After a Brief “Cameo” in Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ (Kind Of) Cindy Crawford Recalls Meeting Princess Diana and Prince William at Kensington Palace

(Image credit: Getty)

published 20 December 2023

No spoilers here, but Cindy Crawford had a semi-cameo moment (watch and you’ll see) in part two of season six of Netflix’s The Crown—the final episodes of the series, which has been running since 2016. Crawford’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment prompted her to reminisce on a visit to Kensington Palace, where she met Princess Diana; she shared a photo of the moment on Instagram.

In a scene from the show, a young Prince William (who is played by Ed McVey) is inspecting posters of models on his wall, including a photo of Crawford; when he is asked by grandfather Prince Philip (played by Jonathan Pryce) about the women in the photos (all supermodels of the 1990s), William responded “Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, and Naomi Campbell.”

Supermodels in Versace — Schiffer, Campbell, and Crawford (plus Carla Bruni and Helena Christensen) in Versace

“A little cameo on @thecrownnetflix,” Crawford wrote. “I still vividly remember visiting Kensington Palace to meet Diana and a teenage William (who had just discovered the ‘Super Models’).”

Alongside her caption, Crawford shared the clip on her Instagram stories and a throwback image of herself and the late Princess of Wales. Beneath the post, Crawford included a white heart and dove emojis.

In 2017, Crawford described the unexpected nature of the meeting, calling it “a cute surprise” for William and brother Prince Harry, The Daily Express reports. “Remembering this inspiring woman today,” Crawford wrote. “This photo was taken at Kensington Palace.” Crawford shared the story of Diana obtaining the number to her office and personally calling to request her to visit. Crawford’s assistant was in shock at the time.

“We finally connected, and she asked if the next time I was in London, I would come by for tea—I think Prince William was just starting to notice models, and she thought it would be a cute surprise for him and Prince Harry,” Crawford explained.

Princess Diana, Prince William, Prince Harry

Despite feeling nervous (and uncertain about what to wear), she remembered that as soon as Diana entered the room and they began talking, it felt like conversing with a girlfriend. She called Diana a “class act” before concluding the tribute by writing “Rest In Peace.”

During a 2020 conversation with Campbell on the “No Filter With Naomi” YouTube series, Crawford confessed she felt “so intimidated” when she initially met Diana: “I was so intimidated meeting Princess Diana and being at Kensington Palace and how just completely down to earth she was, because there’s so much protocol and I guess, not being English, I don’t understand some of it,” Crawford said. “I feel like she was in jeans and a cashmere sweater. Not barefoot, but almost that vibe of being super laid back.”

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.