‘The Crown’: This Is Why the Show’s Creator Thinks Princess Diana and Meghan Markle Struggled in the Royal Family
Though The Crown creator, Peter Morgan has said that his Netflix series will not chronicle the current events occurring within the royal family, he is interested in seeing how the past and present connect.
His sweeping saga of the royal family will finally introduce the late Princess Diana (Emma Corin) in its upcoming fourth season. As we learn more about the young woman who would turn the royal family on its head, Morgan says it’s hard not to draw parallels between the late princess and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
Season 4 of ‘The Crown’ introduces Princess Diana
On Nov. 15, Netflix will debut Season 4 of its critically acclaimed series, The Crown. The show chronicles Queen Elizabeth’s (Olivia Coleman) life and reign both within and outside of Buckingham Place.
Season 4 of the series opens in the 1970s and will follow Britain’s first female Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson) and her tense relationship with the queen.
Additionally, this season will also introduce Princess Diana who married Prince Charles (Josh O’Conner) in 1981 when she was just 19. Netflix’s press release for the upcoming season reads, “While Charles’ romance with a young Lady Diana Spencer provides a much-needed fairytale to unite the British people, behind closed doors, the Royal family is becoming increasingly divided.”
Meghan Markle did not mesh with the British royal family
From her own words following her separation and her subsequent divorce from Prince Charles, we know that Princess Diana had a very difficult time in the royal family. She often felt isolated and alone and she simply did not know what she’d signed up for.
Many of those similarities can be found with Meghan, the late princess’ daughter-in-law. Though Meghan was able to leave royal life, royal expert, Omid Scobie believes she could not thrive in the royal family because it was not built for her success.
“When we look at the immediate royal family, I think they clearly did support Harry and Meghan to some extent,” Scobie told The Cut. “Unfortunately the institution itself is not built to handle someone coming in who is different or is as dramatically different as Meghan was.
He reflected further, “It’s a shame because I think the royal family had this incredible chance to be seen as inclusive and diverse and progressive. And that’s gone now, ending a very short chapter for the monarchy.”
This is why Princess Diana and Meghan Markle struggled in the royal family, according to ‘The Crown’s creator
Though The Crown will end well before Meghan’s time as a royal, Morgan does see some similarities between the Duchess of Sussex and Princess Diana. “If you come into [the royal family] with any agenda for yourself—or if you come in and connect with the public in a way that threatens to change the way that the royal family connects with the public—that’s something that doesn’t particularly sit comfortably for either side,” he told Vanity Fair.
Connecting the princess journey to Meghan and Megxit, The Crown creator says the parallels are vividly clear. “Diana struggled to fit in with the institution in a way that it’s impossible not to see the parallels with Meghan Markle and Harry,” he said. “So the story feels both incredibly vivid historically, but also it really shines a lot of lights on where we are now.”
