As filming continues on season 6 of The Crown, Elizabeth Debicki was spotted in costume as Diana on her 1997 summer trip to the French Riviera. The Australian actress was even seen wearing an animal print swimsuit nearly identical to the one worn by the late princess.
The now famous leopard-print swimsuit by Jantzen was originally worn by Diana when she went on a summer boat trip with Dodi al-Fayed. The two were photographed off the coast of Saint-Tropez, France, in July 1997 just one month before both were killed in a tragic car accident in Paris.
Debicki’s latest twinning look should not be confused with another water-filled holiday that saw Diana wearing another, similar animal print swimsuit. That suit, which came complete with a matching sarong, was likely made by Gottex, which was a brand available at the popular luxury department store, Harrods, at the time.
That trip, which is featured in season 5, saw Diana on holiday with her kids, Princes William and Harry, and other members of her family as they visited Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands in April 1990.
The looks, however, are just two of many that Debicki and the series have recreated as The Crown moves into the ’90s era of the royal family and focuses on the fallout surrounding Diana’s marriage and subsequent divorce from Prince Charles.
“That’s the amazing thing about playing these people at this time, because in the journey of The Crown so far out of all the seasons, this is the most visual content we have of the royal family,” Debicki said of portraying Diana in the upcoming episodes. “In the ‘90s, everything had started to be filmed and also it was the birth of the 24-hour news cycle so there’s just this incredible amount of content that we have access to.”
She added, “Diana was the most photographed person in the world at that time. As an actor, you open the portal and this huge tsunami of information comes at you. I happily swam around in it.”
In addition to Debicki as Diana, season 5, which premieres on Nov. 9, also stars Dominic West as Charles and Khalid Abdalla as Dodi.