It has been a wild ride with Netflix’s The Crown. Whatever we thought we knew about the lives of The Royal Family before, Netflix made sure to surprise us with new details in every single episode. Opinions about The Crown are always two polar opposites, you either absolutely love that show (the messy drama lovers), or you go on and on about how historically ‘’inaccurate’’ it is (the self-proclaimed historians).
Whoever one of these two people you are, you must confess that this show has garnered a lot of attention from audiences, media, celebrities and even some members of The Royal Family in real life. Netflix really hit the jackpot with The Crown.
After the tragic death of Queen Elizabeth last year, people hoped that Netflix would continue the show to tell the full story of the Queen’s life. But Netflix had already announced that the upcoming season, season six, will be its last, and they stuck to their plan. So even though we would love to have more, we will all have to say our goodbyes in September when the final season airs.
Before we dive into all your burning questions for the sixth season, Let’s take a quick a quick look into the previous five seasons to refresh our memories and then talk about all the events we know will probably take place in season 6 and the ones we can only hope do.
A look back into Seasons 1 – 5
The first five seasons of The Crown spanned over a timeline from 1947 up to 1997. Through these fifty years, we saw Princess Elizabeth become a Queen, a leader, a mother, a sister and recently, a grandmother. Besides the family drama and turmoil, The Crown also makes sure to give us a peak into the time’s political climate and a look into the lives of the multiple prime ministers that have served Britain throughout the timeline we’re watching. To get you ready for the upcoming sixth and final season, here is a quick summary of what happened in the previous five.
Season 1
The first season starts in 1947 with the wedding of King George’s eldest daughter, Princess Elizabeth, to Lt. Philip Mountbatten. The two have an extravagant ceremony at Westminster Abbey that draws the attention of thousands of esteemed guests. Five years later, while Princess Elizabeth and Philip are on a trip to Kenya, King George VI dies in his sleep, and the 25-year-old princess is appointed Queen. The coronation occurred in 1953 at Westminster Abbey and was televised for the first time in history.
Remonatic relationships have a hard time surviving in the palace, though, as Princess Margret and Peter Townsand’s relationship is made public. The two want to get married, but Peter’s being a recently divorced man makes the matter complicated, and the Crown does not like complicated.
On the political sphere, Winston Churchill -now 80 years old- is once again the Prime Minister of Britain. However, his popularity is not serving him very well, as members of his cabinet believe he is too old and frail for this role. He tries to hold his position for a while but eventually retires, and Anthony Eden is elected Prime Minster.
Season 2
It’s 1956, and Egypt is taking back the Suez Canal. The decision by President Gamal Abdel Nasser revokes uproar and a hasty war between Egypt on one side and Britain, France and Isreal on the other side. This non-UN-approved war did not end well for Britain as they called back their troops under the influence of American President Eisenhower, and Prime Minster Eden was forced to resign ‘’due to health reasons’’ and not at all because he flunked a war.
In the royal household, romance takes two separate roads. On one side, Princess Margret finally falls for a ‘’suitable’’ man as she meets photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones. The Queen blesses their relationship, and they marry in the first-ever televised Royal Wedding. On the other hand, Prince Philip goes on a trip around the commonwealth, leaving Queen Elizabeth at home to deal with the fall of the Suez Canal incident.
If that’s not bad enough, the media finds out the Prince’s private secretary and best friend has been unfaithful to his wife and taking things further, they start questioning the Prince’s faithfulness to his marriage. A visit from the Kennedys and their seemingly good marriage inspires the Queen and Prince Philip to rekindle their romance and welcome their fourth son, Prince Edward.
Season 3
The third season begins with Winston Churchill giving his last goodbye as he died of a stroke in 1965. He is given a state funeral that the Queen attends in person. This is not the only tragedy this season, though, as a mining accident takes the lives of 116 children and 28 adults in a Welsh village. The Queen’s inability to show remorse in time and offer condolences leaves the public questioning the empathy of the Crown (not for the last time).
Prince Charles is put under the spotlight for the first time in the show as he is anointed Prince of Wales by the Queen in a televised ceremony. His good spirits don’t last long, though, as his love interest Camila Shands marries Andrew Parker Bowles. The relationship between Charles and Camila has never been a favourite of the Crown, but this temporary hurdle will not end them. Speaking of love stories, Princess Margret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones -now Lord Snowden- marriage finally falls apart after years of infidelity.
The season ends with the Queen’s Silver Jubilee as she celebrates 25 years on the throne.
Season 4
Season four is marked by the arrival of The Iron Lady and the introduction of the people’s princess. Talk about strong female characters! It’s 1979, and Margret Thatcher, the leader of the Conservative Party, is elected as the first female Prime Minster of Britain. Her ‘’unique’’ political approaches change Britain whether for the best or the worse; it’s a matter of who you ask.
We are introduced to the Royal Family’s summer house Balmoral. Both Margaret Thatcher and Diana Spencer -now dating Prince Charles- get to visit the house during the summer. Although Thatcher doesn’t enjoy her visits, Diana’s visit to her future in-laws is a great success. A year later, Prince Charles married Princess Diana in another highly extravagant Royal Wedding that was watched all over the world by millions of people.
The couple welcomed their first son William less than a year after marriage. A series of events, including the Australia tour, Princess Diana’s visit to Harlem and her famous birthday performance of Uptown Girl, puts a wedge in her relationship with Prince Charles as he does not like to be outshined.
In the political world, Margaret Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth but heads as they disagree on how to deal with South Africa’s apartheid system. A man sneaks into Buckingham Palace in the middle of the night to talk to the Queen about the economic situation of the country. By the end of the season, Margret Thatcher resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Season 5
1992 is not a year the royal family would look back at fondly. Dubbed by the Queen as her annus horribilis, this year sees many not-very-good events happen to the Royal Family. The year starts with Diana: Her Story, a bestseller book published by biographer Andrew Morton that tells the story of Diana’s life as a royal.
Later, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew seek divorce from their spouses, which does not bode well with the Queen as head of the Chruch of England. Especially as Charles and Diana’s relationship plummets as well. To add to the metaphorical fire, an actual fire rips through Windsor Castle, causing great damage.
By the end of 1992, Prince Charles and Princess Diana are officially separated. The infamous tape of Prince Charles saying unsavoury things to Camila Parker Bowles is leaked, and the public become strongly on Dians’s side. The couple finally divorced after Diana gave an interview to BBC’s Martin Bashir, saying, “There were three people in this marriage”.
We are also introduced to the Fayed family and the beginning of their relationship with Diana. In 10 Downing Street, Tony Blair of the Labour Party is elected Prime Minister, and the political scene in the UK is shifting.
What should you expect from the final season?
Now seven years after the release of the first season, the sixth and final season of The Crown is finally coming on September 2023. Originally the show was supposed to end with season five, but while writing the season, show creator Peter Morgan said that he felt they should do a sixth season to give their story justice.
We’re glad he did because the sixth season will be the closest to the present time, and that should be interesting to watch. Even though the official plotline for the season is still under wraps, we can come to expect some of the events that season six will most probably address.
Princess Diana’s death
Probably the most anticipated and dreaded event of the upcoming season will be the tragic death of Princess Diana and her subsequent funeral. The Princess of Wales died in Paris in a car accident in August 1997. According to the show’s timeline, this event will probably happen at the very beginning of the season.
Princess Margret & the Queen Mother’s death
Another tragic incident that might be covered in the season is the death of Princess Margret and the Queen Mother in 2002. 2002 was a hard year for Queen Elizabeth as she lost her sister and her mother only two months apart.
Prince Charles & Camilla’s wedding
It was reported that the show filmed scenes for the celebration of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles’ wedding in 2005. The couple lived together for two years in Clarence House before they were married, and maybe the sixth season will give us a glimpse into their relationship after Diana’s death.
Prince William & Kate Middleton’s romance
With released pictures of the actors playing Prince William and Kate Middleton, it is confirmed that we will get to see the budding romance between the now senior royals. William and Kate met in 2001 while attending The University of Saint Andrews in Scotland and dated for five years before finally tying the knot in Westminster Abbey.
Tony Blair & the Iraq War
For the political part of the season, it will make sense for season six to tackle the events that led up to the controversial Iraq War in 2003. Prime Minister Tony Blair was accused of misleading the public and government into supporting the war during his time. Since he was already elected Prime Minister at the end of season five, maybe we will see him in season six.
Who is playing who?
The Crown has a habit of changing its cast every couple of seasons to reflect better the age of the characters they are portraying. For season six, most of the season five cast will resume their roles Lesley Manville as Princess Margret, Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, Dominic West as Prince Charles, Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana and Olivia Williams as Camila Parker Bowles. However, Olivia Coleman will not be resuming her role as Queen Elizabeth and instead will be replaced by Imelda Staunton.
New faces will be joining the cast as new characters are introduced. We have Rufus Kampa and Ed McVey, who will play Prince William at 16 and 21, respectively. There is also Meg Bellamy, who will be portraying Kate Middleton as she meets Prince William in Scotland.
More cast will be announced closer to the date of release.
Conclusion
We are all very excited about the new and final season of The Crown, and we hope you are as well! This show has been a crazy ride that mixed history with fiction to create a wonderful work of art. Suppose our quick recap for the past seasons wasn’t enough to jog your memory before the upcoming final season. In that case, we recommend you start rewatching the show so that come September, you are up to date and ready to dive back into the delicious royal drama.