The Crown kicked things up a notch in its fourth season, with new cast members Gillian Anderson and Emma Corrin breathing life into the show. They played Margaret Thatcher and Diana Spencer respectively, with the run considered the show’s best yet, winning critical praise, a bunch of awards, and seeing record viewing figures. Now, Netflix has unveiled a first look at the upcoming fifth season during TUDUM, and it looks set to continue the hot streak.
This will cover some of the most dramatic years in the Queen’s reign. For the Royal Family, this period saw sex scandals, divorce, a huge fire at Windsor Castle, tabloid journalists digging into every aspect of their lives, and the death of Princess Diana in Paris.
Though the tragedy has already been covered by The Crown creator Peter Morgan in 2006 movie The Queen, there’s no way you can tell the story of the Royal Family in the 1990s without Diana’s death as the key event that changed everything.
Beyond that is a lot of political and cultural turmoil. The decade began with Margaret Thatcher being booted out of number 10 and replaced by John Major — otherwise known as the Grey Man. We’ll see him being badgered by a young Tony Blair as “Cool Britannia” begins to take form.
We’re also getting our second entirely refreshed cast. As of the fifth season, Imelda Staunton is Queen Elizabeth, Lesley Manville takes over as Princess Margaret, Jonathan Pryce will play Prince Philip, Dominic West is Prince Charles and Elizabeth Debicki is Princess Diana. We’ll also see new characters, with Jonny Lee Miller and Flora Montgomery as John Major and his wife Norma, with Andrew Scott rumored for Tony Blair.
The shoot began in July so it’s very early days yet, with The Crown‘s fifth and penultimate season due to air in late 2022.
