Princess Diana doesn't feature in series 3 of the Crown, which was released on Netflix over the weekend. Or at least, she doesn't physically feature in it. There is, however, a clever, subtle mention of the future Princess of Wales in the script of one of the new episodes - and you could easily have missed it.
Diana, Princess of Wales doesn't enter the royal family story until the late 1970s. Prince Charles first met Lady Diana Spencer in November 1977 - outside the scope of The Crown season 3, which concludes in the summer of 1977 with Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee.
At the time, Diana was just 16, and the Prince of Wales was reportedly dating her older sister, Lady Sarah (although this is unconfirmed, and they may just have been friends). Four years later, in 1981, Prince Charles and Diana Spencer were engaged to be married - and all that will play out in the next series of The Crown, which is likely to air at some point in 2020. Josh O'Connor will continue in his role of a young Prince Charles, while actor Emma Corrin will take on the part of Lady Diana.
But back to this series of The Crown.
In the latest season, we're introduced to the blossoming relationship between Prince Charles and Camilla Shand (now, famously, Camilla Parker Bowles or the Duchess of Cornwall). Camilla had been dating Andrew Parker-Bowles, a major in the army, but during one of the breaks in their on/off relationship, Camilla fell in love with Prince Charles.
In one scene, Charles' sister Princess Anne warns him that if he gets involved with Camilla, there will "always be three people in the relationship". A wise point indeed, considering the ongoing nature of her relationship with Andrew.
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But as the hosts of Vanity Fair’s Still Watching podcast pointed out, the wording of Princess Anne's advice were chosen carefully. The phrasing is actually a pretty mega reference to Princess Diana, who famously described Camilla as "the third person" in her relationship with Prince Charles. We see what you did there, writing team.
In a famous interview with Martin Bashir, which took place in 1995 following her separation from Prince Charles, Princess Diana was asked: "Do you think Mrs Parker-Bowles was a factor in the breakdown of your marriage?"
Diana responded with words that would later become a famous quote. "Well there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," she said, smiling, before looking distant.
The interview, which was kept a secret from Buckingham Palace, was watched by 22.8 million people watched it. Prince Charles and Princess Diana were legally separated at the time, but not divorced. In the wake of the interview's impact, the Queen wrote to both Charles and Diana advising them to proceed with a divorce.
Their divorce was later finalised on 28 August 1996.
The Crown season 3 is available on Netflix now.
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Cat is Cosmopolitan UK's features editor covering women's issues, health and current affairs. news, features and health. The route to her heart is a simple combination of pasta and cheese (somewhat ironic considering the whole health writing thing), and she finds it difficult to commit to TV series so currently has about 14 different ones on the go.
