The Crown's Erin Doherty reveals 'sympathy' for 'isolated' Royal Family after playing Princess Anne

Erin Doherty, who plays a young Princess Anne in The Crown, has revealed she has "sympathy" for the Royal Family after starring in the hit series.

The actress, 29, told the Mail on Sunday's You magazine that it must be a really "isolating" experience growing up "within a straitjacket".

She said: "I have a special place in my heart for the time I spent working on The Crown. I think we can all relate to what that situation must be like to grow up in.

"I have massive sympathy for the whole family. There are things that they have easier than some people, but they're also growing up within a straitjacket – it must be really isolating."

Doherty, who has also appeared in Call The Midwife, played the Queen's only daughter in series three and four of the hit show.

Of being told that the 71-year-old princess has watched the series and described it as "quite interesting", she said: "My version of Princess Anne and the real Princess Anne should never co-exist, or the universe will explode."

The actress added: "I feel like I know her, and I feel like she'd rip me apart – but in a nice way.

"She'd say, 'Well, you didn't do this and you didn't do this, but you did that right.' I'd like just one compliment from her. That’s probably what I'd ask: 'Was there anything? Did I do any of it right?'"

Before filming, Doherty recalled being given etiquette lessons by a former Buckingham Palace advisor who "scared me to death".

He showed her how to eat soup and hold a glass, and that everyone has to stop eating when Her Majesty finishes.

Doherty admitted she felt baffled when she was photographed recently doing her food shopping at Lidl.

She joked: "But if Anne knew the deals that were going on, she'd be in there, getting some flippers [for swimming]."

The upcoming fifth season of The Crown will cover the period around the time of Princess Diana's death in 1997, with actress Claudia Harrison taking on the role of the Princess Royal.

Watch: Royal weddings through the years