The Crown season 6: When will new series be released on Netflix?
Everything you need to know about the royals' return
The Crown grabbed headlines with season five, but its sixth and final season is just around the corner.
Netflix has released its streaming slate for some of the biggest titles coming in 2023 - here's all you need to know about the latest news for The Crown season six.
The Crown season 6 release date
Streaming service Netflix has confirmed that its sixth and final season of The Crown is slated to be released in 2023.
According to a report from The Wrap, the show will have a release window of Autumn 2023. The publication reported that Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria announced the news at Netflix’s virtual Upfront presentation on Wednesday, 17 May.
An exact date for the season start has not been released yet, but previous seasons have released in early to mid November, with the exception of season two which released in December 2017.
The Crown season 6 cast
The Crown is known for changing up its cast every two seasons, so the new cast who entered the show in season five will return to close the drama with season six.
As season five launched at the beginning of November, the show's stars revealed that they couldn't party too hard at the premiere because they were in the middle of filming for season six.
Read more: Where is The Crown filmed?
Imelda Staunton stars as Queen Elizabeth II alongside Jonathan Pryce as husband Prince Philip, with Staunton having shared that she was on set filming season six on the day of the Queen's death, 8 September.
Dominic West continues to play Prince Charles and Elizabeth Debicki has been playing Princess Diana in season five but said in press interviews ahead of its release that she hadn't seen her castmates for a while - suggesting that Diana's death is right at the start of season six.
Olivia Williams is back as Camilla Parker Bowles, but with the final episode of season five featuring Labour's win at the 1997 general election, Jonny Lee Miller is out as John Major and Bertie Carvel joins as new prime minister Tony Blair.
Lesley Manville also returns as Princess Margaret. Meanwhile, it has been revealed that newcomer Meg Bellamy will make her acting debut as Kate Middleton after she bagged the role by filming her own audition following a social media call-out.
21-year-old Ed McVey and 16-year-old Rufus Kampa have both been cast as Prince William at different ages, with The Crown's new series serving as both actor's first on-screen roles.
Shortly after Bellamy and McVey were snapped shooting scenes in St, Andrews, the official Twitter account of The Crown released our first official look at the pair.
While little is known about just how big of a part the duo will play in the new series, if these first-look stills are anything to go by, the pair certainly well-suited to the roles they are portraying.
Meanwhile, Welsh teenager Fflyn Edwards has been cast as a young Prince Harry. The 14-year-old from Carmarthenshire has also appeared in CBBC's Snow Spider and 1899 and is also due to appear in the next season of Shadow and Bone.
The Crown season 6 plot
Of course, viewers are expecting Diana's death and funeral to be a major storyline in the final season which picks up in the latter part of the 90s.
Netflix teased what will happen in the final season on 4 September in a social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The streamer shared an image of a church pew with a wedding invitation, the date read 9 April, 2005, which was when Charles and Camilla married.
After six seasons, seven years and three casts, @TheCrownNetflix 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. pic.twitter.com/zHbeqEqqWv— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) September 4, 2023
Creator Peter Morgan has said we shouldn't expect the series to move too much further forward than season five, telling Deadline: "As we started to discuss the storylines for season five, 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.
Read more: Who's who in The Crown cast
"To be clear, season six will not bring us any closer to present-day — it will simply enable us to cover the same period in greater detail."
As well as bringing in the Blairs to Downing Street, the season six cast includes a young Kate Middleton, suggesting it will feature Prince William's years at university and early romance.
The Crown season 6 filming locations
Filming for The Crown season six began on 1 September, 2022 with a wrap date scheduled for sometime in early Spring 2023.
Images shared on social media appear to show McVey filming scenes as a teenage Prince William in the Scottish town of St. Andrews, Fife, dressed casually in jeans and a sweatshirt.
It is here where Prince William attended the university where he met his future wife. Season five star West was also seen at the same location, reprising his role as William’s father, Charles, the then-Prince of Wales.
Extras were gathered outside of Fife’s historic St. Salvator’s Chapel holding Union flags and Saltires. They were in attendance to facilitate a sequence involving a royal walkabout, with McVey and West spotted shooting sequences in vehicles and during the walkabout itself.
Onlookers saw Bellamy filming in this location too, shooting scenes as a teenage Middleton.
Elsewhere, the cast has also been photographed shooting a number of additional sequences across the UK. In Greenwich, London, McVey joined fellow cast members West, Staunton, Pryce and Manville to film celebratory sequences revolving around the Queen’s 1997 Thanksgiving service.
Historically, this event also marked the late Monarch’s 50th wedding anniversary and the first time the Queen had visited Westminster Abbey since the death of Princess Diana just two months prior.
West was also joined by a Geri Halliwell look-a-like to capture scenes replicating the 1997 Royal Variety Performance. Fans of the Royals may remember this event as the scene of an infamous moment where the former Spice Girl touched the Prince of Wales’ bum during a meet-and-greet.
Images of the making of this scene were captured at Winchester Cathedral which had temporarily closed to accommodate production on The Crown’s latest outing. Additional scenes are rumoured to be filmed at this location, including moments of Princess Diana’s funeral where it will reportedly double for Westminster Abbey
Read more: Who is The Crown star Elizabeth Debicki?
In addition, more intriguing scenes including a potential flash-forward involving the late Queen looking on as the UK welcomes the arrival of King Charles have also been seen circulating online.
Images shared by students from the London School of Economics appear to show Staunton walking through a street filled with Union Jacks and watching a pub change its name from The Queen’s Head to the King’s Head.
Also in London, Canary Wharf was transformed into 1990’s Chicago in January to recreate scenes involving a presidential motorcade.
While unconfirmed, it is assumed this will be for former President Bill Clinton.
The Crown seasons one to five are currently streaming on Netflix.
Watch: The Crown season 5 review and season 6 spoilers