Everything You Need To Know About Series 3 Of The Crown
It’s A New Decade
Based on award-winning play The Audience by series showrunner Peter Morgan, The Crown is a lavish, Netflix-original drama chronicling the life of Queen Elizabeth II from the 1940s to modern times. Series one began with an inside look at the early reign of the Queen, who ascended to the throne aged 25 after the death of her father, King George VI. As the decades pass, each series unveils the personal intrigues, romances and political rivalries that played a big role in events that shaped the later years of the 20th century. Series three opens in 1964. It touches on events which shaped the royal family in the 60s and 70s, ending with the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977.
The Cast Is Completely Different
With the exception of John Lithgow, who continues to play Sir Winston Churchill, the third season of The Crown has an entirely different cast from the previous two. Most notably, Olivia Colman has taken over the role of the Queen from Claire Foy, whose portrayal of the monarch’s earlier years won her an Emmy and Golden Globe. Colman is no stranger to winning awards for playing royalty – she was this year’s most decorated actor at the Oscars, Baftas and Golden Globes for her turn as Queen Anne in The Favourite – so her appointment was met with much excitement when it was announced earlier this year. As the Queen approaches her 50s, Colman’s portrayal demonstrates the monarch’s steeliness and acceptance of the constraints of her role. Prince Philip has also been recast, this time being played by the brilliant Tobias Menzies (Game of Thrones, Outlander). Following Matt Smith’s wonderfully brisk performance, he’s got a lot to live up to.
Film royalty Helena Bonham Carter has ditched her trademark mane to play the elegant Princess Margaret, who was previously portrayed by Vanessa Kirby. Having watched the trailer – which sees her reclining in a bath, draped in diamonds – we can’t wait to see what our favourite chain-smoking royal gets up to this series.
We’re most intrigued to see Josh O’Connor play Prince Charles. O’Connor recently starred in The Durrells and Les Misérables, and won a British Independent Film Award in 2017 for God’s Own Country. Given his prominent role in this series, we predict a star-making performance.
It Covers Some Huge Topics
The series will cover plenty of key events throughout the 60s and 70s. Overseas, the decolonisation of Africa and the Caribbean, and the Apollo 11 moon landing, all feature. In the UK, the show will cover the Downing Street tenure of Labour prime minister Harold Wilson (Line of Duty’s Jason Watkins) and the 1966 Aberfan disaster in Wales. We’ll be keeping an eye out for SheerLuxe’s Mystery Rich’s wife in this episode.
Extra-Marital Relationships Are A Focal Point
This series will shine a light on the demise of Princess Margaret’s marriage to Lord Snowdon (played by Ben Daniels of Law & Order and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), as well as the start of her affair with handsome landscape gardener Roddy Llewellyn (Harry Treadaway, brother of fellow actor Luke). The series will also introduce viewers to Camilla Shand – now Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall – as her early romance with Charles becomes central to the plot. Camilla will be played by Call the Midwife actor Emerald Fennell, who was recently showrunner for series two of Killing Eve.
There’s More To Come
Writer Peter Morgan revealed this month he has five more series of The Crown up his sleeve. We’ve already seen series four stills of relative newcomer Emma Corrin as Princess Diana, and The X Files’ Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher, who’ve both got their character’s famous hairstyles down to a T. Series three hasn’t even landed yet, and we already can’t wait to see what’s in store.
The Crown is available to watch in full on Netflix from 17th November. Series one and two are available to stream now.
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