We’ve been patiently waiting for the return of Netflix hit The Crown for quite some time now. The highly anticipated third season was initially expected by fans back in November 2018, as this was around the same time the first two seasons dropped on the streaming service in previous. Then when that didn’t happen, it was rumoured that season three was coming in the early months of 2019.
But now, finally, Netflix has announced the actual release date and it turns out Tobias Mendiez, who plays Prince Philip in the upcoming season, was right when he told BBC Radio London: ‘We shot season three and that starts in November.’
The royal drama will see Olivia Colman succeed Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II in the critically-acclaimed show’s third instalment.
It feels like only yesterday the Broadchurch star was confirmed to be stepping in to portray Her Majesty as the series enters a new time frame. But a year on from the announcement, we can’t wait to see her in action.
While we count down the days, here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming third season of The Crown before it hits our screens.
Who are the cast of The Crown season 3?
Fans will be forced to kiss goodbye to the original cast made up of Claire Foy (as the Queen), Matt Smith (as Prince Phillip) and Vanessa Kirby (as Princess Margaret) as the show introduces a host of new faces to replace them in the third and fourth seasons of The Crown.
Olivia Colman was the first new cast member to be announced. Speaking to Radio Times, the actress said: ‘I got a phone call from my agent when I was in a car [telling her that she had been asked to meet with director Peter Morgan]. I think I had fairly recently finished watching the first series, which I had done in about three nights – and so I was very excited. My agent was trying to be subtle, not knowing who was in the car with me and she went, “It’s something about a tiara”, and I went, “Oh, it’s The Crown!”‘
Hope. pic.twitter.com/BFeE54Ro6C
— The Crown (@TheCrownNetflix) July 18, 2018
Back in January, Netflix then announced that Hollywood star Helena Bonham Carter would replace Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret, while Matt Smith’s replacement was revealed to be Outlander star Tobias Menzies in March.
Netflix has also confirmed the news that Call the Midwife star Emerald Fennell will be playing a young Camilla Parker Bowles. She’ll appear opposite The Durrells star Josh O’Connor, who has been confirmed to play Prince Charles as the two meet in season 3.
Emerald Fennell will play Camilla Shand in The Crown Season Three. pic.twitter.com/vQVnOWzaN9
— The Crown (@TheCrownNetflix) October 23, 2018
Fennell’s fellow Call the Midwife actress Erin Doherty will portray Princess Anne.
What will The Crown season 3 be about?
As fans of The Crown will know, the first and second season covered the early years of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, from 1947-63. However, the upcoming third and fourth seasons will see a shift in time focusing on the years 1964-76 – hence the change in the cast.
Ambition. pic.twitter.com/u2AVWK1u5c
— The Crown (@TheCrownNetflix) August 28, 2018
While the show’s producers have remained very tight-lipped about the plot of season three, it isn’t very hard to assume the basics given that the series chronicles the real life events of the British Monarch.
If the season looks at the years between 1964-1970, history tells us that this is the period when the Queen cultivates her steadiest relationship with soon-to-be Prime Minister Harold Wilson, who served as head of the British government during this time.
Additionally, it should also feature the decolonisation of Africa and the Caribbean, the birth of Prince Edward (March 1964), and Prince Charles’ movement into the public eye following his coronation as the Prince of Wales in 1969.
When is The Crown season 3 coming to Netflix?
After months and months of keeping us all waiting, Netflix has finally confirmed that season three of The Crown will air on 17 November.
