Just this morning, Netflix released a new trailer for its critically acclaimed show, The Crown. As it lets in viewers a more detailed description on its third and newest season which debuts on November 17th. The trailer for the new series (below) suggests that this season is set to take place during the late 1960s to early 1970s and that the events that take place in this upcoming season happen approximately 25 years following seasons one and two.
The biggest theme this season seems to be the idea of change. The cast has fit into this paradigm themselves, having changed the actors from prior seasons. Olivia Coleman replaces Claire Foy as an older Queen Elizabeth II, Helen Bonham Gardner as an older Princess Margaret, and Tobias Menzies as Prince Phillip. Other new faces are to appear to this year’s roster include those like Ben Daniels as Lord Snowdon, Jason Watkins as Prime Minister Harold Wilson, and Charles Dance as Lord Mountbatten.
In the trailer, Queen Elizabeth II is beginning to question her contributions to the throne as the overall fate of England which was once known as the English Empire has now begun to crumble. With the country struggling financially and morally as English society’s norms and values begin to change with the times including “Cold War paranoia… [the pressures of] the space age…[and] a new, more liberated and more turbulent world” (Variety Media). Likewise, this season is also focusing more on the relationships within the family. For example, Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth had on-going issues and how they might have evolved and provoked new ones that might be played our over the course of the new season and into family drama.
Also on display are the relationships surrounding Prince Charles (played by Josh O’Connor) and his family concerning the pressure that comes with the duty of being the heir to the throne of England. Adding on to this is also the possibility of having a romantic relationship. A tease of a woman seen in the trailer is likely to be Camila, The Duchess of Cornwall, who on the cast list on IMDB is being played by Emerald Fennell. According to an Insider article, that was taking a look back at some of the royal family’s history, detailed that Prince Charles and Camila Parker Bowles meet during the early part of the 1970s, around the timeframe that this season will take place.
The Crown has been renewed for a fourth season and will begin shooting during 2020 year in August.