Princess Margaret’s fashion sense became so famous in the 1950s that it came with its own epithet. Before the 'Meghan effect', came ‘The Margaret Look’. Well prepare to mine her wardrobe for fresh inspiration this weekend. The Crown is returning to Netflix for season three - and its £50m budget means that it’s likely to be even more lavish.
Olivia Colman has taken up the Queen’s mantle from Golden Globe-winning Claire Foy, while Helena Bonham Carter has replaced Vanessa Kirby as the rather irascible Princess Margaret. The latter told the Cheltenham Literature Festival that she had communed directly with Princess Margaret, who passed away in 2002, via a psychic medium after winning the role. Apparently she issued some brusque instructions - ‘You’re going to have to brush up and be more groomed and neater’ – as well as advice: ‘Get the smoking right. I smoked in a very particular way. Remember that – this is a big note – the cigarette holder was as much a weapon for expression as it was for smoking.’
The show’s costume designer Amy Roberts, who replaced Jane Petrie, told Hello that she wanted Princess Margaret’s costume to mirror her state of mind. 'I try to reflect the rootlessness and toxicity in Margaret...We used more flamboyant styles and fabrics to try to point out that wildness with no direction.'
Toxicity or no, there's plenty to feast your eyes on, from the checked two-pieces to the top-handle bags. Swat up on our favourite looks – and don't forget to tune in from 17 November.
SEE: Our favourite Princess Margaret Looks From The Crown S3
SEE: Our favourite of Princess Margaret's looks from The Crown
1 of 7Helena Bonham-Carter as Princess Margaret in The Crown
Season three picks up in 1964 so expect bouffant hairstyles and ever-so-slightly more 'swinging' hemlines.
2 of 7Helena Bonham-Carter as Princess Margaret in The Crown
Amy Roberts, the show's costume designer, told Hello that Princess Margaret's colour palette was slightly more 'bruised' than her sister's, but here she is in crowd-pleasing pink.
3 of 7Helena Bonham-Carter as Princess Margaret in The Crown
Princess Margaret was famously a fan of turquoise - she was given the Persian tiara made up of diamonds and turquoise on her 18th birthday by the Queen Mother - and here she wears it matches her eyeshadow.
4 of 7Helena Bonham-Carter as Princess Margaret in The Crown
The princess proves that a three-string of pearls never goes out of fashion.
5 of 7Helena Bonham-Carter as Princess Margaret in The Crown
Both sisters demonstrating the subtle power of the LBD.
6 of 7Helena Bonham-Carter as Princess Margaret in The Crown
Princess Margaret was a slightly more eccentric dresser than her elder sister, hence the feathered trim and cat's eye sunglasses.
7 of 7Helena Bonham-Carter as Princess Margaret in The Crown
Expect to see plenty of eye-catching headgear in season three.