The Crown is one of Netflix’s flagship shows, with the streaming giant having spent a reported $260 million for the four seasons it has produced so far, making it one of the most expensive television series in history. And with such high production costs, it was inevitable that Netflix would need the ultimate cast to recreate the reign of Queen Elizabeth II and the people who shaped her to become the iconic figure she’s become today.
Helena Bonham Carter joined the show for its third and fourth series, which were filmed back-to-back in 2018, as she took on the role of Princess Margaret, the Queen’s mouthy younger sister. With any period drama — especially one that’s based on true events — channeling someone’s life is never an easy task, which has left a lot of people wondering how the cast even prepares for roles as such.
In Helena’s case, she went above and beyond to make sure that her portrayal of Margaret was as accurate as possible, having spoken to some of those closest to her while also hiring a psychic, a graphologist, and an astrologer in preparation for the role of a lifetime.
How Did Helena Prepare For ‘The Crown’?
According to The Guardian, the 54-year-old revealed she had been in close contact with many of Margaret’s friends and family members to better understand the character she was set to play before production commenced on the third series.
Whenever actors take on roles in TV shows or movies that are based on true events, it’s not uncommon for them to reach out to those who knew the person they are gearing up to portray, but Helena took things further than most actors by hiring a psychic who helped her to have a conversation with Margaret’s ghost.
During her appearance at the Cheltenham literature festival, she gushed, “She said, apparently, she was glad it was me.
“My main thing when you play someone who is real, you kind of want their blessing because you have a responsibility. So I asked her: ‘Are you okay with me playing you?’ and she said: ‘You’re better than the other actress’…that they were thinking of. They will not admit who it was. It was me and somebody else.”
It was during this conversation between Helena, the psychic, and Margaret where the actress realized that starring in The Crown was a good move after all because, as she mentioned, she was somewhat concerned about the idea of playing someone who had already passed away.
For Helena, it’s important that if she’s taking on a role of a real-life person that wasn’t a fictional character, she would want their blessing, so with the help of the psychic, who helped her reach Margaret’s ghost, she was convinced after their “chat” that she made a wise decision agreeing to star in the Netflix series after all.
But that wasn’t all because Helena also found it important to consult an astrologer and graphologist in an effort to understand her character accurately. She knew that starring in a period drama as big as The Crown was a big move, and if her portrayal of Margaret was anything but precise, fans would have scrutinized her for it — so she went above and beyond in making sure she got Queen Elizabeth II’s sister down pat.
With the help of the psychic, Princess Margaret apparently told Helena, “[Y]ou’re going to have to brush up and be more groomed and neater,” while another suggestion she made was to “get the smoking right.”
“‘I smoked in a very particular way,’” Helena quoted Margaret’s ghost saying. “‘Remember that—this is a big note—the cigarette holder was as much a weapon for expression as it was for smoking.’”
And while these things all helped to prepare Helena to prepare for her role, she did admit that there wasn’t all that much she could work with from finding out Margaret's true identity since her portrayal of the character wasn’t just based on the public speeches she made but also the person she was behind closed doors.
“There’s very little footage of Margaret speaking as herself. You’ve got a lot of appearances and a few speeches, but you get very little sense of what she was like.
“When I went in search of her friends, I got a much more sympathetic portrayal. She was very loved.”
By January 2020, Netflix revealed over 72 million households worldwide had watched the royal drama since it first premiered in 2016, the firm announced, making it one of the biggest shows on the streaming platform.
The Crown will return with season 5 in 2022 while its sixth and final series will air in 2023.