I dont know what the reality is - its probably nowhere near as exciting as what weve created, laughs Benjamin Caron, executive producer on the fourth season of The Crown , and director of two of the episodes. Thats when I love The Crown: when we push it slightly. It feels simple but were pushing the boundaries of drama and creating a spectacle.

This is the mission statement behind the creation of the splashiest season yet, which features Charles and Diana s wedding, and the tense relationship between The Queen and Margaret Thatcher .

Alongside dollops of dramatic license, the shows depiction of the royals is strengthened by research gained anecdotally, says Benjamin.

One scene that epitomises the shows creative approach is in the third episode, titled Fairytale, in which Diana greets the royals at Buckingham Palace.

Its awkward, its painful, I had my hands over my mouth biting my fingers with agony when I was filming that scene, says Benjamin. Its cold, hurtful, lonely, all that pain I think thats where The Crown is at its best.

I knew when I read that scene how I wanted to photograph it, he explains. Everyone talks about Diana being a sacrificial lamb, it just felt like that she was under this big spotlight in amongst the family, and the awkwardness around that. The movement of the camera represented her spinning out of control.