The Crown's Elizabeth Debicki Avoids Royal News In Her Real Life

In Season 5 of Netflix's "The Crown," Elizabeth Debicki will take over the role of Diana, Princess of Wales from Emma Corrin, who played the princess in Season 4. The Australian actress will play the superstar royal during her final seven years from 1990 until her death in 1997, which will include the princess's funeral that captivated the world. The late Princess of Wales rose to fame in the 1980s at a time when music and movie stars typically held the world's attention within popular culture. For a British royal to reach the heights of stardom she did was unprecedented, and in many ways, Diana became one of the first reality stars since her popularity was tied to her status in life as opposed to artistic endeavors (per the Los Angeles Times).

It was also during the 1980s and 1990s that the ancient British monarchy became something of a real-life soap opera. Thanks to the scandals surrounding the Prince (now King Charles III) and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of York (Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson), as well as more recent scandals, the drama surrounding the 5th season of the series may be fictional in its execution but certainly based on historic events. But not everyone keeps up with royal news, be it past or present, and this includes Debicki.

In an interview with British Vogue in promotion of Season 5 of "The Crown," Elizabeth Debicki shared her thoughts on the British royal family in general. In conversation with interviewer Giles Hattersley, the actress shared, "I don't have any big opinions about the Royal Family. That's an advantage here, right?" 

"Maybe I never will now. Prince Harry seems fun," she added before acknowledging she doesn't follow royal news at all. "The Daily Mail makes me nauseous." Since the events surrounding Diana, Princess of Wales's life in the '90s were heavily sensationalized, Debicki's observations of British royalty were astute to these certainties.

"But anyone who works on the show has a sense of how extremely difficult it is to be born into that [life]," she continued. Comparisons to the royal world seem almost impossible and yet she wonders if the reason the show attracts so many top actors is a shared sense of lost self. "The rules are sort of decided for you as well: less is more," Debicki said. "Although, of course, Diana broke that rule. She broke the fourth wall, reaped the benefits, but the consequences came hard and heavy." 

No matter the mixed feelings concerning the royal over a quarter of a century after her untimely death, Elizabeth Debicki seems dedicated to capturing her struggle without merely focusing on old tabloid headlines.