The Crown: what to expect from the final season
It covers one of the most seismic periods of the Royal Family's history
We’ve been glued to our screens since 2016 and now, finally, we’ve reached the last season of The Crown. Kicking off on Netflix on November 16, Season 6 is split into two parts, the second airing on December 14.
It covers 1997 to 2005, one of the most seismic periods of the Royal Family’s history, beginning with that fateful summer of 1997, when Diana lost her life. Kerry took a deep-dive into the period for The Sunday Telegraph – here’s an extract:
The death of Diana: The first episodes will cover the final months of Diana’s life in 1997. The trailer shows Elizabeth Debicki as Diana recreating the iconic image of her sitting on a diving board on Mohamed Al-Fayed’s yacht in Italy and scenes have been released of Diana and Dodi (Khalid Abdalla)’s final car journey in Paris on August 31, before the crash in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel. The accident itself will not be depicted.
The Queen’s seminal speech: The Crown will show Charles, (Dominic West), flying to Paris to bring her body home and having to tell young Princes William and Harry, played by Rufus Kampa and Fflyn Edwards, they’d lost their mother. It will show the Queen coming under pressure from the public and PM Tony Blair, (Bertie Carvel) to return from Balmoral. “What I say to you now, as your Queen and as a grandmother, I say from my heart,” she said. “No-one who knew Diana will ever forget her.”
The funeral: The Crown recreated Diana’s funeral on September 6, 1997, substituting Winchester Cathedral for Westminster Abbey, with crowds lining the streets to pay their respects and watch the sorrowful figures of Earl Spencer (Philip Cumbus), Charles, William, Harry and Prince Philip (Jonathan Pryce), walking behind the coffin.
Prince Edward marries Sophie: Prince Edward has only been a bit-part in The Crown, but on June 19, 1999, he married Sophie Rhys-Jones at Windsor. In real life this marriage has proved one of the most successful in the Royal Family.
The death of Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother: What is featured in depth, is when the Queen lost her sister and mother within weeks. On February 9, 2002, Princess Margaret (Lesley Manville) passed away, aged 71 and seven weeks later, on March 30, the Queen Mother (Marcia Warren) died at Royal Lodge, Windsor, aged 101, with the Queen at her side.
The Queen’s Golden Jubilee: That same year was a celebration, when the Queen marked 50 years on the throne and the nation celebrated.
The slow rehabilitation of Camilla: The second part shows the slow rehabilitation of Camilla, (Olivia Williams). In 1999, she and Charles made their first public appearance together at The Ritz.
Prince William meets Catherine: The final episodes also cover the meeting of William (Ed McVey) and Kate Middleton (Meg Bellamy) at the University of St. Andrews, in 2001. Kate’s sister Pippa also features, played by Matilda Broadbridge. This was filmed at the actual university.
The marriage of Charles and Camilla: The series ends with the wedding of Charles and Camilla, on April 9, 2005. The pair were forced to delay the proceedings by a day, so Charles could attend the Pope’s funeral. They finally tied the knot in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall. The Queen and Prince Philip did not attend, but came to a blessing at St. George’s Chapel.
Charles and Camilla in Kenya
As guests of President Ruto, Their Majesties enjoyed a four-day trip to Kenya - Charles’s first state visit to a Commonwealth nation since becoming King - with a busy schedule in Nairobi and Mombasa.
Rather poetically it is the country in which Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign began. The Princess famously went up a tree and came down the next morning a Queen, during her tour of the then-British colony. Elizabeth and Prince Philip were staying overnight at Treetops Hotel (a game-viewing lodge built in a 300-year-old fig tree) when her father King George VI died during the early hours of 6 February 1952.
Charles made reference to this and the country’s special place in William and Catherine’s love story during his speech at a state banquet on Tuesday. “It was here, in sight of Mount Kenya, that my son, the Prince of Wales, proposed to his wife, now my beloved daughter-in-law.” He continued, saying that both him and Camilla, “both take considerable pride in renewing the ties between the United Kingdom and Kenya, a country that has long held such special meaning for my family.”
In the run up to the trip, there were demands the King apologise for the British-led brutal oppression of the Mau Mau rebellion in the 1950s. Charles broached this topic by addressing the “abhorrent” acts of violence. “The wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret,” he said during Tuesday’s speech. “There were abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans as they waged… a painful struggle for independence and sovereignty - and for that, there can be no excuse.”
Kate and Wills get on their bikes
The Prince and Princess of Wales turned BMX Bandits this week, when they showed off their bike skills on a visit to Scotland. They took a short BMX circuit at the Outfit Moray charity in Burghead, on Thursday, to highlight the work of rural charities helping young people. Catherine sported a plaid Burberry jacket (£990), black jeans and £198 Chelsea boots from Reiss. Burberry holds a royal warrant from the late Queen and Charles.
Meanwhile, Prince William swaps his bicycle for a plane and flies off to Singapore for the Earthshot Prize, with its ceremony on Tuesday.
Fergie’s a Loose Woman for a great cause
The Duchess of York was a hit with the viewers when she appeared on ITV’s Loose Women, one of the UK’s biggest daytime TV shows.
She joined the panel to support the show’s new breast cancer campaign, Don’t Skip Your Screening. Obviously, an issue close to Fergie’s heart after being diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer at a routine mammogram this May. A screening she would have skipped herself. It was only at her sister Jane’s insistence that she attended the life-saving health check and later underwent a single mastectomy.
“My cancer was completely symptom-free and I had no idea I was ill - no lump or any other symptoms,” Sarah posted on social media, after the show. “I was tempted to put off my routine mammogram screening but my sister talked me into going.”
The campaign, supported by NHS England and Breast Cancer Now, states there are currently 1.2 million missed mammogram appointments in the UK.
Happy 20th birthday, Lady Louise!
The eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh celebrates hitting her third decade this Wednesday. The late Queen’s youngest granddaughter is a skilled carriage driver (inheriting Prince Philip’s ponies and carriage) and currently in her second year at St Andrews studying English. Have a great day, Lady Louise!