Netflix royal bio series, The Crown recreates wild days of Diana’s Aussie tour … in Spain
It was an Aussie royal visit that marked a major milestone for Princess Diana. But the makers of popular Netflix drama series, The Crown, have recreated those dazzling scenes on the wrong side of the world.
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It was the first time Princess Diana would fly solo from her husband Charles on her 1983 tour of Australia.
But the makers of wildly popular royal drama series, The Crown, have recreated those dazzling scenes on the coast of Spain, instead of Fremantle where it really happened.
In bizarre scenes, the Netflix production — starring newcomer Emma Corrin as Diana and Josh O’Connor as the Prince of Wales — walked among crowds of Australian flag-waving extras on the Almeira, Spain set yesterday.
While the setting may have been a million miles off reality, the costuming worn by Corrin mimicked the Donald Campbell polka dot dress and pillbox-style hat by milliner, John Boyd worn by the Princess of Wales back in the day.
It was April 7, 1983, the first time on tour Diana would leave Charles behind to mind their baby son William and take on an official engagement on her own.
While The Crown appears to marry them together for the purposes of their storyline, Diana in fact wowed the crowds on that occasion, opening a wing of Fremantle Hospital named in her honour.
One TV news report, typically reverent in tone for the times, noted: “The way she handled the occasion was a clear measure of the confidence she has gained on the trip so far and a measure of the confidence the people around her had that she could do it.”
The male reporter, clearly not accustomed to seeing a woman being competent and beautiful all at the same time, added: “We’re just not used to seeing people in public life looking quite so young.”
For Charles, it would mark the beginning of a married life in Diana’s shadow — with hordes of Australians turning out primarily to see his stunning young wife.
It followed similar TV scenes from the same tour, mocking up the hills of Malaga as Ayers Rock, where Charles and his 22-year-old wife wandered wistfully around the base of the imposing landmark — with a press pack capturing iconic shots of the young princess, sitting alone and dwarfed by the ancient site.
It was a historic tour for the precedent it set for the young royals today — with Diana breaking protocol and years of arms-length royal parenting to take her nine-month-old son William with the couple on their Australian tour.
He would do the same 31 years later, when he travelled to Sydney in 2014 with wife Catherine and a young Prince George.
Last week, her youngest son, Harry would follow in her footsteps — taking his wife Meghan and baby Archie to Africa; a tour marked by its controversial end when the royal couple announced they would launch legal action against three UK newspapers.
Originally published as Netflix royal bio series, The Crown recreates wild days of Diana’s Aussie tour … in Spain