Everything you need to know about season three of The Crown

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26th Jun 2019

With all 10 episodes of season two of binge-worthy Netflix series, The Crown, now available to stream on the platform – fans can’t help but begin busying themselves with the details of the highly anticipated third season. 

Showrunner Peter Morgan is yet to confirm the release date, however Deadline is reporting Netflix recently revealed to investors that the third season would premiere after July 1, 2019.

In the interim, we’ve done the hard work for you and gathered all the information you need to know on the upcoming season, retracing history and piecing together the puzzle.

It will take place in a new time period
While season one of The Crown began in 1947 with Queen Elizabeth II’s engagement to Prince Philip, season two picked up following the Second World War in 1953, closing with the birth of Prince Edward in 1964.

With each season spanning roughly a decade, it is assumed the third instalment will carry on from 1964 and chronicle the economic decline of the Wilson era – when Harold Wilson was Prime Minister – concluding some time during the mid to late ’70s.

Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos confirmed last year the hope is that The Crown will span six decades, running for six seasons, and we will eventually catch up to the present day, covering the Queen’s entire life so far.

There will be a new cast
As a result of the time amassed over the course of the first two seasons, the current cast of The Crown are set to be replaced by a more senior ensemble.

Olivia Colman will replace Claire Foy – the actress awarded a Golden Globe and an Emmy nomination for her role as Queen Elizabeth II – in the next two seasons of the hit series, playing the monarch from 1964, at 37 years of age. Netflix gave fans their first look at Colman in her new role on July 16, taking to Twitter to share an image of the actress as the Queen captioned, “Patience.”

“It’s over, I’m done,” Foy previously confirmed on The Graham Norton Show. “I always knew it was only going to be two series and then the part would be reincarnated and someone else takes over. That’s the nature of the part.” 

In October 2018, we received a first look at Colman in action, as well as confirmation filming is well and truly underway, thanks to some shots taken of the crew on-site shooting for an episode of season three. The Daily Mail captured Colman on location in Wales as Queen Elizabeth II and she looks almost identical to the then 40-year-old Monarch. In the images, Colman is recreating the moment The Queen attended the funeral for 144 victims of the  1966 landslide disaster in Aberfan. See the first real-life pictures of Colman as The Queen here.

As for Prince Philip, actor Matt Smith’s replacement has been revealed, with Tobias Menzies of Outlander and Game of Thrones set to assume the role. The news comes after Hollywood Reporter stated that sources said Paul Bettany was nearing a deal to play the Prince, before confirming earlier this year that the deal had fallen through due to scheduling conflicts.

Netflix has released a first look at Menzies as the Prince, sharing the below photo to Twitter with the simple caption of “Ambition”. 

Helena Bonham Carter is set to replace Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret come season three. The news made headlines when Kirby took to Twitter with an image embracing the Harry Potter actress captioned “Honored @thecrownnetflix,” before the streaming service gave fans their first look at Carter as Princess Margaret on July 18, 2018.

News that Ben Daniels, of The Exorcist and Law and Order: UK, will be taking over the role of Antony Armstrong-Jones, better known as Lord Snowdon, from Matthew Goode broke in June, after which Netflix shared a first look at the actor in his role in July. Deadline reported that Daniels confirmed, “After being glued to the first two seasons of The Crown I am beyond thrilled to be joining the cast of this incredible piece of television. Snowdon was such a dynamic and complex man, I’m really looking forward to playing him.”

And while we await the highly-anticipated news of who will take over the role of the Queen Mother, previously assumed by Victoria Hamilton, the latest actor to be cast in the upcoming season is Call the Midwife’s Erin Doherty, who will take on the role of Princess Anne.

It has been revealed Josh O’Connor will play Prince Charles, telling The Hollywood Reporter he’s thrilled to be joining the cast and that he definitely has the right ears for the job.

“I am thrilled to be joining The Firm for the next installment of . Seasons three and four will follow some of the most turbulent events in the Prince of Wales’s life and our national story, and I’m excited to be bringing to life the man in the midst of it all. I’m very aware it’s a formidably talented family to be joining but reliably informed I have the ears for the part and will fit right in,” he said.

O’Connor is best known for his work in God’s Own Country, which he won a British Independent Film Award for Best Actor in 2017, and will no doubt become a household name after his two allocated series on The Crown.

The third season of the series is set to explore Prince Charles’s growing up and will introduce Princess Diana. However, she isn’t set to star heavily until the fourth and fifth seasons.

In October 2018, Netflix announced they had cast Emerald Fennell as Camilla Shand (Camilla Parker Bowles) for season three. Fennell is a British actor and author best known for her role as Nurse Patsy Mount in the BBC (UK version) of Call the Midwife. 

While Netflix is yet to comment on the news, it has been reported that Gillian Anderson, who just so happens to be dating The Crown creator Peter Morgan, will play the role of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. However, according to Deadline, the prime minister isn’t set to make an appearance in the series until season four, meaning we won’t be seeing Anderson assume the role for quite some time. 

We will get to meet Queen Elizabeth II’s children
Set to pick up where season two left off – with the birth of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex – season three is said to feature far more of a storyline for the Monarch’s children, particularly Prince Charles and presumably the wedding of Princess Anne in 1973.

Camilla Parker Bowles will debut
Camilla Parker Bowles – Prince Charles’s former flame and current wife – is said to make her debut in the upcoming season, where we are set to watch her relationship with the Prince unfold following their introduction at a polo match in 1970.

As history has dictated, the two dated before Prince Charles left to serve in the Royal Navy and we can safely assume that the storyline will follow his dismay as she marries Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973, following his departure.

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What about Princess Diana?
Producers confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the late Princess Diana will be “introduced toward the end of the third season, and will be featured heavily in the fourth and as-yet-unofficial fifth season.” As such, it seems we’ll meet a young Princess Diana with her character to step into centre stage for the fourth and fifth season.

What of Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon?
While season two chronicles the highs and lows of the relationship and marriage of Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon – formally Antony Armstrong-Jones – season three will surely cover the demise of their union.

“In season three, without giving anything away—it’s on the record, it’s history—we’ll see the breakup of this extraordinary marriage between Margaret and Snowdon,” confirmed The Crown’s history consultant in an interview with Town & Country. “This season, you see how it starts, and what a strange character, a brilliant character Snowdon was.”

Watch this space.