Emma Corrin, a toddler when Diana died, 'had no memory' of royal before she took her role in 'The Crown'

Emma Corrin won several accolades and awards for her portrayal of Princess Diana in "The Crown," with many praising her for the authentic portrayal of the late British royal. The actress recently revealed that she "had no memory" of the Princess of Wales when she took the part, which actually helped her in acing the role.

Corrin recalled that she had to start from scratch when she began preparing for the role. The 25-year-old, who was barely two years old when the Princess lost her life in a car crash in Paris, told W magazine, "I had no memory of her, so I think that helped me. It was a blank slate."

The actress said that she wanted to make sure she brought forward all the layers of Diana's life, including her struggles with her mental health. And since she was studying the popular royal for the first time, she could find a "clear connection from her unstable childhood to her looking for something welcoming."

Corrin said it was also important that the hit Netflix original noted the difference in Diana before and after she married into the British royal family. She explained, "We knew she was a very warm person who gravitated towards people. She was looking to be embraced in something very warm and very familiar, and she didn't find that at all; she found the exact opposite with the royal family."

She also spoke about portraying Lady Di's struggle with bulimia on the screen, noting that they wanted it to be "sensitive and thoughtful." "It's about the battle for control over your food, in relation to what you're feeling. For Diana, it was a way of physically getting out everything that she had bottled up," she said.

Corrin's co-star Josh O' Connor, who also grabbed several awards for his portrayal of Prince Charles, joined the interview and spoke about the challenges he and Corrin faced in showing the royal couple's complicated marriage on screen. The 31-year-old said, "We both spent a long time during prep researching the nuances of failed marriages. Our care for our own characters and each other's meant that whatever the scene was, we were completely focused on telling a truthful and real account of those moments."