NOVEMBER 29, 2019
Culture
48
Illustration by BRITT SPENCER
helena bonham carter, who plays princess margaret in the third
and fourth season of Netflix’s The Crown, says America’s fascination with
the royal family is a case of wanting what they can’t have. “It’s your own fault,
you tore away, you renounced our king,” the English actress says jokingly. Prin-
cess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth’s only sister, left a complicated legacy when she
died in 2002. Often viewed as a tragic outcast compared to her more-popular
sister, Carter hopes to shed a more nuanced light on the misunderstood prin-
cess. “No one is going to be the narrative they are in the press,” Carter said. “It’s
very hard to be famous and vulnerable, and I think she was a very vulnerable
person.... She was also incredibly brave.” Bravery is something the Oscar-nom-
inated actress knows a thing or two about, considering she’s made a career of
playing boldly unique characters from Marla Singer in Fight Club (1999) to
Princess Margaret’s mother Elizabeth in The King’s Speech (2010).
Helena Bonham Carter
What did you learn about Princess
Margaret, and what do you hope
viewers take from your portrayal?
There’s a lot of presumption saying
she had a tragic life. But I think she
had a lot of fun. The narrative in the
press about her is a cartoon. I hope
that I might have shown somewhat
the difɿculties of her situation.
Hopefully, I got under her skin.
You’ve played a number of royals
over the course of your career.
Have you ever heard from them
about your portrayals?
Not really. They know who I am. I
remember the Queen actually
introducing me to Obama, saying “She’s
in a ɿlm called The King’s Speech.”
Princess Margaret, like yourself,
was a bit of a gay icon. Why do you
think that is?
She is a lesson in camp. Loads of her
friends were gay, and I think she felt
very comfortable with them; they
were kindred spirits. But I think she
deɿnitely felt she didn’t quite ɿt in
with her family.
It’s the 20th anniversary of
Fight Club+RZGLGWKDWɿOP
impact your career?
Privately that’s more my style. In fact,
I have Marla Singer’s jacket, it’s the
one jacket I wear to this day. It’s a Rick
Owens original. But that did have a
massive impact, that ɿlm has lasted.
Which is great vindication because
when it ɿrst came out it was booed at
screenings in Venice. —H. Alan Scott
“[Margaret]
was too
much in a
way... She is
technicolor,
it’s almost
too much
to be royal.”
PARTING SHOT