Elizabeth Debicki Says ‘The Crown’ “Ended in the Right Place”

"The depth and degree of conversation around how to end the series was immense."

Elizabeth Debicki
(Image credit: Getty Images)

While fans of the hit Netflix show The Crown may not agree, Elizabeth Debicki—who portrayed the late Princess Diana in the final two seasons—believes the show definitely should not have continued.

In an exclusive interview with People, the Emmy-nominated actress said she thinks the show "ended in the right place.

"I think it respected its own cycle in a way," she told the publication. "It always kind of knew where it was going, and then I think there was a sense from the writing from (creator) Peter (Morgan) as well, that it understood its own end in a way. It's very delicate, I think."

The actress went on to praise Morgan for doing an "amazing job" in "wrapping up such an enormous journey" after the sixth and final season.

"I don't really like the word journey, but it was a big journey for people to go on," she continued. "When you commit to watching six seasons of a show, you need it to end properly."

Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana

Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana in 'The Crown.'

(Image credit: Netflix)

When it comes to the final season of the hit show—which had the difficult task of covering the final days of the late Princess of Wales' life before she tragically died in a car crash in 1997—Debicki believes the show was "very respectful."

"I know that the depth and degree of conversation around how to end the series was immense, and I thought it was really kind of delicate and intricately done," the actress explained. "I think everybody's performance in this season is really kind of magnificent. I know I'm biased because it's my show, but I think everyone did really incredible work."

According to Debicki, one of the reasons why the show was and remains successful on the streaming service is because it is "very aware of what it is."

"It's not trying to hide the fact that it's a drama and that it's a TV drama," she explained. "So I like that sort of self-awareness and using devices like that. It really just appeals to me from a kind of dramaturgy standpoint, but also as an audience."

Elizabeth Debicki

Elizabeth Debicki

(Image credit: Getty Images)

In the same interview, the actress admitted that while she believes the show ended at exactly the right time, it wasn't easy to leave her character or her mannerisms behind.

"My voice changed quite a bit and I kind of had to consciously bring it back to my own voice where my voice wants to sit and also my own accent," she told the publication at the time. "I had to work so hard at getting the voice that I sort of ingrained it so deeply in myself that I had to unwind the wheel."

Debicki went on to explain that she continued to emulate the beloved princess "for a long while" after the show ended, adding that in order to best transform into the royal she had to do "quite a lot of physical stuff as well," including "a lot of head tilting."

"Someone said to me, 'I think you're doing it when you're trying to convince people something.' If someone was like, 'You can't go that way,'" she continued. "I [found] myself sort of saying, 'Are you sure?' And then I was like, 'Oh my God, I'm slipping into this.'"

"That has left me now," she added, "but I had to do it consciously."

Danielle Campoamor
Weekend Editor

Danielle Campoamor is Marie Claire's weekend editor covering all things news, celebrity, politics, culture, live events, and more. In addition, she is an award-winning freelance writer and former NBC journalist with over a decade of digital media experience covering mental health, reproductive justice, abortion access, maternal mortality, gun violence, climate change, politics, celebrity news, culture, online trends, wellness, gender-based violence and other feminist issues. You can find her work in The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, New York Magazine, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, TODAY, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, InStyle, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Glamour, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Prism, Newsweek, Slate, HuffPost and more. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and their two feral sons. When she is not writing, editing or doom scrolling she enjoys reading, cooking, debating current events and politics, traveling to Seattle to see her dear friends and losing Pokémon battles against her ruthless offspring. You can find her on X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook and all the places.