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Helena Bonham Carter reveals Princess Margaret's ghost gave her a backhanded compliment on The Crown role

The Crown star chatted to a medium friend about Princess Margaret

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Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
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Helena Bonham Carter is set to portray Princess Margaret in season three of The Crown, and apparently the actress has the royal's approval from beyond the grave. Helena clarified her comments from earlier this year, where she revealed that she had visited a psychic to tell her what the Princess would have thought of her taking the role. Chatting on The Graham Norton Show, she said: "This story has gathered its own momentum. I actually went to see a friend about something else, but she has a talent for mediumship."

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Helena opened up about playing Princess Margaret

She continued: "And she suddenly said, 'Margaret is here. Does that mean anything?' I hadn't actually said yes (to the part) yet, but thought I'd ask her if I should take the role and she said, 'You'll be better than the other one'. There was actually someone else up for the part and it was typical of Margaret. I'd met her a few times and you never really knew where you were with her, she had a way of complimenting and putting you down at the same time."

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Helena spoke about Princess Margaret

She also opened up about working with Olivia Colman, who plays the Queen, explaining: "It really is fun. We've been together for so long, but we still like each other." Chatting to HELLO! about how she and Margaret are similar, she previously explained: "We both don't pretend. She was someone who didn't feign, she was utterly honest and if she felt something she would say it. I can often have no filter which often gets me into trouble. But there's a lot which isn't similar which is hard!" She added that she is also a similar stature to the Princess, joking: "We're short when we're not wearing heels!"

READ: Helena Bonham Carter reveals hilarious real life meeting with Princess Margaret