THE JEWELS IN THE CROWN
DO NOT text me, call me or email me... and for goodness sake, don’t even think about turning up at my house tomorrow. Where communication is concerned, consider me out of office for a good 10 hours – actually, best make it 11, to allow for food and ‘comfort’ breaks.
The reason for my going dark? I have an appointment with Her Majesty the Queen.
After months of anticipation, the longawaited third series of The Crown lands on Netflix this weekend promising more royally good drama about the most famous family in the world.
I was late to the charms of the streaming giant’s flagship show but became obsessed with it during a bout of pneumonia last year. Watching Claire Foy and Vanessa Kirby as Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret swanning around in diamonds and Dior proved quite the balm for my wheezing and wallowing.
The series made superstars of both women and when I heard they would be switching actresses for the third outing, I felt bereft.
Until I found out who would be donning the royal robes this time around...
Olivia Colman as the Queen and Helena Bonham Carter as her glamorous, party-loving sister is the casting of my dreams. Two national treasures playing the ultimate national treasures.
In a Hollywood packed with over-stuffed and frozen faces, where super-stylists have ironed out the fashion quirks of so many actresses, these two women are a breath of fresh British air.
A reluctant style icon, Oscar winner Olivia was this year granted the honour of covering the famed September issue of
American Vogue with writer Nathan Heller declaring that, ‘At 45, Colman is a cover woman for a new era...’.
Photographed by Annie Leibowitz, the mum-ofthree looked completely at home in designs from Dolce & Gabbana, Alexander McQueen, Zac Posen and Celine but reveals that it wasn’t until she stepped out at the Venice Film festival in 2018 in a Stella McCartney gown she felt comfortable on the red carpet.
“I’d always used clothes as a sort of mask,” said Olivia. “I discovered they can make you feel strong and powerful.”
By contrast it is hard to imagine Helena Bonham Carter struggling with the style spotlight.
The petite star has been on our screens – big and small – for three decades and her red carpet outfits are almost as legendary as her film roles in movies like A Room with a View and Fight Club.
From the bird’s nest hair to the enormous – often creased – Vivienne Westwood gowns and the odd shoes (see the 2011 Golden Globes), she wears her appearances on ‘worst dressed lists’ like a badge of honour and I love her for it.
In recent months the 53-year-old has graced not one but two high profile magazines: Harper’s Bazaar and the first digital edition of Town and Country.
Not bad for someone who admits that when she turned 50 she ‘worried it was downhill all the way’.
Draped in completely over-the-top pieces from designers such as Ralph and Russo, Emilia Wickstead and Roksanda, Helena looks utterly fabulous yet completely original, words that could easily describe Princess Margaret herself.
Long live our new screen queens. See you on the other side...