The Crown is speeding ahead into the 1980s this November. The highly anticipated fourth season of the British drama will hit Netflix on Nov. 15. The streaming service announced the news alongside a teaser trailer.
The trailer included the first footage from Season 4 of Netflix’s flagship British drama, which will follow Olivia Colman’s Queen Elizabeth II into the next decade of her reign. The new trailer, released on Thursday, also gives the first glimpse of Princess Diana and Prince Charles’s 1981 royal wedding as portrayed on the series.
“Something as important as the monarchy simply cannot be allowed to fail”
Netflix announced the news with a 30-second clip from the new season, in which Colman’s Queen Elizabeth II says. “Something as important as the monarchy simply cannot be allowed to fail.” Colman narrates, over shots of the monarch on horseback and a glimpse of actress Gillian Anderson as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Attention then turns to Princess Diana, played by Emma Corrin, hounded by paparazzi and fans as she enters the royal family. The new season is likely to grapple with Diana’s transition from a private citizen to a public figure. In the final shot from the teaser, Diana can be seen from the back in her iconic wedding gown as she slowly walks towards a door.
Season four will pick up in the late 1970s and follow the Queen and Thatcher’s relationship. As well as the ill-fated romance and marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
The Star-studded cast
Like the previous season, Oscar-winner Olivia Colman will reprise her role as Queen Elizabeth II, Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret. Ben Daniels as the Earl of Snowden, Erin Doherty as Princess Anne, Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles, and Marion Bailey as the Queen Mother.
New cast members include Emma Corrin as Princess Diana and Gillian Anderson, who portrays Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. According to reports, season 4 is likely set to cover the late ’70s and early ’80s.
“We all have a set position on the dynamic between Charles and Diana”
Fans have already caught glimpses of Corrin as Princess Diana from filming, with many of the late royal’s most memorable looks being recreated for the show. The huge responsibility of stepping into the heart of one of history’s most famous romances is also something that isn’t lost on Josh O’Connor, who plays Prince Charles.
“We all have a set position on the dynamic between Charles and Diana,” he told Screen International. “It’s been great to have the ability to either fight against that. Or, at times, acknowledge it and also to challenge any question of, ‘Did he ever love her?'”
“Personally I think he must have done,” he continued. “There’s a wealth of layers and richness to Charles and Diana, and I loved seeking that out.”
“Oh my God, what if Queen Elizabeth II watches the series and sees me?”
Colman, who is set to star as Queen Elizabeth in the fourth (and her second) season, says the experience has been daunting. “There is much more pressure when you’re playing someone who is still living. And you have this fear that they’re watching it and won’t like it,” Colman told in a recent interview. You’re thinking, ‘Oh my God, what if Queen Elizabeth II watches the series and sees me? Perhaps she will think that my interpretation is completely wrong. She’s going to change channels.”
“The Crown,” which garnered a whopping 13 Emmy nominations for its latest outing, wrapped shooting on season 4 in mid-March. Just ahead of the U.K. being placed in lockdown. Produced by Left Bank Pictures and created by Peter Morgan, Season 4 will be Colman’s final turn as Queen. The Crown has followed a rotating cast during its entire run. The show updates cast members every two seasons to illustrate that the royal family, like all of us, are aging.
Season 6 updates
However, fans may want to savor Season 4 as much as they like when it’s released because it will be the final run of new episodes for two years. The show is taking a filming break until next year, meaning Season 5 will not premiere until 2022.
The announcements on Season 4 comes off a series of recent casting announcements for seasons 5 & 6. In the last 10 days alone, “Game of Thrones” alum, Jonathan Pryce was revealed as Prince Philip for the final two installments. While Elizabeth Debicki is set to play Princess Diana.
Alongside Pryce and Debicki, Imelda Staunton will play Queen Elizabeth in the two seasons, with Princess Margaret being played by Lesley Manville.
Back in July, show-runner Peter Morgan confirmed that the massive Netflix series would be coming back for a sixth and final season. This was after news of the show being originally planned to end after season 5. The final seasons of the british drama is set to take the royal family into the early 2000s.
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