Everything you need to know about ‘The Crown’ season 6

From the cast to the plot to the release date, discover our guide to season 6 of Netflix’s royal drama, The Crown.

Ed McVey and Meg Bellamy at William and Kate. Image credit: Getty Images.

From the cast to the plot to the release date, discover our guide to season 6 of Netflix’s royal drama, The Crown.

The critically acclaimed royal drama The Crown will return to our screens in two parts, with the first part hitting Netflix next month in November. In a nutshell, the sixth and final season will span the turn of the century, picking up in 1997 where season five left off and taking us through the tragic and untimely death of Princess Diana later that year.

“As we started to discuss the storylines for [season] five,” show creator and principal writer Peter Morgan explains, “it soon became clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story, we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons.”

Here, catch up on everything we know so far about the final season of The Crown.

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Will The Crown season 6 have a new cast?

Claire Foy played Queen Elizabeth for seasons one and two, with Olivia Colman taking over the mantle for seasons three and four. Imelda Staunton played the Queen in season five and, like Foy and Colman, will return for another season. The role of Prince Philip has been played by two actors, Matt Smith and Tobias Menzies in seasons one and two and seasons three and four, respectively. The baton was passed on to Oscar-nominated Welsh actor Sir Jonathan Pryce, who will reprise the role in the final season.

Lesley Manville and Dominic West will similarly continue in their roles as Princess Margaret and Prince Charles, as will Elizabeth Debicki in her role as the People’s Princess. “Princess Diana’s spirit, her words and her actions live in the hearts of so many. It is my true privilege and honour to be joining this masterful series, which has had me absolutely hooked from episode one,” said the Australian actress.

As for Kate and William? A gaggle of newcomers has been cast in the roles of the now Prince and and Princess of Wales, as the show follows the young lovers and friends during their time at St Andrews College in Scotland, where the pair met in 2001. Rufus Kampa will play a fifteen-year-old William as he grapples with the death of his mother, while Ed McVey will play William as a young man courting the future Duchess of Cambridge, played by Meg Bellamy. The series marks the screen debut of all three actors.

The first images, both from the upcoming series and on set, have been captured of the pair on set as filming gets underway at St Andrews. Below, see them inhabit their roles—is it just us, or are they uncannily true to form?

Image credit: courtesy of Netflix

What time period will The Crown season 6 cover?

The fifth season took us to 1997, ending with the handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China in July. Princess Diana was invited to St Tropez for a holiday with Mohamed Al-Fayed; she would later pass away in August. The sixth season will cover the trials of Princess Diana following her divorce from Prince Charles, as well as the meeting of Prince William and Kate Middleton, and the ensuing courtship and blossoming relationship in the early 2000s. It is expected to stretch at least to the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005. In addition to Netflix teasing the wedding, Claudia Harrison, who plays Princess Anne, told Variety that the wedding was the final scene the cast and crew shot. Filming took place at York Minster Cathedral in England, with the whole of the royal family in attendance—that is, Staunton, Pryce, McVey, and Luther Ford who plays Prince Harry, among others.

 

 

 

 

 

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Will the death of Princess Diana be covered in The Crown season 6?

Yes. Deadline reported in October of last year that The Crown’s cast and crew were beginning the filming of the tragic car crash that took place on 31 August 1997. Peter Morgan has since confirmed that while the show will include the death of Princess Diana, the crash itself will not be shown. According to a source on the production, we can expect to see “the car leaving The Ritz after midnight with paparazzi in pursuit and then the aftermath with the British Ambassador to France swinging into action with the Foreign Office and then the subsequent constitutional aftermath.”

“We’ve been dreading getting to this point,” they continued. “While we’re calmly carrying on, it’s fair to acknowledge that there’s a certain anxiety—a palpable sense of being slightly on edge. I mean, there’s bombshell sensitivity surrounding this one.” The show will also depict Prince Charles arriving on a royal flight to bring the Princess’s body home, as well as the young sons and the royal family grappling with the loss.

When will The Crown season 6 be released?

The release will be split into two parts, with the first part arriving on Netflix on November 16 and the second part on December 14.

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Originally published as Everything you need to know about ‘The Crown’ season 6