Everything We Know About The Crown Season 3

Oscar-winner Olivia Colman takes over for Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown’s third season, which covers history from 1964 through 1976. With Outlander’s Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip and Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret, season 3 will dramatize events like the moon landing, the Queen’s 1972 visit to France, and the devolution of Margaret’s marriage to Antony Armstrong-Jones.

Directed by: Ben Caron
Written by: Peter Morgan
Starring: Olivia Colman, Tobias Menzies, Helena Bonham Carter

TV Facts

• Though Princess Diana won’t appear in season three (she didn’t meet Prince Charles until 1977), we will get to see Camilla Parker Bowles, played by Call the Midwife’s Emerald Fennell.
• MCU star Paul Bettany was almost cast as Prince Philip, but had to drop out because of scheduling conflicts.
• Josh O’Connor, known for his work in God’s Own Country (2017) and the television series The Durrells in Corfu, will portray Prince Charles.
• This isn’t the first time Olivia Colman goes royal—or even the second time. In addition to her Oscar-winning performance as Queen Anne in 2018’s The Favourite, she also played Queen Elizabeth II’s mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, in 2012’s Hyde Park on Hudson.
• According to Tobias Menzies, Philip and Elizabeth’s contentious marriage has calmed down in season 3, but that doesn’t mean Philip has fully settled into his station. The moon landing serves as the impetus for “various midlife crisis questions” like “‘What have I done with my life?’” Menzies said in an interview.
• Season 3 will tackle the 1966 Aberfan disaster, in which mining waste rock collapsed on a Welsh school, killing almost 150 children and adults. Producers consulted with survivors and other town residents to discuss how best to depict the incident.

Netflix will release season three of The Crown on November 17.