The sixth and final season of “The Crown” is upon us, at last.
Netflix’s scripted drama series looking back on the British royals’ modern history has won 21 Emmys since its release in 2016, and viewers so far have seen retellings of love stories, scandals, inner family dynamics and much more.
Season Six, Part 1, debuted Nov. 16 and brings us into the ‘90s and early 2000s, most notably to the death of Princess Diana in 1997. The second bath of episodes arrive on Dec. 14.
The trailer for the final episodes show Ed McVey as a teenage Prince William, surrounded by cameras and screaming young women, before laying eyes on his future wife at a college fashion show. Queen Elizabeth II also grapples with learning the public finds the royal family "out of touch." As she reflects on her role, the trailer echoes back to earlier seasons, where actors played younger versions of the royals.
Season Five of the series was released in November 2022 after production took a short break following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8, 2022.
Photos of the actors filming overseas circulated while Season Six was filming, with actor Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Diana, wearing replicas of clothes that the late royal wore in her last year. For example, Debicki was photographed wearing a red dress that Diana wore during a visit to Northwick Park & St. Mark’s Hospital in July 1997.
Debicki told TODAY.com in an interview that she felt deeply connected to Diana throughout the filming process, so much so that she found it difficult to leave behind the physical aspect of bringing her to life.
“I’m realizing now that perhaps it’s not until the (show) is out in the world that you really let go,” she said. “Maybe that processing hasn’t really even happened yet. I don’t know.”
Here is everything we know about Season Six of “The Crown.”
What is the Season 6 release schedule?
Netflix announced in early October that Season Six will be released in two parts — the first on Nov. 16 and the second about a month later on Dec. 14.
What time period in the royal family's history will Season 6 cover?
While Season Five reviewed the royals in the early and mid 1990s, Season Six takes viewers into the late '90s and early 2000s.
Some notable storylines — which is detailed more below — will include Princess Diana's tragic death, the budding love story of Kate Middleton and Prince William, and the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, now Queen Camilla.
Other events that happened in the early 2000s include Princess Margaret’s February 2002 death, as well as the Queen Mother’s death in March 2002.
The season will likely touch on the queen’s relationship with Tony Blair, who served as Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007.
Season 6 includes Diana's death
Writer and creator Peter Morgan confirmed, before the premiere, that Season Six would touch on Diana’s fatal car crash.
Elizabeth Debicki, who portrays Diana, told TODAY.com in an interview that she credits her acting partner, Khalid Abdalla, who plays Diana’s rumored boyfriend Dodi Fayed, for his support during the scene.
“I had an amazing scene partner,” Debicki said. “To have Khalid, he’s such a beautiful human and he plays Dodi with so much kindness and compassion. So I never ever felt like I was doing it alone.”
Prepare to see Will and Kate's love story, too
Entertainment Weekly confirmed that Season Six will show Prince William’s time at St. Andrew’s University, during which he met his future wife, the former Kate Middleton.
First look photos of Meg Bellamy, as Kate, and McVey as Prince William show them on campus.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Crown’ Season 6? The queen will return
New and old faces will be seen in the sixth season of “The Crown.”
Reprising their roles from Season Five, Staunton will continue her reign as Queen Elizabeth, as will Debicki as Princess Diana, and Dominic West as Prince Charles.
Season Six newcomers include Rufus Kampa as a younger version of Prince William, while Ed McVey takes on the role of Prince William as an older teen. Meg Bellamy will make her professional acting debut as the former Kate Middleton.
Fflyn Edwards is young Prince Harry; Luther Ford is the older version.
See below on the actors and their characters that will likely be reprising their roles in the sixth and final season of "The Crown."
- Jonathan Pryce as Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
- Lesley Manville as Elizabeth’s younger sister, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
- Jonny Lee Miller as John Major, Prime Minister
- Marcia Warren as Elizabeth II’s mother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
- Olivia Williams as Camilla Parker Bowles, now queen consort
- Claudia Harrison as Princess Anne, Elizabeth and Philip’s second child and only daughter
- James Murray as Prince Andrew, Elizabeth and Philip’s third child
- Emma Laird Craig as Sarah, Duchess of York, Andrew’s ex-wife
- Sam Woolf as Prince Edward, Elizabeth and Philip’s youngest child
Is there a Season 7 of ‘The Crown’?
Unfortunately, it appears as though the sixth season will be the last.
The show was originally slated for six seasons, but creator Morgan told The Hollywood Reporter "The Crown" would end after five seasons in January 2020.
Plans were amended yet again in July 2020, when Morgan said it would take six seasons to finish "The Crown" after all.
“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,” Morgan said, per Netflix's tweet.
Cindy Holland, vice president of original content at Netflix also said in a statement given to Deadline, “’The Crown’ keeps raising the bar with each new season ... We’re proud to support Peter’s vision and the phenomenal cast and crew for a sixth and final season.”