Archive footage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana dancing during a royal tour of Australia in 1983 has gone viral on social media after being recreated for Netflix‘s hit royal drama The Crown.
The video has been widely circulated after Netflix released the first images from the sixth and final season on Thursday. They show actors Ed McVey and Meg Bellamy in character as teenage Prince William and Kate Middleton. The season is set to air later this year.
The Crown charts the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II and her family members. It has caused controversy in recent years for its depiction of polarizing royal events. In season four of the show, which hit screens in 2020, the character of Lady Diana Spencer was introduced. It followed her transformation from teen girl-about-town to Princess of Wales.
Diana’s portrayal in The Crown was criticized for the depiction of her battle with the bulimia nervosa eating disorder and her interactions with royal family members.
The TikTok clip was uploaded to the video-sharing social-media platform by user lady_frances1997. It features a light-hearted scene from the show that recreates the moment when Charles (played by Josh O’Connor) spun Diana (Emma Corrin) around the dancefloor on their first joint tour of Australia.
The clip has been viewed nearly 1 million times and received more than 72,000 likes and 430 comments. Many of these praise the re-creation and discuss the nature of the prince and princess’ relationship. The royal couple separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996.
“He looks like he is in love with her… I wonder if he ever loved her??” wrote one user, with another adding: “They both look in love and beautiful. Both smiling. You can feel the love. Did not last and we all know what happened.”
The Australian tour of Charles and Diana is said to have highlighted a strain on the couple, who married in 1981 and welcomed their first child, Prince William, in 1982.
The tour made evident Diana’s increasing fame and fascination from the public. It is something biographers have claimed that Charles grew increasingly aggrieved with.
The evening the couple performed their famous dance together took place in Sydney on March 28, 1983. The princess wore a blue Bruce Oldfield gown for the occasion. She paired it with a silver belt and shoes, accessorized with a diamond necklace that was loaned to her by Queen Elizabeth II.
The couple danced to the 1966 Chris Montez hit “The More I See You.” In the Netflix re-creation, Charles and Diana are depicted dancing to the 1967 song “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by Frankie Valli.
The Crown has won a loyal fan base over the course of its five-season run so far and received a number of entertainment accolades.
The actors portraying the lead characters were changed after every two seasons: Claire Foy led the cast in season one as Queen Elizabeth, handing the role to Oscar-winner Olivia Colman in season three. She was succeeded by Imelda Staunton in season five.
The series will end showing events up to the marriage of King Charles III in 2005 to Queen Camilla. The sixth season will cover some of the most turbulent years that the modern monarchy has faced. The Crown will re-create the events surrounding the death of Princess Diana (now played by Elizabeth Debicki) in a Paris car crash in 1997.
The sixth season will see Kate Middleton make her character debut as The Crown follows Prince William to university in Scotland, where he and his future wife first met and began their relationship.
The real-life William and Kate celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary on April 29.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek’s royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek’s The Royals Facebook page.
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