Photo: Keith Bernstein/Netflix
Hear ye, hear ye!
While season 4 chronicled the courtship and marriage years of Diana and Charles, this season will explore the early 1990s — a turbulent period for the Royal Family. Although Netflix has kept details under wraps, the streamer’s been giving hints and glimpses of what’s to come when the fictionalized British royals return to our screens, witha few glimpses of production being releasedthat were taken at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, about an hour outside of London.
On Sept. 8, 2022, following news ofQueen ElizabethII’s death, creatorPeter Morgan paid tribute to the longest-reigning British monarch and said production would stop for the moment"out of respect" to the late Queen.
Here’s everything we know aboutThe Crownseason 5 so far.
What willThe Crownseason 5 be about?
Netflix
Though much of the project remains under wraps, season 5 is slated to explore the early 1990s. It will be a rocky road for the royals, with the dissolution of Charles and Diana’s marriage just one lowlights for the Windsors.
The storyline may focus in part on 1992, which theQueendeclared to be an “annus horribilis” (Latin for “horrible year”), speculatesVariety. It was the year in which three of her four children separated from their spouses and a devastating fire hit Windsor Castle.
The drama will likely carry through to 1995, when Diana gave a bombshell interview to the BBC’sPanorama in 1995, according toDeadline. The scandal from that interview continues even today, after it came to light that journalistMartin Bashir may have used deceptive methodsto persuade Diane to sit for the interview, andPrince William slamming Bashirafter the official BBC inquiry determined that Bashir did.
Who’s joiningThe Crownseason 5 cast?
Alex Bailey/Netflix
Elizabeth Debickiwill join the cast asPrincess DianaandDominic Westwill playPrince CharlesinThe Crownseason 5. Netflix sharedan official first lookat the two on Aug. 17. Debicki takes the tiara fromEmma Corrin, whoembodied Dianain anEmmy-nominatedentrée into the series in season 4.
Debickidescribed the roleas an honor: “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.”
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Before dropping the official photos of the then-Prince and Princess of Wales, the showreleased a season 5 shotof Oscar nomineeImelda StauntonasQueen ElizabethII. TheHarry Potteractress has also been spotted twice on set in Scotland, filming withtwo menand Claudia Harrison, who takes the reins asPrincess Anne.
The new season will also see these additions: Jonathan Pryce asPrince Philip, Lesley Manville asPrincess Margaret, andJohnny Lee Milleras John Major, whose 1990–97 tenure as Prime Minister sheds light on which years the show will cover.
Has Netflix shared official images fromThe Crownseason 5?
Keith Bernstein/Netflix
On Oct. 14, Netflix releasedseven first-look images fromThe Crownseason 5. The shots are taken from separate scenes, teasing the intrigue to come.
One image shows Debicki as a downcast Princess Diana, wearing a halter dress similar to the one the Princess of Wales wore at aVanity Fairfundraising gala in 1995, while another shows Olivia Williams and West looking up at the night sky as they play the futureQueen CamillaandKing Charles.
Is there a trailer forThe Crownseason 5?
Opening with scenes of the devastating 1992 fire at Windsor Castle, the trailer features a voiceover fromQueen Elizabethsumming up a year that also saw the separations of Princess Diana andPrince Charlesand Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson — a year the Queen later famously called her “annus horribilis” (Latin for “horrible year”).
It also includes Princess Diana’s pain as she prepares totalk to BBC Panoramaabout life inside the palace. “I won’t go quietly,” she says. “I’ll battle to the end.”
WillThe Crownseason 5 be the last season?
Though season 5 was initially intended to be the show’s last, producerschanged their mindsand, to fans' great relief, promised that the historical drama will continue to rule Netflix queues fora final, sixth season.
“As we started to discuss the storylines for Series 5, 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,” creator Peter Morgan said in July 2020. “To be clear, Series 6 will not bring us any closer to present-day — it will simply enable us to cover the same period in greater detail.”
The plot will reportedly cover the late ’90s and early 2000s with a focus on a youngPrince WilliamandPrince Harry. Furthermore, it’s speculated that the show will portrayKate Middletonin a minor role, depicting the beginning of her romance with William during their time together at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
When doesThe Crownseason 5 premiere?
The fifth season ofThe Crownwill bereleased on Nov. 9. Seasons 1 through 4 ofThe Crownare now streaming on Netflix.
source: people.com
