‘The Crown’: There’s a Cringe-Worthy Moment Between Princess Diana and Camilla Parker Bowles in Season 4
The Crown Season 4 is set to debut on Netflix, Nov. 15. The series has garnered critical acclaim since it first premiered for its acting as well as its massive and regal set. The series follows the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II. However, as the seasons push forward toward the modern-day, the sovereign monarch is not the only person the series examines.
Last season, the series also followed Prince Charles as he came of age and struggled to find his place in his family. Now, the series is set to reveal perhaps the most famous royal of the modern era.
‘The Crown’ Season 4 finally introduces Princess Diana
Set in the ’70s and ’80s, Season 4 of The Crown will discover Prince Charles set to enter his third decade of life. Last season we watched the formation and subsequent demise of his relationship with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall — then Camilla Shand.
The future Crowned King was absolutely smitten with his then-girlfriend. However, since the royal family deemed her as unsuitable, they plotted to break up the relationship. Prince Charles was sent away for the Royal Navy, and Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles. Things didn’t go down exactly that way in real life, but it was close. Now The Crown will depict how Princess Diana comes into the picture.
According to Netflix, “While Charles’ romance with a young Lady Diana Spencer (Emma Corrin) provides a much-needed fairytale to unite the British people, behind closed doors, the Royal family is becoming increasingly divided.”
Camilla Parker Bowles thought Princess Diana was ‘harmless’
At the urging of his family, Prince Charles began dating Princess Diana in 1980. Camilla, who he’d remained very close with, also encouraged the romance. Princess Diana was a young and meek kindergarten teacher at the time, and Camilla saw the Lady Spencer as harmless. In her 2012 book, The Duchess of Cornwall: Camilla’s Story and Secrets, author Jessica Jayne writes, “Camilla never saw Diana as a threat and felt that the late Princess could be someone she could manipulate.”
In her book The Diana Chronicles, Tina Brown writes,
Camilla initially encouraged the relationship between Charles and Diana because she thought Diana was gormless. His family wanted it. The public wanted it. Like the last Prince of Wales, he liked to confide in married women, and his two favourites, Lady Tryon and Camilla Parker Bowles, wanted it. They had met the blushing little Spencer girl and deduced she was not going to give them any trouble. Prince Charles was exhausted. He proposed.
Still, while the Duchess of Cornwall may have initially underestimated the princess, Princess Diana was always suspicious of Camilla.
There’s a cringe-worthy moment between Camilla Parker Bowles and Princess Diana in ‘The Crown’ Season 4
We know that Princess Diana and Camilla met several times in real life. Camilla attended the Wales’ massive wedding in 1981, there are photos of the women at a horse track, and in interviews, Princess Diana spoke of a confrontation between the two.
In Season 4 of The Crown, we will witness the cringeworthy moment of the pair meeting for the first time. Emerald Fennell will reprise her role as Camilla Parker Bowles while Emma Corrin stars as Princess Diana. According to Town & Country, the scene hints at what’s to come,
“Darling, you really know nothing, do you?” Camilla asks Diana as they eat together at a restaurant. When their check arrives, Diana reportedly says the pair should split it. Camilla’s response: “Good idea, I’m all for sharing.”
