Now that we've all finished binge-watching season four of The Crown, no one is sadder that it's over than Erin Doherty. The 28-year-old actress has officially wrapped her time playing Princess Anne, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II.
"It's not part of my life any more... It's the biggest shock," Erin told Grazia on Tuesday, Dec. 1. "I said it out loud for the first time only a few weeks ago. I had the breakthrough of my body and brain connecting that I'm not going to play this woman any longer. I realised I had to let go of her. It's a sad thing."
She revealed that after she finished filming The Crown, her mental health took a "dip" because she felt her life lacked purpose.
"We'd just finished filming the fourth season the week before everything shut down [due to the pandemic]," the breakout star said. "The brakes got put on everything, and my mental health did dip. As an actor, I didn't have a purpose. I'd gone from zero to 200 miles per hour and then back to zero."
She added, "I glimpsed red carpet life, and then it was gone again. To sit in my own thoughts was a difficult process at first, because you tune in with where your body and your mind and your soul and your spirit are."
In the interview, Erin reflected on how she navigated the transition from working on the royal drama to adjusting back into her regular life, living in a house with six other people and a dog.
"Part of that process is going, 'Right, I really need to look at this, because I don't feel very happy about that,' or, 'I really haven't addressed these issues that may have been there since childhood,'" Erin explained.
The Les Misérables actress feels like she's the same person she was before embodying Anne. "I don't feel like my life has changed," she said of her routine at home. "Everyone is always around, wanting to use the kitchen at the same time, when I just want to cook my spaghetti."
To cope, Erin spent her time learning how to juggle—literally. "I've got juggling balls in my bag. It's kept me sane. I just needed to focus on something," she added.
The Crown is now streaming on Netflix. See how the hit show's most scandalous moments compare to the reality of the royals.