Tough though it is to pick just one standout from The Crown's stellar new ensemble cast, we're just going to say it: Erin Doherty's Princess Anne is a revelation. Right from her very first moment on-screen—as she strides into her father's office in jodhpurs and riding boots, and fixes him with a skeptical gaze as he informs her of the royal family's ill-advised plans for a publicity push—Anne is a charismatic and mesmerizing presence.
With her open disdain for pomp and tradition, her steely independence, and her impeccable taste in pop music, Anne represents a different kind of royal than we've ever seen before, and Doherty's impeccable sardonic drawl punctuates some of the most enjoyable moments of the entire season.
Doherty sat down with BAZAAR.com to discuss how she perfected Anne's distinctive voice, Charles and Anne's "beautiful" sibling relationship, and that love quadrangle.
What was your audition process like?
When I got the call from my agent about it, I genuinely didn't know anything about Anne, and when I went away to do my research, I really, really fell in love with her. I watched so many YouTube videos of her when she was younger, just trying to get the voice right mainly, because it's not only so different to mine, it's just so different. It's its own weird sound, and I knew I couldn't go into the meeting room without getting it 100 percent. I'd just walk around London listening to her voice, and I would practice it. I'd go into coffee shops and order coffee in her voice, just trying to make it feel normal, trying to live in it a bit. That was my tactic.
How did people react?
It was really weird! Normally, if I go into a coffee shop, I'll have a nice chat, but honestly the moment that voice comes out, no one really wants to talk to you. Everyone became very efficient about the way they did things, and I didn't have any real conversations with anyone.
That's quite telling. Did that make you think differently about the character?
Yeah, in a way, it made me feel sorry for them, because it's quite a lonely place to be, as a royal. The moment you try to engage with anyone, there's this shift, even just based on the voice. It's really quite alienating.
Is there anything in particular you learned about Anne that informed your performance?
When I found out that she had resisted a kidnapping, that blew my mind! Especially because she would have been, like, 24, 25, and the fact that someone had a gun in her face and said, "Right, you're gonna be kidnapped now," and she just said, "No!" I don't know how she did it. That says a lot, I think. That did inform the performance, because if you're grounded and stable and confident enough to tell someone no when they have a gun in your face, I feel like you've got things sorted, pretty much.
Anne relates to her parents in a very different way than Charles. He often seems downtrodden and wounded by them, whereas she just doesn't.
Yeah, I think that's accurate. What fascinates me the most about acting is the psychological side of it, and the moment I started to process the fact that Anne has grown up with a mother who's the queen, just knowing that there is always something that will overrule you … that's quite a difficult place to be. I think as a result of that, Anne kind of built up this amazing armor and no one's excluded from it. She just won't let anyone hurt her, she looks after herself, and I think she learned that from a really young age.
The sibling relationship between Anne and Charles comes through really strongly in a couple of episodes. What was it like developing that with Josh O'Connor?
I felt really connected with Josh throughout the whole process, because we came into it [the show] at the same time, and this whole Crown experience is so … it's like nothing else. When I first got to set, the first thing Olivia [Colman] said to me was, "Don't get used to this!" Because it's just not normal!
So I feel like that bonded Josh and I in a way, because we were both just trying to stay as grounded as possible and trying to do the work as best we could. He and I naturally had that kind of banter-y vibe going, and I think hopefully [their relationship] is one of the more beautiful parts of this season. It's a really special thing to get to portray, that genuine sibling relationship, regardless of their situation. They're just a brother and sister looking out for each other.
I also had no idea about the Anne/Andrew Parker Bowles/Prince Charles/Camilla Shand quadrangle.
Me neither! It's amazing! And because our scripts came through in dribs and drabs, I didn't realize until that script came through, and I was just … I had no clue! But at the same time, I was so excited to get to put that on-screen, because I feel like it's such a human, natural thing. Of course you're gonna have those messy relationships. I feel like that's when the show really shines, is when you see these people in situations that you would never have expected, and you go, "Oh, my God, that's just a normal human being trying to flirt!" That scene where Anne meets Andrew, she isn't royal in that moment. It's just two people in a human situation, and I love those parts of the show.
Anne is second in the line of succession at this point. How do you think she relates to this idea of the crown and the burden?
I think she's internally battling with that. You see it with Margaret, that feeling of being the second, and there's a friction there that is quite prominent. You see her wanting to support Charles as best she can, but, of course, there's some jealousy there. But ultimately, I think she's really happy to not be in such a pressurized environment, because she sees Charles, she sees where he's at, she has these conversations with him, and ultimately comes away from it grateful not to be in his shoes.
There are some great pop music moments this season, and they're almost all thanks to Anne. Were those songs written into the script?
Yeah, the Bowie [in Episode 9] was 100 percent written in, where I'm singing along, and that was so much fun. But a lot of the other times weren't scripted, like when she's in her room and she's listening to pop music, that was in the moment. There were loads of records on set, and when they were setting up the shot, I would flick through them and I chose a couple of the ones that ended up [in the show]. I love to immerse myself in the time period that you're filming in, and I feel like music affects you and your psychology so much that I just wanted to be where she was at. And the music of that period is so good!
I feel like that informs a lot of her rebellious nature, because she's obviously very current and listening to this current music and is wanting to be a part of that scene. I remember in the scene where she gets the call from Charles [in Episode 6], I remember bringing out Elton John, and to have that little bit of input was really special.
Are you still filming Season 4?
Yeah, we're still filming. We're heavily in the mix of four at the moment. And I've literally been told I'm not allowed to say anything!
In 1976, Anne became the first royal to compete in the Olympics. I hope we're going to see that in Season 4.
Well … all will be revealed!
Which scenes stand out in your memory the most from filming?
My first day on set was that first scene that you see Anne in, where she's called in to have that conversation with her dad in the office about being launched. And that really sticks out in my mind, because it was the first time I was on set at Elstree Studios in north London when I realized they'd built Buckingham Palace. They've literally built it, and it's mental! So I was just going, "Okay, this is gonna be my life for the next few years." I remember trying to be as grounded as possible, because I was quietly losing my mind!
Overall, I'm just really excited for a younger generation to, in a way, be introduced to Anne. Like I said, I genuinely went into this whole process not knowing anything, and now I feel like I'm coming out the other end really, really grateful to know about this woman and her life and how she's approached it. I'm really excited to put this woman on-screen and for people to hopefully fall in love with her as much as I have.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Emma Dibdin is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles who writes about culture, mental health, and true crime. She loves owls, hates cilantro, and can find the queer subtext in literally anything.
