How to Become Royalty: luxury items from the Netflix series Crown are up for auction

While full of scandals and tragedies, the royal lifestyle portrayed in "The Crown" seemed luxurious. For six seasons, Queen Elizabeth II was shown riding around London in a golden carriage pulled by six horses. Princess Diana was depicted gallivanting across Europe in designer outfits for various occasions. Special events in the show featured the royals wearing crowns and fur-lined robes. For most viewers, watching the show was as close as they could get to experiencing royal trappings until now.

An upcoming auction by Bonhams on February 7th will offer hundreds of items used in The Crown, giving fans a chance to own authentic props. These include a full-size replica of the golden state carriage estimated at up to £50,000. More affordable items that added realism to the show will also be auctioned, such as porcelain corgis from the queen's desk and the Queen Mother's drinks tray and swizzle stick.

Some items appear to be bargains relative to past royal memorabilia prices. An actual dress worn by Princess Diana previously sold for over $1 million. The "revenge dress" she wore when Prince Charles admitted to cheating is estimated to fetch up to 15,000 pounds at this auction. Interviews with costume and set staffers provide context on key auction lots.

Michele Clapton, the Season 1 costume designer, noted that the queen's coronation was one of the big set pieces of Season 1, and it was so important for Michele to get it right. She spent a significant amount of time researching the outfits and trying to find modern fabrics that moved and behaved similarly to the originals. The robe of state worn by Claire Foy was made of red velvet and ermine. Clapton couldn't use real ermine, so she had to find fake fur. She remembers doing many camera tests for bits of fur, as sometimes what looked correct to the naked eye appeared awful on camera.

Clapton hand-embroidered as much as possible but when they ran out of time, she would do machine embroidery or paint the fabric. For the robe, she painted some of the gold because it wouldn't be visible on TV. She also mentioned that the coronation outfit was extremely difficult. For highly documented scenes like the coronation, the costumes were replicated as closely as possible. But there was also artistic license to create looks that were stylistically accurate to the era. This ball gown was the first design she created for Claire Foy. She remembers drawing it and trying to find the right approach. She wanted to convey what a film star Elizabeth was in her youth - her beauty and youthfulness. The lovely blue color complimented Claire Foy's eyes so well. Elizabeth would have worn similar gowns at the time, but when she became Queen, her demeanor instantly became more serious, as reflected in her clothing choices. Being frivolous and allowing herself freedom - all that was suddenly given up.

Amy Roberts, the Season 3 to 6 costume designer, discussed that with certain outfits they had to get permission from the original designer. Sometimes the response was positive and sometimes negative. With the "revenge dress," the legal department couldn't track down Christina Stambolian, the Greek designer who created it, so their approach was to design their version and provide the audience with what they expected to see - the famously sexy dress. The version Elizabeth Debicki wore, according to Roberts, conveyed the strength of Diana, which is what they aimed to achieve. There were other moments when they needed to consult the legal department as well. With the dress Kate Middleton wore at a university fashion show, the original designer did not want it copied, and Roberts remembers sending photographs of fittings to the lawyers for approval, whether it was different enough or needed further changes.

However, for the military uniforms, accuracy was paramount. This uniform worn by Olivia Colman was for Trooping the Color, a ceremony that marks the monarch's official birthday. Roberts notes that details like medals, and ribbons, all had to be forensically precise, otherwise it would be embarrassing and disrespectful to those who have served. They had a whole military department headed by Max Birkett, and Roberts would check in. So the uniforms were entirely in their hands. Roberts commented that all the Queens were amazing to design for, with very few arguments.