‘The Crown’ Season 4 Episode 6: Was Princess Diana really ‘pathetic and fragile’ during 1983 royal Australia tour?
Spoilers for ‘The Crown’ Season 4 Episode 6
How were Prince Charles and Princess Diana in real life? Episode 6, ‘Terra Nullius’, begins by showing how their marriage is on the rocks amid her struggle with the eating disorder bulimia and it’s becoming a cause for concern among the family.
When Republican Bob Hawke is sworn in as Australia’s Prime Minister, it falls to Prince Charles (Joh O'Connor), accompanied by Princess Diana (Emma Corin) and their young son Prince William, to embark on an important and politically sensitive tour of Australia to win back the public’s affections.
The tour starts badly as the couple receives a cold reception from the press and the public. During a press conference, when she is asked, what part of the tour are you most looking forward to? Fumbling her way, Diana says, “We're going to a glamorous ball in Sydney. And, um...” She looks towards Charles, who mutters in her ears, “The Royal Botanical Gardens... And I think we're going on a pleasure cruise on... some river.”
Her answers are met with huge criticism and the biggest blunder is made when she misspeaks Ayers Rock as "Dock".
When Prince Charles calls Diana ‘pathetic and fragile’
Diana's Ayres "Dock" gaffe leads Prime Minister Hawke to see an opportunity to cut Australia “free” of the monarchy. When she is asked about the cost of the trip, she says, “I'm afraid that's not really my department.” Ridiculing her, Charles jokes, “She's good with glamorous balls.”
Later, when the two actually head over to the Ayres Rock, she is unable to climb uphill. “Charles, I can't... The heat. I feel dizzy. I think I need to go and sit down.” The scene is met with questions from the reporters who ask, “Do you need some water. Are you feeling all right, Diana?” and dub her “an English rose wilting in the weather.”
Embarrassed and displeased, Charles later calls his lover Camilla Parker-Bowles (Emerald Fennell) to complain: “It's pathetic. She's pathetic. It's so critical that we get this tour absolutely right, and yet she's so weak and fragile. One can't rely on her for the simplest thing.”
He adds that he misses her “adulthood,” saying, “If Diana had one ounce of the strength of character that you seem to display at every turn...” Clearly, Prince Charles hates her, resents her as he is in love with Camilla and cannot fathom the attention she gets from the press. Later, they sort out their differences and their dance is a spectacular sight!
Did Diana really make that gaffe?
On March 20, 1983, The Prince of Wales with the Princess of Wales and their son Prince William, landed in Alice Springs for an official visit. From October 26 to November 8, 1985, they visited Victoria for the 150th anniversary of the state. Did Princess Diana and Charles really make that gaffe during the press meet?
A report from the royals’ arrival in Alice Springs on 21 March 1983 stated that the Princess of Wales “stood holding Prince William with something less than a smile on her face. She seemed uneasy, even glum, and looked at the tarmac with downcast eyes throughout much of the brief airport picture session.”
Her decision to bring William along didn't go well with the Queen and Prince Charles. In fact, when he posed for photographers on the asphalt, he was heard saying: “Look, he’s already got a fly on him.” In real life, Charles' remarks made headlines, especially when the Prince of Wales upset animal lovers with a joke that Prince William was being given “warm milk and minced kangaroo”.
Days later, Diana and Charles stood at sunset for photographers in front of Uluru – then known as Ayers Rock – for a photo that has become one of their most iconic, recreated by Prince William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, during their first tour in 2014 through Australia, an Al Khaleej Today report reads. The Prince and Princess of Wales also did what many top-end tourists were doing at the time, and climbed Uluru.
Was the 1983 royal Australia tour a success?
With ten thousand miles between them and court and free from the influence of Queen and Camilla, the royal couple starts to rekindle their romance and this display of togetherness helps them win over the Australian people. But as Princess Diana’s growing popularity hits fever pitch, Prince Charles struggles with being outshone and cracks begin to appear in the marriage once more.
Reflecting on Charles and Diana's appearance at the Sydney Opera House, the same report says thousands of people lined the foreshore streets and the steps of the building to catch a glimpse of the couple. “People hung from windows and office buildings as Diana and Charles drove past in an open-air car. The mass hysteria briefly took its toll on Diana, who broke into tears for a moment – something Charles didn’t seem to notice.”
Much later, Diana confessed her visit was “traumatic”. Calling it “the week in which I learned to be royal,” she complained of sore and red eyes almost every night, while the couple was estimated to shake more than 2,000 hands each day.
Victorian Labor Prime Minister John Cain said of the tension between Diana and Charles in the battle for popularity: “The Prince told me in one of the several discussions we had that people were more warm to his wife than him... He felt that she was the subject of more attention and acceptance than he was.”
Catch all 10 episodes of ‘The Crown’ Season 4 once they drop on November 15, 2020, on Netflix.