by The highly anticipated fifth season of Netflix’s hit series, The crown, will air on November 9 and is set to be the most tumultuous ever. Season 5 follows the difficult years between the mid to late 1990s, when bad luck seemed to follow the royal family wherever it went. But there is one moment in particular that fans can’t wait to see: the return of Princess Diana’s “Revenge Dress”.
The latest series begins in 1992 and details the seemingly never-ending series of scandals and tragedies of the year, including the end of the marriages of three of his four children, a fire at Windsor Castle and the release of the revealing book. by Andrew Morton Diana: Its true story –– who formed what the Queen called her “Annus Horribilis”.
The tumultuous years between the mid to late 1990s that seemed to follow the royal family wherever they went, including the death of Princess Diana in a car accident in 1997, were dominated by animosity in the relationship between Charles and Diana, who obsessed both media and the world.
The couple officially separated in 1992, but divorced five years later, and the breakup of their relationship was reported in the world press.
In June 1994, Britain was stunned after King Charles accidentally revealed he had been unfaithful to Princess Diana during an ITN interview with journalist Jonathan Dimbleby.
Read more: When and why did Charles and Diana divorce?
When asked if he had remained “loyal and honorable” to his wife, the then Prince of Wales initially replied “yes absolutely”, before admitting that he was “until he became hopelessly broken, we both. tried”.
On the same day that the explosive interview aired to 13 million viewers across the country, Diana arrived at a gala at London’s Serpentine Gallery in a dress so iconic that it has since been simply known as the ‘Dress of the vendetta”.
Designed by Christina Stambolian, the cocktail dress – with its off-the-shoulder, sweetheart neckline, and fitted skirt – was unlike anything Diana, or any other royal, had ever worn in public before.
“Diana wanted to look like a million dollars,” former Princess Anna Harvey’s stylist told the Channel 4 documentary Princess Diana’s dresses: the auction in 2013. “And he did.”
Read more: Princess Diana “knew the power of her clothes,” says the designer behind the royal’s “retired” dress
According to journalist and writer Tina Brown, Diana had initially turned down the invitation to the gala until two days before the event, when “news of the adultery summons began to leak in the promotions for the broadcast.”
“It was then that one of the gala organizers, an old friend of Diana’s family, got a surprise phone call,” Brown wrote in The Chronicles of Diana. She said she wanted to go after all. “What are you doing?” her friend asked. “You’ll see,” Diana replied.
The dress designer, Stambolian, had previously stated that Diana would have liked to wear the dress – which she had owned since 1991 after buying it on a shopping trip with her brother – but had found it too bold.
Read more: Princess Diana’s style is a key part of her legacy, even after 25 years
“[The princess] she chose not to play the scene as Odette, innocent in white, “he said, referring to the characters Swan Lake. “She was clearly angry. She played like Odile, in black. She wore bright red nail polish, which we had never seen her do before. She was saying, ‘We’re bad tonight!’ “
And, indeed, the royalty-obsessed news cycle worked in Diana’s favor. Images of her getting out of the car and driving to the event in the skintight black incendiary dress made headlines the next day, not Charles and her interview with her.
“Revenge is chic,” wrote the Sun. “Last night he showed Charles what he’s missing.”
Read more: First photos of ‘The Crown’: Elizabeth Debicki, image of Diana in the iconic backless dress
Nearly 30 years later, the dress – and the moment of power it means – is bound to take center stage again as Elizabeth Debicki wears a replica of the “Dress of Revenge” as the evening is covered in The Crown Season 5.
Read more: “The Crown” season 5: who is who from Queen to Princess Diana in the shake-up cast
Debicki – who takes the role of Diana from Emma Corrin in Season 4 – has credited the “very meaningful and quite powerful” dress with helping her understand the character of the late princess.
“It caused something in me as an actor, I can’t really explain that,” Debicki told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s pretty amazing that a dress represents a moment in history, or that the life of this human being represents so much and becomes so iconic. So it was a great day on set for me! “
“I was fascinated by the way people were enchanted by that dress,” she added. “When it came out that I had the part, I got these text messages saying congratulations, [but] there was also a huge amount of text messages about the revenge dress. “Can you wear the dress of revenge?” ‘Oh my God, you can wear the suit of revenge!’ “
The fifth season of the hit Netflix series, The crownairs on November 9th.
