After nearly two years of waiting, the time has almost come for The Crown's fifth season to debut on Netflix. On November 9, new episodes of the historical drama will be streaming for the first time since 2020, allowing fans a peek into what it might have been like to be a member of the royal family during what ended up being both a turbulent and pivotal time in the late Queen Elizabeth's reign.
Thought to encompass the late '80s and early '90s, this season will include a lot of drama involving Princess Diana and the then-Prince Charles, along with a brand new cast who will play the royals now that they're a bit older than when we saw them last.
So far, Netflix hasn't divulged many details about the season ahead, but thanks to what the streaming giant has shared — along with interviews and reports about the show filming that have surfaced along the way — we do know that viewers have a lot to look forward to when The Crown returns. Here's everything we know about season five.
The show will feature a new cast.
Much like how we saw the show change casts earlier in its run — marked by Olivia Colman taking over the role of Queen Elizabeth from Claire Foy — The Crown is due for another big change. This time around, we'll see Imelda Staunton playing an aged-up Elizabeth, with Elizabeth Debicki in the role of Princess Diana, Dominic West as Prince Charles, and Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip.
It's expected to cover a difficult time in the royals' lives.
Though we don't know exactly what will be included in the season just yet, we do know that it will likely chronicle the 1990s, with Princess Diana's death in 1997 being saved for the show's final season. It may also cover what the Queen called her "annus horribilis" in 1992 — a year that included the end of Charles, Princess Anne, and Prince Andrew's marriages, along with a massive fire at Windsor Castle.
It's already shrouded in controversy.
There have been plenty of naysayers when it comes to The Crown for as long as the show has been streaming, but this new season seems to be especially controversial. In fact, there have been rumors that the royal family may sue Netflix over the way they're portrayed in the new episodes — and these kinds of reports have been swirling for a long time.
The season will feature real events that happened in history.
Just as it has in seasons past, The Crown will continue to base its storylines on real events that happen in history — we just can't be exactly sure of which ones those will be until the new episodes arrive. And, as always, it's fair to say that these events will be heavily dramatized, including more intimate moments that may not have actually happened behind closed doors.
Judi Dench is asking for a disclaimer.
In October, less than a month before season five was scheduled to premiere, actress Judi Dench — who received a damehood from Queen Elizabeth in 1988 — published an open letter in The Times, asking Netflix to add a disclaimer to the series.
"Given some of the wounding suggestions apparently contained in the new series — that King Charles plotted for his mother to abdicate, for example, or once suggested his mother's parenting was so deficient that she might have deserved a jail sentence — this is both cruelly unjust to the individuals and damaging to the institution they represent," Judi wrote.
Netflix may actually include a new disclaimer on the series.
Though originally, Netflix released a statement saying that it didn't feel it was necessary, it seems the streaming giant has since changed its tune. Now, a disclaimer appears on The Crown's Netflix page that says, "Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatization tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign."
So far, there's no word if that disclaimer will accompany season five or not.
The cast is rather unimpressed by the backlash.
As promotion for the series ramps up, various cast members have spoken out about the controversy surrounding the upcoming episodes.
"I wouldn't be involved in it if we thought there was any hint of disrespect or anything unjust towards the royal family. It's a thing that's being stirred up by the press," Jonathan Pryce told Entertainment Weekly.
The season will include Diana and Charles' divorce.
And knowing that it came with Charles' confession that he had been unfaithful during his marriage, things could get rather bumpy. But according to what Elizabeth Debicki told Entertainment Weekly, it sounds like she's up to the task.
"I'm so fortunate to have this huge time span of years in which to play the character [of Diana]. It's my hope that people feel that there's an enormous evolution in her as the season progresses," she told the outlet. "For me, it's a journey into a human finding a part of themselves that is profoundly strong — there's a piece that has survived so much and can flourish."
Netflix has already shared some photos from the season.
If you follow Netflix's official Instagram account for The Crown, you already know that the streamer has made a few photos from the show public. They offer a glimpse of the new actors in their new roles, and reveal just how far they're going to make it all look as close to real life as possible.
We will see William and Harry.
Fans can look forward to seeing Prince William and Prince Harry as children in the show — a bit older and, likely, a bigger part of the series than they were in season four as babies. This time around, William will be played by Timothee Sambor, while Teddy Hawley will be playing Harry.
It will include one of Diana's most famous outfits.
During filming, Elizabeth Debicki was pictured in Diana's now-infamous revenge dress. Of course, we're talking about the little black dress she wore to an event in 1994 on the same night that Charles' interview aired — the one where he confessed to cheating with Camilla Parker-Bowles, of course. This will be fun to watch!
We might see flashbacks.
This tidbit of intel hasn't been confirmed by the series' producers, but according to what a Netflix insider told The Sun, Emma Corrin was such a hit with fans in the role of a young Princess Diana that the series may bend the rules about their cast a bit to give her more screentime.
"Although Elizabeth will take over the role, they're looking at ways that her predecessor can appear, albeit in flashbacks to her younger years," the source said.
The first trailer is already out.
In October, Netflix debuted the first full trailer for season five. It might only be two and a half minutes long, but it gives a glimpse of a lot of what fans can expect to see, from Diana seemingly reaching her "breaking point" to her sitting down for her famous Panorama interview with BBC journalist Martin Bashir.
Netflix also shared a taste of what the vibe for this season will be.
Sharing a video on Instagram that was meant to highlight the "essence" of season five, we get to see Imelda Staunton as Elizabeth, reflecting on her reign. The focus here is fully on the Queen, with clips from the upcoming episodes interspersed with clips from Claire Foy and Olivia Colman's turns at the helm of the series.
This isn't the last season.
Though The Crown was originally supposed to end with season five, ultimately, the show runners decided that another season was needed to be able to more fully tell the story they set out to share.
"As we started to discuss the storylines for series five, 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 a statement in 2020. "To be clear, series six will not bring us any closer to present day — it will simply enable us to cover the same period in greater detail."
These will likely be the last new episodes for a while.
There's a good chance that the end of season five will leave fans wanting more, but they shouldn't expect to see the final season available for streaming for a long time, especially given the nearly two-year gap between seasons four and five. Since season six only recently started filming, there will be a long wait ahead — but knowing this show, it will almost certainly be worth it.
