netflix has unveiled a series of new images from the upcoming fifth season of his hit series “The crown” with an all-new cast.
Stills show a lonely look princess diana (played by Elizabeth Debicki, taking over from Emma Corrin the previous season) in a sparkly gown as she heads into a glamorous engagement party with her shoulders hunched and her head bowed.
Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana in ‘The Crown’ (courtesy of Netflix)
In a separate image, Prince Charles (played by Dominic West, who replaces Josh O’Connor from seasons 3 and 4) and his mistress Camilla Parker Bowles (played by Olivia Williams, who steps in the shoes of Emerald Fennell) beam while huddling together outside as they appear to be watching a fireworks display.
Olivia Williams and Dominic West as Camilla Parker Bowles and Prince Charles in ‘The Crown’ (Courtesy of Netflix)
In another happier shot, however, Diana and Charles are pictured together on a speedboat on vacation with their young sons Prince William (Timothee Sambor) and Prince Harry (Teddy Hawley).
“The Crown” (courtesy of Netflix)
“That’s what’s amazing about playing these people right now, because in the journey of ‘The Crown’ so far out of all the seasons, it’s the most visual content we have of the Royal Family,” said Debicki told Netflix fan site Tudum, which first revealed the footage. “In the 90s, everything had started to be filmed and it was also the birth of the 24 hour news cycle, so there is just this incredible amount of content that we have access to. Diana was the person most photographed in the world at that time. As an actor, you open the portal and this huge tsunami of information falls on you. I swam with pleasure in it.
West added, “I think people understand, because the cast has changed every two seasons, that it’s not a knockoff. It’s an evocation of a character. It’s really where lives the series: in the imaginary conversations of their private life, which no one knows. I think that’s why he is criticized a lot. How do you know what they are talking about in their private life? The obvious answer is no , but we have an incredible writer, a playwright, who imagines based on extensive research, and that’s really part of the fascination of the show.
Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in ‘The Crown’ (Courtesy of Netflix)
There’s also a photo of Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II herself, apparently in Scotland, alongside her husband Prince Philip (Jonathan Pryce), both wearing the signature red tartan. Staunton takes over the role of monarch and matriarch from Olivia Colman, who played Her Majesty in the show’s third and fourth seasons, while Pryce replaces Tobias Menzies.
In the first two seasons of the show, Claire Foy played a young queen in the first two decades of her reign while Matt Smith played Prince Philip.
One of the vanities of “The Crown” is that the cast is changed every two seasons to mark the passage of time. Each season covers approximately a decade in the life of the royal family.
Season 5, which will be released in one go on Netflix on November 9, will take viewers back to the late 1980s and early 1990s, during one of the royal family’s toughest decades. 1992, which the Queen described as her “annus horribilis” saw three of her four children separate or divorce their spouses as Windsor Castle suffered a catastrophic fire.
‘The Crown’ is currently filming its sixth and supposedly final season, what we think to cover Diana’s death in 1997.