Helena Bonham Carter Says Princess Margaret Gave Her Blessing for The Crown Via a Psychic

The two previously met before the royal's death in 2002

The Crown will introduce a whole new cast to play members of the well-known British royal family, and according to Helena Bonham Carter, one of them was quite pleased by the casting.

Speaking at a festival, Bonham Carter said she communed with the late Princess Margaret via a psychic about her taking on the role. The two had previously met before Princess Margaret's death in 2002.

"She said, apparently, she was glad it was me. My main thing when you play someone who is real, you kind of want their blessing because you have a responsibility," The Guardian reports Bonham Carter said at the Cheltenham literature festival. "So I asked her: ‘Are you OK with me playing you?' and she said: ‘You're better than the other actress' … that they were thinking of. They will not admit who it was. It was me and somebody else."

Bonham Carter, who also said she consulted an astrologer and graphologist before taking on the role, said that comment was such a classic Princess Margaret things to say. "She was really good at complimenting you and putting you down at the same time," the Oscar nominee said.

Then came instructions from the late royal, including an urging to "get the smoking right" because she smoked in a very particular way.

Bonham Carter previously revealed her uncle was "very close to" Princess Margaret and they once met at Windsor Castle. There, the princess said Bonham Carter was getting better, presumably speaking about her acting. Bonham Carter would go on to be nominated for an Oscar for playing Princess Margaret's mother in The King's Speech.

In addition to Bonham Carter, The Crown season three stars Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II, Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, Ben Daniels as Tony Armstrong-Jones, Josh O'Connor as Princes Charles, Erin Doherty as Princess Anne, Marion Bailey as the Queen Mother and Jason Watkins as Harold Wilson.

Season three of The Crown, which is set between 1964 and 1977, premieres Sunday, Nov. 17 on Netflix. Season four is currently in production and will feature the season three cast alongside Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher and Emma Corrin as Princess Diana.