LOCAL landmark Ragley Hall near Alcester stars on the silver screen in the latest series of Royal drama The Crown on Netflix.
It’s a wintry morning in the middle of January 2020, when Prince Charles arrives by car to the Ragley Estate, where Sarah Spencer is eagerly awaiting his arrival.
As Charles steps into the hall with Sarah, he meets a young Diana dressed in costume whilst rehearsing for her school’s rendition of Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The location and timeline of this scenario may cause some confusion, however in this scenario the royals are portrayed by Josh O’Connor, Emma Corrin and Isobel Eadie and the Ragley Estate is one of the settings for The Crown Season 4.
The new series of the Netflix drama, kickstarts its first episode of Season 4 with Ragley’s Great Hall as the backdrop for the first encounter between Charles and Diana.
In this scene, Diana is defying family orders to not be visible during the Prince’s visit but is keen to catch his eye.
The scene ends with Diana watching Charles and Sarah ride off on horseback, from the window of Ragley’s family dining room.
The hall can also be seen again, In episode 3, in which Ragley’s vaulted hallway received a dramatic makeover, transforming it into the environment of a Buckingham Palace kitchen.
Over the years, the Ragley Estate has played location to a variety of film projects from being a stately setting for The Scarlett Pimpernel starring Ian McKellen to mirroring The Palace of Versailles in Doctor Who, which saw the estate welcome David Tennant as the tenth Doctor.
The Crown spent two days filming at Ragley in January 2020.
Head of Events Sophie Stelling said: “Seeing the concept come to life has been a hugely positive experience!
“Ragley looks forward to opening the doors to events and other projects once again in 2021!’
The fourth series of The Crown is now streaming in full on Netflix.
