ‘90s
By 1991, when The Crown Season 5 begins, the real life Prince Charles and Princess Diana were pursuing independent interests.
“They start to split offices in the late ‘80s,” Sulzberger said on The Crown podcast. “They cleave them in order for them to do more solo things because right now they’re just not doing well jointly. They seem to be sort of happy with this arrangement but what happens in allowing these solo engagements to take over, Charles realizes he’s in a much weaker position than he is.”
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Prince Charles started to realize that the public and the press were more interested in Princess Diana than himself. So he set about to change that.
“Jointly when they’re written about and they do an event together, they’re written about as a pair,” Sulzberger said. “The second you separate them, people want Diana. It’s very clear by the summer of 1991 that he is not looking good in the press and public perception has to change if he really wants to really launch himself as a dynamic heir to the throne.”
The publicity stunt that Princess Diana saw right through
Prince Charles’ private secretary, Richard Aylard, came up with a plan to show the world how much in love Charles and Diana were. For their 10 year anniversary, they would take a second honeymoon sailing a yacht around Italy.
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You would think because it’s your 10-year anniversary, that it would just be the family. No, he invites what Diana would call Charles’ cronies. They’re all good friends of his so she already knows going on this is just for show. There’s no intention of rekindling any romance at all whatsoever. This is just to rehabilitate. And essentially you just have these two people on a boat where they’re just seething sort of isolation starts to take over from this point for her where she’s like this is a sham. I don’t want to live this lie. It’s this summer that she decides it’s time to get her story out there and participate with Andrew Morton on his book.
Annie Sulzberger, The Crown: The Official Podcast, 11/9/22
‘The Crown’ Season 5 shows Princess Diana was onto Prince Charles
Director Jessica Hobbs highlights the scene where Diana confronts Charles on doing nothing but his activities. She asks him to play water sports with William and Harry and take them all shopping.
“Elizabeth made a really brilliant choice in that,” Hobbs said. “She was like, ‘I’m not worried about it. I’m not embarrassed. How many times would he have done this to me? I just want to make sure the kids have a great holiday as well, not just the boring ancient ruins we’re going to.’ So she’s pushing him water sports and beaches. With Dominic, he’s quite charming in his response to that but it’s hard for him. The control thing is always there.”
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