Everything we know so far about series 6 of The Crown – from Diana’s ghost to a young love story and a royal wedding
- Sixth and final instalment of the royal drama will air on Netflix from November 16
- READ MORE: Royals will be ‘dreading’ new series of The Crown after learning it features ghost of Diana, Princess of Wales, experts tell PALACE CONFIDENTIAL
After a controversial run, Netflix’s royal drama The Crown will soon come to an end with its sixth and final series.
The final instalment will air in two parts, with the first launching on November 16, and the second on December 14.
And the last episodes of the series are set to be more contentious than ever, with a furious backlash to the details which have been made public so far.
The Netflix drama was supposed to wrap up with series five, but creator Peter Morgan told Deadline that he decided to revert to his initial vision and run it for six series.
He said: ‘As we started to discuss the storylines for Series 5, 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.
The final series will cover the final days of Diana, Princess of Wales, played by Elizabeth Debicki (pictured) – and will also feature her ghost
‘To be clear, Series 6 will not bring us any closer to present-day; it will simply enable us to cover the same period in greater detail.’
Series five featured a number of shocking moments which caused controversy among viewers.
Some of these moments were fictional – for example, a storyline which saw Charles attempt to force the Queen’s abdication with prime minister John Major’s help.
Sir John, who was prime minister of the UK from 1992-1997, described the abdication storyline in the series as a ‘barrel load of malicious nonsense’.
Another contentious storyline was based on the real-life 1992 fire at Windsor Castle, but added an extra dollop of drama by showing Princess Margaret pointing the finger at Princess Diana for starting the blaze.
One of the boldest insinuations came in episode six of series five: the suggestion that a ‘lonely’ Prince Philip turned to Penny Knatchbull, then known as Penny Romsey, for ‘intellectual companionship’.
In real life too, the closeness between the Duke of Edinburgh and Penny Knatchbull sparked rumours of an affair over their decades-long friendship, however the pair always strenuously denied the accusation.
And the rumours of a romance between the two were somewhat quietened after Penny also developed a close relationship with the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The upcoming series is set to be just as dramatic, with a number of storylines likely to spark debate about the nature of the series. Here, FEMAIL takes a look at all the things we can expect to see in series six of The Crown, both real-life and dramatised…
Prince William and Kate Middleton meeting at St Andrews
Among the storylines in series 6, is Prince William meeting Kate Middleton at Prince Andrews University in Scotland in the early 2000s (pictured L-R: Meg Bellamy playing Kate Middleton and Ed McVey playing Prince William in the final series of The Crown)
Following the tumultuous marriage and divorce of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, in earlier series, the final instalment will see their son Prince William (Rufus Kampa, Ed McVey) meet his wife-to-be Kate Middleton (Meg Bellamy).
In real life, the couple met at St. Andrews university in Scotland, in the early 2000s.
Speaking on The Crown: The Official Podcast in November 2022, creator Peter Morgan said: ‘In Season 6, the arrival of William and Kate and Harry just blows the doors off.’
‘You want to see them. It happened in the read through. You could just see everyone was looking up and looking at each other across the room.
‘And every time William spoke, it was like, “Oh my God, this is just riveting”.’
Prince Harry also features in the final series, first played by Fflyn Edwards in earlier episodes, then Luther Ford towards the end of the season.
Charles and Camilla’s wedding, 2005
It is thought that the new series will feature the wedding of Charles and Camilla, after the production team shared this image online
Earlier this year, team behind the smash hit royal drama shared an insight into the new season.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), they posted an image from the upcoming series alongside a caption.
The caption said: ‘After six seasons, seven years and three casts, [The Crown] comes to an end later this year.
‘We’ll be back with more soon, but here’s a hint at what’s to come in our final season.’
Meanwhile, the image showed what looked like a church pew, upon which an order of service rested.
The document said: ‘Service of prayer and dedication following the marriage of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall. St. George’s Chapel Windsor Castle. Saturday, 9th April, 2005 2.30 p.m.’
The return of some familiar faces
Several cast members, including Dominic West playing Prince Charles (pictured) will return for the final series of the drama
A number of cast members will reprieve their roles in the sixth and final series of the show.
Among them are Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II and Jonathan Pryce as Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Also returning are Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret and Claudia Harrison as Princess Anne. And Khalid Abdalla returns as Dodi Fayed with Salim Daw as Mohamed al Fayed.
Diana, Princess of Wales will be played again by Elizabeth Debicki, with Dominic West reprising his role as Prince Charles.
The ghost of Diana, Princess of Wales
One of the most controversial details to have emerged regarding the final series of The Crown is that the ghost of Diana, Princess of Wales will appear twice: once talking to Prince Charles, and again speaking with the Queen.
Speaking previously about the upcoming series of the royal drama, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline that ‘the idea that they have even contemplated Diana as a ghost seems absolutely weird’, particularly considering the controversial elements already swirling around the show.
Mr Fitzwilliams said: ‘It is going to be a controversial series any ways with what they are already showing – the Panorama documentary, her death and the funeral – and in my opinion it should never have made this final series in the first place.
‘The whole idea that (show creator) Peter Morgan has scripted ghostly appearances by Diana is utterly tasteless.
‘It is pitiful that someone with his skills has reduced what is undoubtedly a tragedy to something that he knows perfectly well will be controversial.
‘The idea that he has scripted a ghostly figure of the mother of Prince William and Harry is obviously tasteless and the whole concept, whatever the ghost says or does, seems utterly bizarre.’
A Netflix source said the appearance of Debicki after Diana’s death was meant to be a ‘visualisations of innermost thoughts’ rather than intended to be interpreted as ‘supernatural’.
Diana’s final days will be shown – but not her death
Upcoming: The series poster shows one striking shot of Princess Diana in a blue bathing suit sat at the end of a jetty
Series 6 is set to start where series 5 ended, according to reports. It will cover the final days of Diana, but not show the moment of impact when it comes to the car crash that killed her.
According to Deadline, an anonymous production source said: ‘We’ve been dreading getting to this point.
‘The countdown is two weeks and while we’re calmly carrying on it’s fair to acknowledge that there’s a certain anxiety; a palpable sense of being slightly on edge. I mean, there’s bombshell sensitivity surrounding this one.’
They added that the programme will show the events before and after the fatal collision.
‘It’s the run-up: the car leaving The Ritz after midnight with paparazzi in pursuit and then the aftermath with the British Ambassador to France swinging into action with the Foreign Office and then the subsequent constitutional aftermath,’ the source said.
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