You can’t escape from Brexit anywhere these days. Fans of The Crown might have thought that season 3 of the story of the House of Windsor under Elizabeth II would be a safe haven from Euro talk, but they’re in for a shock. The third instalment will include the moment that The Queen watched the UK enter the Common Market.
That political milestone is just one of the major historical events which will feature in the new series, set to hit Netflix sometime early next year. This third season will cover the late Sixties and early Seventies, an era which saw Harold Wilson serve two terms as Prime Minister as well as a miners’ strike and dissenting voices against the power and wealth of the Monarchy.
But The Crown has built its reputation on its telling of life behind palace doors and this time around that includes the death of the Duke of Windsor, the breakdown of Princess Margaret’s marriage to Lord Snowdon and the growing public role of The Queen’s eldest children, Anne and Charles. The heir to the throne’s investiture as Prince of Wales is also covered as is his romance with Camilla Parker Bowles.
We already know that this series will feature a brand new cast. Camilla is played by Emerald Fennell, well known to audiences for her role in Call The Midwife. Her colleague from that BBC One smash, Erin Doherty, portrays Princess Anne in the new season while the role of Charles is taken on by Josh O’Connor.
Oscar-nominated star, Helena Bonham Carter, will play Princess Margaret opposite Ben Daniels as Lord Snowdon. Meanwhile, Matt Smith is replaced by Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip while Claire Foy makes way for Olivia Colman who takes up the role of The Queen in season three.
Speaking about her new part to Vanity Fair magazine, Olivia Colman revealed that a lot of preparation has gone into transforming her into The Queen, telling the magazine that ‘’my Dropbox couldn’t cope with the amounts of stuff their research department sent’’. And she revealed that the sisterly relationship between Elizabeth and Margaret is integral to the new series, both in front of and behind the cameras with Helena Bonham Carter helping her to perfect her French for the scenes where The Queen oversees the beginning of the UK’s integration into Europe.
The Crown was created for Netflix by Peter Morgan and began in 2016 when season 1 focused on the Queen’s accession and early years as monarch. It is set to run for six series in total and bring the story of the House of Windsor up to the present day. Although no actual release date has been confirmed for season three, it is expected to premiere in the early part of 2019.
