After the first official teaser for The Crown‘s fourth season dropped on August 21, fans of the show were teased with royal family’s next chapter: the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
In the clip, Princess Diana—played by rising actress Emma Corrin—can be briefly seen in an eerie replica of the iconic wedding gown on her way to walk down the aisle.
And that’s because the on-screen version of the gown was created by the original designers of Diana’s dress from 1981.
Opening up about the process in a recent interview, Corrin revealed that the original dressmakers provided the patterns from the original garment.
“The Emanuels, who designed the original, gave us the patterns, and then it was made for me,” Corrin said. “We were filming the scene when you first see her in the wedding dress—I think it was Lancaster House in London—and I had a team of about 10 people helping me put it on, because it’s massive.”
However, once Corrin finally stepped out in her full costume, the room was speechless. “I walked out and everyone went completely silent,” she said.
During her appearance in season four of the hit-series, Corrin looks to sport a number of Princess Diana’s iconic looks, including her pink polka-dot number from her 1983 trip to Australia. But of course, the wedding gown was the most reminiscent of Princess Diana.
“More than anything else I wear in the series, it’s so…It’s her.”
The original dress, from Diana and Charles’ 1981 royal wedding, was designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel and paired with a 153-yard veil. Impressive in its stature, the ivory taffeta gown featured elaborate embroidery and 10,000 pearl embellishments.
But it wasn’t just the dress that Corrin felt connected to, she went on to describe how her time in the role helped her to feel closer to Diana.
“I feel I’ve got to know Diana like you would a friend. I know that sounds really weird, but I get a great sense of companionship from her. I suppose, over time, you kind of start to patch together a sense of empathy and a sense of understanding.”
Ahead of season four’s November 15 release date, you can catch up on the past three seasons of Netflix’s The Crown here.
