Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher’s blue power suits in The Crown are exactly like the real life versions

Can you spot the difference?

princess diana in blue suit with charles
(Image credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

It isn’t just the acting in The Crown that’s superb, the similarities in everything from the backdrops used throughout the show to the outfits and the real life versions are pure genius. If you’ve finished watching series four, you may be wondering how true is The Crown but it turns out it’s pretty spot on.

One element we couldn’t take our eyes off were the costumes, especially Princess Diana’s and Margaret Thatcher’s which were faithfully recreated by the show’s costume designer Amy Roberts. Talking to The Guardian, Roberts explained the clothes were “made to couture standard, with a lot of meticulous fittings and actors having to be very patient.”

One detail that caught our eye was Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher’s love for a blue power suit, which they both wore in series four. 

Diana chose to wear a blue skirt suit which she hurriedly bought from Harrods for her engagement photos in Buckingham Palace. Showing off her new sapphire and diamond engagement ring she paired the suit with a white pussy bow blouse featuring blue swallows. Let’s take a look at the original outfit...

princess diana in blue suit with charles


(Image credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

And here's Emma Currin's The Crown version, a pretty amazing match we'd say.

With Margeret Thatcher’s The Crown looks, the shows costume designer revealed it required “forensic, meticulous” planning to ensure Gillian Anderson, who plays Thatcher, didn’t look like a “a 1980s parody” in those famous power suits and exaggerated shoulders. 

In real life, like Diana, Thatcher also loved a blue power skirt suit, opting for this royal blue wool crepe version with blue silk lining for her official Downing Street portrait photo.

margaret thatcher blue suit outside 10 downing st

(Image credit: Tim Graham/Getty Images)

But how does it compare to Gillian Anderson’s version in The Crown?

Aside from the length of the pleats, we can’t really see any difference, it seems Diana and Margaret Thatcher’s blue power suits have been recreated to perfection.

Lydia Swinscoe
Travel writer & editor

Lydia is a travel writer and solo travel expert, based mostly in London. Her work has been published in print and online for the likes of Condé Nast Traveler, The Guardian, BBC Travel, Harper's Bazaar, ELLE, Marie Claire, Oh magazine, Town&Country, and woman&home.