Camilla & Her The Crown Counterpart Emerald Fennell Just Met IRL

The Crown has captured the hearts and minds of viewers the world over, giving a dramatised glimpse into the elusive House of Windsor, but what has proven even more elusive is what exactly the Royals think of the series. We may finally have an answer for the the Duchess of Cornwall and her on-screen counterpart, Emerald Fennell, thought. The two met IRL at an International Women’s Day’s event hosted by the Duchess at Clarence House. (Yes, really.)

Holding a reception at her and Prince Charles’s residence to mark IWD, the Duchess of Cornwall hosted female leaders from around the world, including the wife of the Ukrainian ambassador to the UK, Inna Prystaiko.

According to reports, Fennell and the Duchess of Cornwall spoke for a few minutes, but both parties have respectfully kept the intimate details of their conversation private – for the most part. “I’m going to be very discreet – because if I've learnt anything, it’s ‘loose lips sink ships’,” Fennell told The Telegraph.

However, the actor and director did reveal that she was very impressed with the Duchess. “She is such an impressive person,” she told Variety. “It was fittingly nice to meet her today on International Women’s Day because she does so much for so many particularly female-centred charities. I was nervous I might be thrown in the Tower, but so far so good.”

The joy of their meeting wasn’t one-sided, as the Duchess of Cornwall joked in a speech given at the event, “It is reassuring to know that, if I should fall off my perch at any moment, my fictional alter ego is here to take over. So, Emerald, be prepared!”

With the highly anticipated fifth season of The Crown due to arrive on our screens in November 2022, speculation about the series’ plot has been serious. The fifth season will be exploring one of the most gossip-inducing, controversial moments in the history of The House of Windsor: the love triangle between the late Princess Diana, Prince Charles, and Camilla.

Fans have already been wowed by shots of Elizabeth Debicki portraying Diana in the “revenge dress” and the uncanny likeness between the two. Production for the latest series began in July 2021, with Olivia Williams taking over the role of Camilla from Emerald Fennell.