The Crown actress Emma Corrin says Diana's bulimia was a "symptom of her turmoil"

The new star of The Crown, Emma Corrin, says the fourth season does not shy away from the more traumatic aspects of the life of Princess Diana, who she plays, including her struggle with bulimia.

In the new season of the Netflix drama, Diana is reportedly portrayed, to begin with, as a young woman infatuated with a prince but one who becomes increasingly disillusioned with her life within a toxic marriage. The growing feeling of powerlessness leads her to take control in whichever way she can.

There are several scenes of Diana struggling with bulimia, according to Variety, and no one around her attempts to help her deal with the condition.

Corrin told Variety why she sought to actually develop these scenes in The Crown: “You can’t do justice to everything she was experiencing without including that. It was so symptomatic of the emotional turmoil and all the suppressed emotions that she was feeling.”

At 24, Corrin was born just before Diana's death and, of course, has no memory of the iconic princess, which she now saw as an advantage in trying to portray her.

“In retrospect, I think it made it easier in doing this season, to bring my own interpretation to the character, to her,” she said.

She learned about the life and impact of Diana from people around her.

“Growing up, my general impression was just how enamoured people were by her,” she said. “I had a sense of the tragedy of what had happened to her, and also I suppose her spirit that people speak of — her being this very generous, empathetic person who broke the mould of the Royal family.”

When asked which other character she would have chosen to play in The Crown if she had the opportunity, Corrin didn't hesitate.

“Margaret!” she laughed. “But then I feel like Margaret and Diana are quite similar in some ways, in their personalities… and being a bit of a rule-breaker.”

The Crown season four streams on Netflix from 15th November.

Help is available here for anyone suffering with an eating disorder.

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