‘The Crown’ slammed for making Princess Diana’s iconic necklace ‘cheap’

ByThomas J. Pawlak

Nov 22, 2022

Devoted Princess Diana fans have pointed out a glaring mistake in a key scene from netflixhit drama royal The crowncentered around the famous “Vengeance Dress” set.

The streaming giant has released the fifth season of The crown in November, which dramatizes the defining events of the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II in the early 1990s.

For the new season, British actress Imelda Staunton, 66, took over the role of Queen from Olivia Colman; Dominica West like Josh O’Connor’s Prince Charles; and Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana by Emma Corin.

Actress Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana in ‘The Crown’, 2022. And (pictured left) the Princess wearing her pearl choker necklace in London, November 20, 1995. Fans of the royal slammed the recreation of the famous accessory.
Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

Diana is a central figure in the new season, which shows the public breakdown of her marriage to Charles, including her participation in the 1995 BBC Panorama interview with Martin Bashir, and his contribution to the revealing biography of Andrew Morton in 1992, Diana: her true story in her own words.

One of the key events depicted in the breakdown of the royal marriage is the evening in 1994, in which Charles admitted adultery on television, while Diana appeared at a public event wearing a wedding dress. bold black cocktail and royal jewels. The captivating appearance of the princess earned the garment she wore the nickname for the “revenge dress”.

One of the main accessories worn that night was a pearl, sapphire and diamond choker necklace. The recreation of jewelry in The crownhowever, failed to impress fans on social media who described it as “cheap” and “ridiculous”.

Jewelry expert and founder of Paris-based jewelry box Un Petit Cœur, Rebecca Kilbey, took to video-sharing platform TikTok to point out the inconsistencies in the recreated necklace.

“When The Crown wants you to believe Princess Diana’s clasp for the ‘Revenge Necklace’ will ever be like this,” reads the caption of the video which has now earned over 2 million views and 246,000 likes.

“As a jewelry specialist, I don’t know if it was the lobster clasp on the multi-option chain that did it the most for me. The real necklace fit perfectly around her neck and the clasp would have been at the front.”

“The Crown did an amazing job,” the post continued, “but I just don’t know why they thought a close-up was a good idea.”

TikTok users mostly agreed with Kilbey’s opinion, voicing their criticisms of the recreation in the comments section.

“I was thinking the same thing! It’s not a pretty clasp so why make a close up 😭” wrote one TikToker.

“THISSS lol that looked ridiculous,” posted another, with another user adding, “Looks cheap madam d was classy.”

Princess Diana Beaded Choker Necklace
Princess Diana pictured wearing her ‘revenge dress’ and pearl necklace (L), June 1994, and (R) wearing the necklace in May 1990. Social media users slammed the creators of the fifth season of ‘The Crown” for their “cheap” imitation jewelry.
Jayne Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images

On the reaction to her video, Kilbey said Newsweek: “I was surprised by the number of views. It seems like a lot of people noticed that too. I think it’s because it’s a style of clasp that a lot of people are familiar with.”

The crown have recreated a number of important royal gems in its five seasons so far, including Queen Elizabeth II Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiaraand her Brazilian aquamarine and diamond parure, given to her in 1953.

The most iconic piece of jewelry associated with Princess Diana that has been recreated is her sapphire and diamond engagement ring, a prominent symbol throughout the show.

The “revenge necklace” was a piece Diana had made herself, from a collection of pearls incorporating a large sapphire and diamond brooch given to her as a wedding gift by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

Sapphires and diamonds are often given as royal wedding gifts because, in terms of jewelry, blue stones represent love and diamonds symbolize eternity.

The princess did not wear brooches often and therefore wore them as a necklace on several high-profile occasions throughout her marriage and beyond. Diana wore the jewelry to the White House in November 1985, the night she danced with Fat actor John Travolta. She also wore it with her “revenge dress” to dinner at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens, London, in 1994.

Whereas The crowndrew attention online, one aspect of this review appears to be misinformed. The real necklace did not have its clasp at the front, but like the recreation, had its closure at the back of the neck as seen in the show. It did not, however, feature an adjustable chain.

Princess Diana's pearl necklace closure
Princess Diana pictured at the Met Gala in New York on December 9, 1996. The Princess wore her pearl choker necklace with sapphire and diamond detailing to attend the event, and the back closure is clearly visible.
Stéphane Cardinale/Sygma via Getty Images/Steve Eichner/WireImage

After Princess Diana died in 1997 at the age of 36 in a high-speed car accident in Paris, the majority of her personal assets, including her jewelry collection, were inherited by her two sons, the Princes William and Harry.

The necklace has not been seen publicly since Diana’s death.

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