Culture

‘The Crown’ Has Perfectly Recreated Princess Diana’s Revenge Dress And People Are Losing It

I am, once again, asking that the casting directors of 'The Crown' get a raise ASAP.

by Michelle Rennex  9 November 2021
Elizabeth Debicki The Crown Revenge Dress Princess Diana Season 5

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Back in August, we suggested that The Crown’s casting directors get a huge raise for picking Elizabeth Debicki to play Princess Diana in Season 5 and 6 of the royal drama.

But now The Crown’s costume designers need in on that raise too after footage of Debicki wearing Diana’s iconic ‘Revenge Dress’ made its way online.

Originally worn by Diana to a June 1994 gala at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens, Debicki was snapped wearing a recreation of the dress while on set of The Crown’s latest season.

Along with the same sheer tights, black clutch, and a replica of the giant sapphire, diamond, and pearl necklace that the princess wore on the night, you would think the paparazzi photos were of Diana herself. But Debicki being a spitting image of Princess Di is simply the work of some very, very talented costume designers and makeup artists.

This moment in royal history is significant because this dress, which was later dubbed the Revenge Dress, became one of Diana’s most iconic looks during her time as a princess.

According to People, despite allegedly being told that the gown was “a little too much” for royal standards, Princess Diana decided to ditch her original Valentino gown and wore the dress anyway — and on the very same night that Prince Charles publicly admitted that he had been cheating with Camilla Parker-Bowles during the couple’s marriage.

Instead of staying home and avoiding cameras as the world learned that Prince Charles was unfaithful, Diana chose to honour her scheduled appearance at the Vanity Fair gala with the risque dress and a brooch — which was a wedding gift from the Queen — that she had transformed into a lavish necklace.

Two months before her death, the Revenge Dress was auctioned off for $65,000 and Diana gave the proceeds to The Royal Marsden Hospital Cancer Fund and the AIDS crisis trust in classic Lady Di style.

Basically, what all this means is that we can expect the fifth season of The Crown to really dive into the drama between Princess Diana and Prince Charles, while exploring the true power of the People’s Princess — and in perfect detail, if these leaked photos of Elizabeth Debicki are anything to go by.

After ending Season 4 with Diana and Charles struggling with their marriage in the early ’90s, it looks like Season 5 is set to be a drama-packed tale of betrayal and divorce — and I can’t wait to see it.

Season 5 of The Crown is set to premiere on Netflix in November 2022.