The Crown season 5 has now debuted on Netflix, with the first episode seeing tensions already running high between Charles and Diana.
The couple, whose wedding took place in season 4, have been on rocky shores since then, but the first episode of season 5 has seen the pair in a particularly heated clash while on a ‘second honeymoon’, devised to show the media their marriage is back on track.
While on a boat in Italy mid-way through the episode, Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) is told that their holiday has to be “cut short” due to a speaking engagement Charles (Dominic West) has to attend at Oxford University.
Enraged, Diana confronts Charles, who says that the “diary conflict” is through “no fault” of his own. Diana protests that they were meant to be on holiday for two weeks, to which Charles shouts back: “Yes, I know, Diana. But plans change! I have a commitment at Oxford University.”
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Diana argues that the engagement is just part of “a summer school for tourists” and is therefore “not essential”, but Charles retorts that it is for him.
Diana then says: “This is our holiday. It’s a rare opportunity for us to be together with the boys as a family. And I know you struggle with that sort of thing which is why I agreed to you bringing your friends along to entertain you.
“And I even agreed to do the photo call today, requested by your people so the lie could be paraded to the world’s media about what an adoring husband you are, on one condition.”
Charles asks what the condition is, to which Diana responds: “That you actually are one!” The argument then continues out of earshot until Charles storms off.
This is just the first of numerous clashes the couple have throughout season 5 as the hit period drama charts their marital woes throughout the ’90s, ending in their eventual separation and divorce.
Debicki previously spoke with Radio Times magazine about how this season depicts the Princess of Wales’s relationship with the media.
She said: “The character of Diana has a very interesting relationship at that point in the story with the media, because it’s something that can be used to a perceived advantage, and then, at times, obviously it can backfire because it’s an extremely unruly beast.”
The Crown season 5 will be released on Netflix on Wednesday 9th November 2022, while seasons 1-4 are available now. Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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