‘The Crown’: Emerald Fennell Finally Met Camilla Parker Bowles After Playing Her, ‘I Was Nervous’
The Crown is a top-rated show, which puts the stars and royals in an interesting position. Emerald Fennell finally met Camilla Parker Bowles after playing her in the show and admitted she was nervous.
Why Emerald Fennell wanted to play Camilla Parker Bowles in ‘The Crown’
Fennell played Camilla in seasons 3 and 4 of The Crown. Fans watched as the married woman started to get closer to Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor) to his family’s disapproval. He then started a relationship with Princess Diana (Emma Corrin) only to have an affair with Camilla. Season 4 ended with their marriage already disintegrating.
Fennell told Vogue that she wanted to play Camilla for some time. “I did say, years ago, to my agent, that if they would want, at some point, to portray Camilla, I’d love to go in for it, because I have always felt that she might be someone who maybe hasn’t been treated very fairly,” she explained. “You think, somewhere, ‘I understand that thing’—I think we all probably do—of falling in love, getting in over your head, making mistakes. I hope that if she ever did see it, she wouldn’t be unhappy.”
She acknowledged the show took some liberties with portraying the couple’s dynamic. “Of course, the only thing that’s possible to talk about is our portrayal, because we really don’t know,” Fennell said. “But I think that for us, what seems to be the case is that their relationship was very much rooted in a friendship. I think it’s a very romantic thing to be deeply, deeply close friends.”
Emerald Fennell was nervous to meet Camilla Parker Bowles
Not everyone in the cast of The Crown can say they met the royal they played. But now Fennell can since she met Camilla at a reception to celebrate International Women’s Day, according to Page Six.
“I was nervous I might be thrown in the Tower — but so far, so good,” Fennell joked. “[Camilla] has been in the spotlight for a long time and has always weathered it with grace.”
The duchess also joked about meeting the actor. “For me, it’s very reassuring to know that if I should fall off my perch at any moment, my fictional alter ego is here to take over,” she said. “So, Emerald — be prepared!”
Does Camilla Parker Bowles watch ‘The Crown’?
Many fans are curious to find out which royals actually watch the Netflix series. Sources told Vanity Fair Camilla did watch the first three seasons.
“I imagine she’ll be tuning in with a glass of red wine to watch it, she has seen the previous series,” one of Camilla’s friends said. “She has a wonderful sense of humor and this won’t fuss her in the slightest.”
The source then said, “She has watched it, of course she has and I believe [Charles] has too. I don’t think she has any real issue with it. Her feeling is very much ‘never complain, never explain.'”
