The Crown: Elizabeth Debicki's transformation into Princess Diana in pictures
Elizabeth Debicki is set to star as the late Princess Diana in The Crown Season 5 when it lands on 9 November
The new series of the Netflix hit series based on the Royal Family covers the 1990s, and the growing friction within Charles and Diana’s marriage
As was the case with Season 4, set in the Eighties, Diana’s style reflects the era and Debicki embodies the late royal with aplomb
Read on to see every time The Crown nailed Elizabeth Debicki's outfits as Diana in the upcoming season
The highly anticipated fifth season of The Crown, will air on 9 November, and with it a new cast as Netflix's hit series moves into the Nineties.
With subtle shoulder pads, slim turtlenecks and high-waisted jeans, Princess Diana adopted a sleeker style befitting the new phase of her life, and those looks reflected on screen by the new Lady Di, played by Elizabeth Debicki, are set to be some of the series’ best yet.
In images released on Twitter last month, the resemblance between Debicki (who takes over from Emma Corrin as Diana) and the late People’s Princess was uncanny.
Sure, they have similar features: showrunner Peter Morgan told Entertainment Weekly that the “uniquely magnificent” Debicki was his only choice for this era of Diana’s life.
“It was a list of one,” he told EW. “Had she said no, I might have had to reconceive the entire show.”
But the similarities are also thanks to the eagle eyed Emmy-award winning costume designer Amy Roberts.
The new season shows a lot of Diana’s time spent alone, living alone in Kensington Palace whilst the young Princes William and Harry are at school.
“There’s very little of her in public wearing glamorous dresses,” Roberts told Vanity Fair of Diana’s season five wardrobe. “It’s a lot of her private interior world.”
As such, we get to see a different side to Diana as she finds the styles that suit the new stage in her life, and tries out the trends of the Nineties.
However, as The Crown is a work of fiction, based on true events, not all of the outfits will match the occasion.
“The mood board is just to kind of imbibe her and the look,” added Roberts. “I think you need to do all that research, be absolutely grounded in accuracy, but you can be a bit more poetic about it [rather than] just slavishly copying everything. I think you can be imaginative and glamorous and filmic.”
As fans eagerly await the arrival of Season 5 to Netflix on Wednesday, see all of Princess Diana's most iconic outfits recreated for Elizabeth Debicki in The Crown.
Every time The Crown nailed Elizabeth Debicki's outfits as Diana
The 'Revenge Dress'
The Christina Stambolian cocktail dress – known simply as the ‘Revenge Dress’ – was one of the few outfits that required historical accuracy when it came to the time and place of the costume, due to its notoriety.
"When it became known that I had the part, I received these text messages saying congratulations, [but] there was also a huge amount of text messages about the Revenge Dress,” Debicki told Entertainment Weekly. ‘Do you get to wear the Revenge Dress?’ ‘Oh my God, you get to wear the Revenge Dress!’”
The iconic dress was worn by Diana to a party at the Serpentine Gallery in 1994, the same night that Prince Charles’ explosive interview with ITN aired, in which he admitted not being faithful during his marriage to Diana.
Read more: Why Princess Diana's 'Revenge Dress' remains so iconic today
Floral dress
Elizabeth Debicki and Dominic West were seen filming aboard the Christina O yacht — once owned by Jackie Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis — earlier this year.
It definitely looked as if the pair were re-creating Charles and Diana’s 10th anniversary trip to Italy in 1991, but it looks like the costume team took inspiration from another trip — from the pair's visit to the Universal Exposition of Seville — for Diana’s floral dress.
Halterneck dress
The turquoise blue halter neck Jacques Azagury dress, worn with a glistening diamond and pearl necklace and earring set worn to dinner hosted by Vanity Fair magazine at the Serpentine Gallery in 1995, was one of Diana’s most iconic outfits.
However, Debicki wears the outfit at New York’s Lyceum Theatre, which stands in for London’s Royal Albert Hall, where Diana attended a Royal Gala performance of Swan Lake on 3 June, 1997.
Lilac suit
Diana wore this lilac crepe Versace suit on a visit to Washington in June, 1997, one of the last overseas working visits of her life, where she made an anti-landmine speech on behalf of the American Red Cross.
However it looks like Debicki wears the flattering suit in season five to watch Dodi and Charles play in polo matches, as she was pictured sitting with Salim Daw, who plays Mohammed Al Fayed, Dodi's father earlier this year.
Read more: When and why did Charles and Diana divorce?
Green suit
Not the exact same green suit style as Diana’s (many) green blazers, but The Crown team definitely took inspiration from the late royal’s evolving Nineties style for several looks in season 5.
“There's a lot of colour blocking,” Debicki told British Vogue in a video, “very subtle shoulder pads and very long jackets and blazers.
Leopard-print swimsuit
Elizabeth Debicki and Dominic West embodied Diana and Charles on a holiday to Necker Island with their two sons in 1990. By this point, it was clear that Diana had become used to being followed by paparazzi wherever they went.
Not to be confused with the now-famous Jantzen leopard-print swimsuit, worn off the coast of France with her then boyfriend Dodi Fayed in July 1997, Diana wore a similar style seven years earlier, which is also depicted in season 5.
Read more: Elizabeth Debicki's off-screen style hits as she plays Princess Diana in The Crown
“It's a tricky thing with Diana, because when was she ever in a private moment?” Debicki told British Vogue.
“When you look at this picture of her she's obviously a person who's accepted that that's a part of their life and they're going to show up and they're going to look beautiful.”
“I was very grateful for this sarong,” she added. “Also the leopard print is just so iconic.”
Red suit
Diana’s penchant for wearing red to public engagements is only matched perhaps by the current Princess of Wales.
From suits to coat dresses, the late Lady Di would often reach for a scarlet number to greet fans waiting for her, including for her first official visit to Wales as the Princess of Wales.
Read more: Why does the Princess of Wales wear so much red?
Blue blazer
Another look that The Crown’s costume department have almost nailed to a tee, is the periwinkle blue blazer that Diana wore on Prince William’s first day at Eton.
Debicki joins Dominic West as Prince Charles, Timothee Sambor as William and Teddy Hawley as Prince Harry, in a nearly identical image to that of the family in 1995.
Red tartan
Debicki channelled the late royal in a red tartan jacket with matching skirt whilst filming the scenes of Princess Eugenie’s christening earlier this year.
Diana wore a very similar outfit for the real-life christening in 1990, especially the hat with a thick black band around the crown, but it seems like the costume designers have drawn from several other instances of her wearing tartan for this scene, instead of directly mimicking Diana’s houndstooth style.
Watch: Elizabeth Debicki calls for The Crown critics to 'move on' after Netflix adds disclaimer
