You Will Not Be Seeing Royal Nudity on The Crown, According to Vanessa Kirby
Although Vanessa Kirby is woefully underused in the new season of The Crown, Princess Margaret’s storyline is still one of the juiciest of the hit Netflix show. Without spoiling too much, the new episodes show Queen Elizabeth II’s younger sister slowly but surely getting over last season’s lover, Peter Townsend, by getting under a new guy: subversive photographer Antony “Tony” Armstrong-Jones.
As steamy as the new duo’s sex scenes are, however, and though other characters are shown in the nude, neither Margaret nor Tony ever fully strips down for the camera. During a recent Netflix press day, Kirby explained why that is. “We had a big debate on whether to show royal boob or not. We decided they don’t want to see royal boob, thank God,” she said, according to HelloGiggles. “There was originally a sex scene between Margaret and Antony that was supposed to be really important for her to finally meet her man, come together with him. It wasn’t raunchy at all in the end, it was respectful.”
Kirby also spoke to The Hollywood Reporter last week about how the Emmy-winning show’s cast and crew decided whether or not to show “royal boob” on The Crown. “We were totally open to it to begin with,” she said. “We didn’t have much screen time to show what [Margaret and Tony] are actually like together, now that they’re together. It was really important that the sequence of them having sex, in whatever capacity, really represented what their relationship was like, and so we wanted to put all the different elements in with the playfulness and that they were matches for each other and the vulnerability with her feeling like, ‘Oh my God, my heart’s on the line and I think you’re amazing and I just want you to love me back as much as I love you,’ as well as the sexuality and sensuality.”
She continued, “I read a lot about how matched they were as sexual partners and how intense that was at the beginning. The nudity, we then thought we don’t need to tell that story, in a way, and that maybe it would be better represented in me throwing my shoes at him in the face or him grabbing me or me slapping him, and it became more about that. But we did have nipple covers. They were on high alert. They were on standby.”
We’re sure the Queen will be pleased to hear that.
Related: Olivia Colman, The Crown‘s New Queen Elizabeth II, Is a Seasoned Pro at Playing English Monarchs
The 12 Royals You Should Already Be Following on Instagram
Pauline Ducruet was raised in Monaco—she’s the granddaughter of Grace Kelly, and inherited her grandmother’s fashion savvy—before moving to New York to study at Parsons.
Pauline Ducruet’s younger half-sister Camille Gottlieb has her own bold sense of style and, it’s hard to miss, a penchant for animals. She has a quantity of dogs that would perhaps best be described as a “fleet,” and she recently visited an elephant orphanage in Sri Lanka (likely a vestige of her time growing up in a circus while her mom dated an elephant trainer).
The late Princess Diana’s 26-year-old niece, Lady Kitty Spencer, was once named “one of the most eligible girls in Britain” by Tatler—and she’s earned a reputation as a woman-about-town, regularly spotted in the front row during fashion month and, on occasion, with fellow It girls like Pixie Lott and Lottie Moss.
Maharaja Padmanabh Singh of Jaipur had the distinct honor of accompanying Reese Witherspoon’s daughter Ava Phillippe to the Bal des Débutantes last month. He doesn’t boast nearly as many Instagram followers as his 18-year-old scion date, but his Instagram does offer a bit of insight: He is, judging by his feed, above all, an avid polo player.
Princess Olympia of Greece turned 21 this summer with a socialite- and model-filled party whose guests included Nikki and Paris Hilton and Poppy Delevingne, as well as her parents, Crown Princess Marie-Chantal and Crown Prince Pavlos. (It was, perhaps, the only thing that could motivate both Hilton siblings to make a pilgrimage to the Cotswolds.)
The Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway’s son Marius Borg Høiby celebrated his 20th birthday this year by announcing he would retreat from the public eye while attending university in the United States. (He was, however, never in line for the throne.) But his Instagram remains unprotected, offering his nearly 50,000 followers an inside look at a life spent surfing, skating, and lounging in various hammocks.
Arthur Chatto is 23rd in line for the throne of England, but that didn’t mean he caused any less of a stir when his Instagram surfaced online earlier this year. It’s filled with shirtless selfies, images of his travels in Iceland, Switzerland, and Wales, and behind-the-scenes shots of his days at Eton (and some combination of the three).
Grace Kelly’s daughter-in-law Princess Charlene of Monaco posts images of her humanitarian work and her kids alike—both categories that have her Instagram comments filling up with “aw”s and heart-eye-emojis.
There is perhaps no more proud mother than Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, mother of Olympia. She regularly posts images of her daughter—on stage with Michael Kors, wandering the English moors with her brother, Prince Alexios of Greece—in between promoting her childrenswear line, Marie-Chantal Children.
Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece, the son of Crown Princess Marie-Chantal and brother of Princess Olympia, also holds the distinction of being Prince William’s godson. The Georgetown University freshman fills his Instagram feed with moody black-and-white images, as well as the occasional selfie, broadcasting his antics to his 30,000 followers.
Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark goes by a relatively unassuming handle on Instagram—simply @tatianablatnik, which pairs well with her husband’s handle @skylightchaser—but don’t be fooled. The co-founder of TRIA ETC, a sustainable fashion brand based in Greece, Princess Tatiana is also an avid foodie, judging by her Instagram feed, where she posts the salads she’s been eating and far-flung destinations to which she’s been traveling lately.
Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan’s Instagram bio describes her as “a mum and a wife with a pretty cool day job,” and there’s not much we could add to top that.
