the Crown Shares One Location With All Your Other Fave Period Dramas
Like most period dramas, the royal locations of The Crown feel like characters in the hit Netflix series. But eagle-eyed viewers noticed one season 4 location has played a recurring role
in several other films and TV shows. In the third episode, "Fairytale," Diana (Emma Corrin) dances out her stress beneath a stunning mural in Buckingham Palace. Earlier this year, Johnny Flynn's Mr. Knightley fled to the same room after a ball, as seen in Emma. Before that, the location served as a room at Pemberley, Mr. Darcy's (Matthew Macfadyen) sprawling mansion in 2005's Pride & Prejudice.
pride & prejudice (2005) dir. joe wright
emma. (2020) dir. autumn de wilde
the crown, season 4, episode 3 “the fairytale” (2020) dir. benjamin caron pic.twitter.com/1FfX7XLtMV
— ً (@kniqhtley) November 15, 2020
Then, someone was able to detect yet another use of the room in an episode of Outlander.
wilton house
— robi (@periodramaz) November 16, 2020
pride & prejudice// outlander// the crown// emma pic.twitter.com/VPhKRCt42v
Basically, this place is booked more often than The Plaza Hotel during wedding season. According to House Beautiful, the real-life location is Wilton House, a centuries-old estate that resides on 22 acres near Salisbury. Previously, the home belonged to the Earls of Pembroke for more than 4oo years. These days, Wilton House is open to the public for tours and hosts events such as the Annual Antiques Fair. However, everything has been halted right now due to the pandemic.
In addition to Twitter's sleuthing, the Wilton House website provides a full list of every show and movie filmed on the premises, including Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, 1995's Sense and Sensibility, and The Young Victoriastarring Emily Blunt. As for why this location is attractive to filmmakers, Emma director Autumn de Wilde told Travel + Leisure, “I think there’s a grace and beauty to Wilton that wasn’t imposing, but it was overwhelming,” she said of choosing Knightley's Donwell Abbey. “It’s really incredible to be in there. It doesn’t feel homey. It’s like living in a museum.”
Until the next period drama selects Wilton House for its production, take this as a sign to rewatch Pride & Prejudice on Netflix.