What to expect in Season 6 of The Crown

 

The Crown debuted on Netflix in November of 2016.  Its first season, consisting of ten episodes, focused on the early days of the marriage of Princess Elizabeth (played by Claire Foy) and Philip Mountbatten (played by Matt Smith).  Four other ten-episode seasons followed, chronicling the saga of the British royal family, 

I recently finished watching the first five seasons of The Crown, which means that I have viewed a total of 50 episodes.  However, there will be an additional ten-episode season in this royal soap opera.  Netflix has announced that the sixth and final season of The Crown will be released in two parts.  The first part is comprised of four episodes and will be available on November 16, 2023, while the second part, comprised of six episodes, will be available on December 14th.  Part one will be mainly about Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed.  Part two will focus on Prince William, Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee, and Charles and Camilla.  

Of course, the sixth season of The Crown will deal with the shocking death of Princess Diana and its aftermath in 1997.  Elizabeth Debicki will return as Princess Diana, and Dominic West will continue in his role as Prince Charles.  In September, Netflix hinted that the final season will depict the 2005 wedding of Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles.

In April, photos from the show's last season were released featuring Ed McVey as Prince William and Meg Bellamy as  Kate Middleton when they met as students at the University of St. Andrews  in Scotland in the early 2000s.

It is understandable that the royal family would be deeply offended by some of the scenes in The  Crown.  I was not particularly pleased to learn that the ghost of Princess Diana will appear in the sixth season.  It bothers me and I don't think it's necessary.

The Crown is not a documentary and it can't be expected to be historically accurate.  In fact, it is laden with historical inaccuracies.  I had to remind myself that the conversations are scripted.  Most of the events actually happened, but not without some embellishment for dramatic effect.

Nevertheless, Andrew Morton, the journalist who wrote the 1972 bestselling book Diana: Her True Story, based on audio recordings provided by the Princess of Wales, was left "shaken" about watching the portrayal of his association with Diana on The Crown.  In an interview with Good Morning America, he commented on Season 5, where Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) is seen recording answers to his interview questions at her home in Kensington Palace.  "When you see Diana talking," he said, "you're really seeing what happened, and she's using many of the words which she sent me through tape recordings."

The sixth season of The Crown covers the years 1997 to 2005.  Therefore, it will not depict the wedding of Prince William and to Kate Middleton in 2011, nor the births of their three children.  Nor will it touch upon Prince Harry's marriage to Meghan Markle, their move to California, their Oprah interview and Harry's book.  There could be a seventh season focusing on Harry and Meghan's exploits and how they affected the rest of the royal family.  However, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would likely sue Netflix for enormous amounts of money.

- Joanne