Netflix Has Released The First Official Pictures Of Elizabeth Debicki As Princess Diana And Dominic West as Prince Charles

One of the most fun parts of a based-on-real-people television series is to wait with anticipation at how well or how busted the real-life person is translated into the actor playing the character. Usually it’s pretty satisfying. Sometimes magic happens and it’s good in all the wrong ways. When it comes to Netflix’s award-winning series The Crown, you can usually rely on some pretty close copies. However, there was really not much potential for a gasp-making reveal when it came to the character of Season 5’s version of Princess Diana, since Elizabeth Debicki looks like she was made in a Diana factory. But still, Netflix went ahead and gave us the first official look at Elizabeth as Diana. The shock lies in what Dominic West looks like all dressed up as Prince Charles.
Most of the cast for the 5th season has been flushed out and revealed online already. Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce are playing Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in the 5th and 6th seasons, with Lesley Manville stepping in to cover Princess Margaret, Claudia Harrison portraying Princess Anne, and Jonny Lee Miller becoming Prime Minister John Major. Cheater Dominic West was rumored to be playing cheater Prince Charles, which has officially been confirmed with this first picture release. Here is what the next generation of Charles and Di look like:
Our new Prince Charles (Dominic West) and Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki). pic.twitter.com/2QIMOhY1dE
— The Crown (@TheCrownNetflix) August 17, 2021
I’m very glad to see that The Crown wanted Elizabeth Debicki to look as much like Diana as possible. It can be very tough to successfully pull off the likeness of a beloved figure, and they totally nailed it with that mid-90s pastel sleeveless. I hate Netflix for giving such a tight crop because I need to know if Elizabeth is also wearing a pair of flattering cropped khakis (redundant question since we know she is).
So we’re going from Josh O’Connor as Charles in seasons 3 and 4, which looked like a Xerox copy come to life, to Dominic West with a side part and some vaguely Charles-ian wings. Wasn’t there a single makeup artist in the UK who could successfully apply a pair of prosthetic ears? Here’s sort of the goal they were going for:
6 September 1995: Prince Charles and Princess Diana escort Prince William to his first day at Eton College in Windsor pic.twitter.com/Le9yO5IFYb
— ALL PRINCESS DIANA (@princessdibooks) September 5, 2019
Not everyone is going to come out of their trailer looking like a Las Vegas tribute act, and I have to accept that. But I do know who is probably thrilled, and that’s Prince Charles. All of a sudden, his character has gone from a meek, miserable mama’s boy, to an aggressively sexual hunk with major bad boy energy. He’s probably calling up Netflix and begging them to put a disclaimer on the upcoming series that reads: “What some of these people do is fictionalized series of events, but everyone looks exactly like their real-life counterpart, especially Prince Charles, who is a dead ringer for what you see on screen.”
Pics: Wenn.com/FayesVision