Overview
Start practising your royal wave: it's time to bid farewell to The Crown. Netflix's hit regal drama is wrapping up with its upcoming sixth season, which now has both a release date and a first teaser trailer. If you're wondering when to get watching, you have two dates to put in your calendar.
The Crown's final season is being split into two parts, with both arriving before 2023 is out. The first four episodes will stream from Tuesday, November 16, and then the second from Saturday, December 16.
As well as saying goodbye to the series overall, viewers will also be moving on from The Crown's time in the 20th century in this sixth and final season. Although the just-dropped initial sneak peek is all about the past, permanence and legacy — Claire Foy (Women Talking) and Olivia Colman's (Heartstopper) versions of Queen Elizabeth II both feature, in fact — the hit show will embrace the 21st century in its latest run.
Accordingly, The Crown will cover the early days of Prince William and Kate Middleton's relationship, and focus on the man currently second in line to the throne after Queen Elizabeth II's passing in 2022. Screen debutant Ed McVey takes on the role of Prince William, while newcomer Meg Bellamy is slipping into Middleton's shoes. The show's sixth season will follow the IRL pair's first meeting at university in St Andrew's, starting the story that's played out in plenty of headlines and a ridiculous amount of worldwide media coverage since 2001.
While everything that's popped up in the series draws its details from history — dramatised history, of course, but still history — this next instalment is bound to feel even more familiar. Getting closer to our current time will do that.
When The Crown began, it kicked off with Queen Elizabeth II's life from her marriage to Prince Philip back in 1947. The first season made its way to the mid-50s, the second season leapt into the 60s, and season three spanned all the way up to the late 70s. In season four, the royal family hit the 80s, while season five covered the 90s.
Just like in season five, Downton Abbey, Maleficent and Paddington star Imelda Staunton dons the titular headwear in season six, while Game of Thrones and Tales from the Loop's Jonathan Pryce wears Prince Philip's shoes — and Princess Margaret is played by Staunton's Maleficent co-star and Phantom Thread Oscar-nominee Lesley Manville. Also, Australian Tenet, The Burnt Orange Heresy and Widows star Elizabeth Debicki returns as Princess Diana, with The Wire and The Pursuit of Love's Dominic West as Prince Charles.
News around the show's fifth and sixth seasons has changed a few times over the past few years. At the beginning of 2020, Netflix announced that it would end the royal drama after its fifth season. Then, the streaming platform had a change of heart, revealing it would continue the series for a sixth season after all.
Check out the first teaser trailer for The Crown season six below:
The Crown's sixth season will hit Netflix in two parts, with the first four episodes streaming from Tuesday, November 16, and then the second from Saturday, December 16.
Images: Alex Bailey / Keith Bernstein / Netflix.