We’re well on our way into our first COVID-19 winter, and it seems all anyone can talk about (besides, you know…the ongoing pandemic) is the long-awaited fourth season of the Netflix series The Crown. Season 4 is more than living up to expectations—Princess Diana has finally arrived!—but despite the show’s many romantic entanglements, there is a glaring dearth of physical passion. Below, Vogue writers Michelle Ruiz and Emma Specter sound off about The Crown’s puzzling lack of sex.

Emma Specter: Michelle, I don’t know about you, but I went into this season of The Crown expecting, well…sex. Or at least the promise of sex, if not the act itself! After all, we’ve got Charles and Diana, we’ve got the famously randy Princess Margaret, we’ve got known temptress Camilla Parker-Bowles. And yet, almost no physical contact of any kind. Why?

Michelle Ruiz: Emma, thank you. I thought I was the only one astounded and a little angry at the chastity of this much-anticipated season. There is an entire episode about Michael Fagan, a prominent Falklands War plot, and yet I’m on episode 8 and I’m pretty sure no one has kissed on the lips yet. I understand [The Crown creator] Peter Morgan likes to provide ample historical/political context and give weight to the general frivolity and ridiculousness surrounding the royals but the lack of sex is such a missed opportunity.

ES: I totally understand that the royal family needs to be afforded some modicum of respect, even in a fictive portrayal, but…come on. When Charles and Di say “I love you” to each other on their tour of Australia in episode 6, it seems almost deliberate that they don’t touch at all. Yes, it’s probably meant to underscore the fundamental lack of connection in their relationship, even in the good times, but Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin are attractive people! I want to see them kiss! Sue me! Michelle, were there any other prime sex opportunities you feel the show missed?

MR: Nary a makeout session during that seminal moment in the Outback—it was borderline appalling. William has been born by then and, in an ensuing episode, Charles announces to Princess Margaret over lunch that he and Di are expecting again…are these children being conceived by immaculate conception? I’m not rooting for gratuitous sex scenes (okay, maybe a little bit), but I think a very emotional way to depict Charles and Diana’s lack of connection might have been by showing them in bed. Part of the draw of The Crown for me is imagining what truly transpires behind palace doors. Sex is a huge part of that! One scene that stood out to me was Charles (alias: Fred) bidding farewell to Cam (aka Gladys) at Highgrove before his ill-fated wedding to Diana. Camilla is smoking a cigarette in a darkened doorway. Clearly, it’s post-coital. A glimpse at their farewell shag would’ve been nice!