Photo: Keith Bernstein
Big news if you’re a fan of The Crown on Netflix. The streamer, which previously announced that the final season will premiere on Thursday, November 16, with four episodes, followed by the remaining six episodes on Thursday, December 14, has just released the official trailer for part one. The sixth and final season will cover the events in the royal family from 1997 (when Princess Diana died) through 2005 (when Prince Charles and Camilla wed), but part one is entirely set in 1997.
Netflix has also revealed new details of those first four episodes, noting that they “depict a relationship blossoming between Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed before a fateful car journey has devastating consequences.”
“As yacht life and the constant media scrutiny loses its appeal, Diana longs to return to see her boys, who are back in Balmoral. A diversion to Paris sees matters come to a head—against the backdrop of an intensified and aggressive media pursuit.
“After the news breaks of Diana and Dodi’s fatal car accident, a vast outpouring of public grief catches the queen off-guard. With shockwaves resonating through the Palace, Al Fayed is also processing the loss of his cherished son. Hoping that the news will bring him and the royal family together in shared grief, he instead finds himself increasingly shunned.”
In the official trailer, a contemplative Diana vacations with rumored love interest Dodi Fayed. It’s a high-stakes, emotional roller coaster that follows the former Princess of Wales in her final days, culminating in the devastating aftermath for her boys, the country, and the entire world.
Without further ado, take a look:
We’ll have more in the weeks to come with the executive producers and more, including our upcoming review of the new season here.
Previous post: Elizabeth Debicki will reprise her role as Princess Diana alongside Dominic West as Prince Charles. Imelda Staunton continues her reign as Queen Elizabeth II alongside Jonathan Pryce (Prince Philip) and Lesley Manville (Princess Margaret). Also returning are Salim Daw (Mohamed al Fayed) and Khalid Abdalla (Dodi Fayed). Making their debuts are Rufus Kampa (Prince William) and Fflyn Edwards (Prince Harry).
The first four episodes (part one, coming November 16) depict a relationship blossoming between Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed before a fateful car ride has devastating consequences. Netflix has also released the key art, of a solo Diana in her famous Tiffany blue swimsuit, which would be her final vacation before her tragic death.
In the final six episodes (part two, coming December 14), Prince William tries to integrate back into life at Eton in the wake of his mother’s death as the monarchy has to ride the wave of public opinion. As she reaches her Golden Jubilee, the queen reflects on the future of the monarchy with the marriage of Charles and Camilla and the beginnings of a new royal fairy tale in William and Kate.
For part two, Ed McVey and Luther Ford will play Prince William and Prince Harry, along with Meg Bellamy as Kate Middleton. These will be debut roles for all three actors.
Photo: Netflix
Netflix has also released the teaser trailer for the final season. While it doesn’t give away too much, it’s quite chilling. Take a look:
And now we have new images to go along with the first look trailer. These eight images, which are from season six, part one, depict Princess Diana’s final days, as she vacations with Dodi on his father’s yacht and then travels with him to Paris before the fatal car crash. We also see Diana with William and Harry on vacation, and then Prince Charles with the boys, most likely during their time with him in Scotland the last week of August 1997 right before they received the unfathomable news of Diana’s death. Take a look.
Photo: Netflix
Khalid Abdalla, who plays Dodi Fayed, told Netflix’s Tudum in April that “it’s been the honor of my life to play Dodi.”
Photo: Netflix
Rufus Kampa (Prince William) and Fflyn Edwards (Prince Harry) with Elizabeth Debicki (Princess Diana).
Photo: Netflix/Daniel Escale
The Crown will show Princess Diana’s final vacation, where she was photographed relentlessly while trying to enjoy her newfound romance with Dodi.
Photo: Netflix
Salim Daw, who plays Mohamed Al Fayed, told Netflix’s Tudum in April that he loves the character of Dodi’s father so much because “he is so human and he’s so colorful. He’s hard sometimes, very hard, funny, like a child—with his son he’s sometimes very, very hard, but he has plenty of love for his son and the audience will see that.”
Photo: Netflix/Justin Downing
Imelda Staunton told Tudum that she’s “been living with [Queen Elizabeth II] for a long time, so if anything, I felt more comfortable this time [in season six]. I love her stillness and her ability not to be thrown by everything…gone on around her.”
Photo: Netflix
While Netflix didn’t indicate which scene this is from in season six, it’s most likely of Princess Diana’s final hours as she was leaving The Ritz in Paris and about to get into the Mercedes with Dodi.
Photo: Netflix/Daniel Escale
Debicki told Tudum that “it’s a really unique challenge as an actor, to portray those [final] days. I really just trusted in [creator/writer] Peter [Morgan]’s emotional blueprint that he created for us to follow. It’s his interpretation and I think it made emotional sense to me, so I clung to that. Because, obviously, it’s devastating and it’s fraught and we can never know.”
Photo: Netflix/Keith Bernstein
Dominic West told Tudum that “I think [Prince Charles has] got real sadness to him and real compassion and what’s great about The Crownis that you see these public figures in private. I suspect in private he’s quite emotional…that’s the way I played him anyway…I talked to a lot of people who have met him…[and] almost everyone has extremely warm, kind things to say about him.”
Original post: The final season of The Crown will take the series from the late ’90s to the early 2000s, encompassing the tragic death of Princess Diana in 1997. Here’s what we know about The Crown season six so far, including the first look at the actors portraying Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Who will play Prince William, Prince Harry, and Kate Middleton in The Crown season 6?
On September 2, 2022, Deadline broke the news that, following an exhaustive casting process, The Crown had cast the roles of Prince William and Kate Middleton for season six. Two actors will play the former as he matures from a teenager to a young university student: Rufus Kampa will embody him at 15 as he struggles to cope with the death of his mother, Diana, and Ed McVey will depict his years as a young adult, when he courted the future Duchess of Cambridge after meeting her at St. Andrews in 2001. Meanwhile, newcomer Meg Bellamy will play Middleton. The series will mark the screen debuts of all three actors. On March 17, the first images surfaced from the set showing both McVey and Bellamy in action.
Photo: Getty/Jeff J Mitchell
Who will play Princess Diana and Prince Charles in season 6 of The Crown?
Elizabeth Debicki will reprise her role as Diana, Princess of Wales, in season six, having taken over from Emma Corrin in season five. So, too, will Dominic West, who succeeded Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles in the latest installment.
Photo: Jeff Spicer
Who else will star in The Crown season 6?
Imelda Staunton’s Queen Elizabeth II, Lesley Manville’s Princess Margaret, and Jonathan Pryce’s Prince Philip will also return, alongside Olivia Williams’s Camilla Parker Bowles, Khalid Abdalla’s Dodi Fayed, Salim Daw’s Mohamed Al-Fayed, and Bertie Carvel and Lydia Leonard’s Tony and Cherie Blair.
What years will season 6 of The Crown cover?
The Crown’s fifth season ended in 1997, as Princess Diana was invited to holiday in St.-Tropez with Mohamed Al-Fayed (she would perish later that year, in August). Season six should pick up where it left off and stretch to at least 2001, if not later.
Will The Crown season 6 cover the death of Princess Diana?
Yes. On October 12, Deadline reported that the cast and crew of The Crown were gearing up to film scenes that showed the run-up to Princess Diana’s death, alongside her boyfriend Dodi Fayed, in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997. The show’s creator, Peter Morgan, has made it clear that the crash itself will not be shown onscreen. Instead, we’re likely to see “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,” according to a source on the production. “We’ve been dreading getting to this point,” they added of the shoot. “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.” Also set to be depicted? Prince Charles arriving on a royal flight to bring Diana’s body home to London, and Mohamed al-Fayed experiencing casual racism from the French authorities when taking possession of his son’s casket.
On November 1, 2022, more photos emerged from the set, this time showing Debicki in an animal-print swimsuit that is an almost exact replica of one Princess Diana wore while holidaying with Dodi Fayed in the Mediterranean just weeks before her death. It suggests that Diana’s whirlwind final summer will also be a particular focus of season six.
Originally published on Vogue.co.uk and Glamourmagazine.co.uk.
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