Princess Anne's popularity is down to The Crown, says show's creator

‘She’s now one of the most popular royals,’ says Peter Morgan

The creator of the hit Netflix series The Crown has credited the programme with boosting the popularity of Princess Anne.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Morgan – who wrote the historical drama about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II - explained that he believes the Princess was previously “overlooked”.

But due to the actor Erin Doherty’s portrayal of the royal on the show, she has become more popular.

“So many people asked me, after she first appeared, to put more of her in there,” Morgan said of Princess Anne.

“Anne’s often overlooked.

“But Erin’s portrayal means that everybody has fallen in love with her.

“Searches about her on Google went through the roof, she’s now one of the most popular royals.”

The Princess Royal recently revealed that she has watched The Crown.

Speaking in an ITV documentary titled Anne: The Princess Royal At 70, which marks her 70th birthday, Anne said that while she does not watch the show anymore, she found the early episodes “quite interesting”.

She also commented on Doherty’s portrayal after discovering that it takes around two hours for her to replicate the royal’s hairstyle.

In a past interview with Town and Country, Erin Doherty, who portrays Anne in The Crown, referred to her hairstyle as a “beast”, saying: “Makeup literally took 10 minutes, but hair, sometimes it would take two hours.

“It’s its own beast. Literally, I would sit in the chair, people would come in and go and come in and go, and I sat still in the same place. But it was so necessary for her character because it felt like her hair and her fashion were the way that she was able to express herself in the confined, controlled environment that she grew up in.”

Princess Anne joked about the comments, stating: “Actually I read an article the other day about The Crown, the actress was talking about how long it took them to do their hair like I did.

“And I’m thinking, ‘How could you possibly take that long?’ I mean it takes me 10 or 15 minutes.”

Anne, who celebrated her 70th birthday on 15 August, recently spoke about the moment she survived an armed kidnapping attempt in 1974.

The Princess Royal was on her way home after a charity event with her new husband Captain Mark Phillips.

As they drove down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace, their chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce was forced to stop after another car blocked its route.

Suddenly the car’s driver, Ian Ball, exited his vehicle and pulled out a handgun. Ball shot Anne’s chauffeur and her security officer, Jim Beaton, as well as a nearby tabloid journalist who tried to intervene.

Anne recalled how she still remembers the incident with Ball, who was trying to kidnap her, “like photographs”.

Speaking on the recent ITV documentary, Anne said: “What is interesting is what you remember and how you remember it, because although I thought I remembered everything that happened I would never have been able to swear I could remember in the right order.”