PSA: The Crown series 3 is dropping on Netflix very soon

From Cosmopolitan

The Crown season 3 is just about to drop on Netflix, which means it's time for us Brits to learn even more about Queen Elizabeth II's life. Here's everything you need to know about the new season...

Is there a The Crown season 3 trailer?

Yes there is! The first proper trailer dropped on 21 October, and it looks EXCITING. Not only is Olivia Colman already brilliant as The Queen, but we get a glimpse of Helena Bonham-Carter as Princess Margaret, Josh O'Connor as Prince Charles and Erin Doherty as Princess Anne. Plus, viewers also get a look at Emerald Fennell as Camilla Parker-Bowlers, just as the voiceover says to Charles, "If I may offer two piece of advice. Never turn your back on true love - and watch out for your family."

Here are some you've already watched...

Before this, Netflix dropped the first ~moving~ footage of Olivia Colman as the Queen on 13 August 2019 in the form of a teaser, which made us super excited.

There's also some The Crown season 3 posters

As well as the trailers revealing the cast in character for The Crown season 3, Netflix have also revealed some very dramatic posters. "Time tests us all, The Crown's official Instagram account wrote. "Olivia Colman, Helena Bonham Carter, Tobias Menzies, Josh O'Connor and Erin Doherty star in The Crown Season 3. November 17th."

How are the cast feeling about The Crown Season 3?

In a new interview, Entertainment Weekly went behind the scenes on the set of The Crown Season 3 to speak to the new cast about how they're feeling about the impending third season. Netflix previously revealed the cast of The Crown would change every two years, with the likes of Olivia Colman and Tobias Mendiez taking over from Claire Foy and Matt Smith as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip.

Asked how taking over the role was going, Olivia commented, "It’s horrendous! Everyone loves Claire Foy, so I have got the worst job in the world at the moment. You’re saying all the worst things, thanks!"

She then went on to reveal how excited she was to get the role. "I was incredibly uncool about it," she says. "The producers went, ‘So…’ [I said,] ‘Yes! Yes! I’m really excited! Thank you very much!’ I loved the first two seasons."

Is there a release date for The Crown Season 3?

The Crown season 3 will be dropped in full on Sunday 17 November. In a press release, show bosses revealed, "Written by Peter Morgan and starring Oscar winner Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II, Tobias Menzies as Prince Phillip, Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret, Ben Daniels as Tony Armstrong-Jones, Josh O'Connor as Prince Charles, Erin Doherty as Princess Anne, Marion Bailey as The Queen Mother and Jason Watkins as Prime Minister Harold Wilson. The third series covers the years 1964-1977."

The picture, which shows an announcement on a stand, reads "Dear Public, The official arrival date of the third series of The Crown is as follows: 17th November 2019. We would like to express deep gratitude to all those involved and we wish the public the most splendid of viewing experiences."

Tobias Menzies, who plays Prince Philip in the new series of The Crown, previously let slip in a BBC Radio London interview that the third series will come almost two years after series two, which was released in December 2017.

"We shot season three and that starts in November," the actor said. Nothing like being straight to the point, eh?

Initially, fans assumed the release would follow the pattern of previous years - season 1 was released in November 2016 and season 2 in December 2017, but November 2018 come and went without The Crown season 3.

Who will star in The Crown Season 3?

Queen Elizabeth II

Olivia Colman will take over from Claire Foy to play Queen Elizabeth II, with a new picture released on 13 August 2019 which showed her with the Queen's corgis.

Camilla Parker Bowles

Call the Midwife's Emerald Fennell stars as the future royal. The scene which confirmed Fennell's involved was a reimagining of a polo match in 1975, where Charles and Camilla were reportedly just friends - after their relationship came to an abrupt end when Charles joined the Royal Navy in early 1973.

Prince Charles

Netflix confirmed on July 27 that Josh O'Connor, who plays Larry in ITV's The Durrells, will play Prince Charles, portraying the future king throughout his late teens and early 20s.

The Queen Mother

Marion Bailey, who most recently appeared in Mr Turner, will be playing the Queen Mother.

Princess Anne

Erin Doherty, who has appeared in Call the Midwife, will be playing Princess Anne in the third season of The Crown, and will play the daughter of Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Colman) and Prince Philip (Tobias Menzies) in the new series.

Prince Philip

Tobias Menzies will replace Matt Smith as Prince Philip for seasons 3 and 4, Netflix have previously confirmed. Game of Thrones fans will know Menzies as Edmure Tully, while he has also starred in Outlander.

And here's your first look at him as the man himself: Prince Philip.

HRH Princess Margaret

Helena Bonham Carter is replacing Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret, which the actress first confirmed when she posted a picture of the two together on Instagram with the caption, "Honoured @thecrownnetflix".

Lord Snowdon

Ben Daniels will play Antony Armstrong-Jones, commonly known as Lord Snowdon - a British photographer and film-maker.

Margaret Thatcher

Sex Education's Jillian Anderson will be playing Margaret Thatcher, which is truly excellent news.

Other characters

As for other characters, Michael C Hall, who plays US President John F Kennedy in season two, isn't expected to return as JFK was assassinated in 1963, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill passed in 1965, so he's unlikely to appear either.

Producer Suzanne Mackie revealed during a Q&A a new addition to The Crown, commenting, "We start meeting Camilla Parker Bowles in season three.

"We have to be honest, season three and four are being mapped out and the closer the history comes – I now can say, 'God, I know exactly what I was feeling when that happened, I remember that and I remember this.' That's so exciting!"

What will happen in The Crown Season 3?

Seeing as season 2 wrapped with the birth of the Queen's fourth and final child Prince Edward in 1964, we can assume season 2 will pick up right where the story left off.

Prince Philip's mother Princess Alice and her extraordinarily tragic life will feature

Harper's Bazaar UK say Princess Alice's life, which was marred in tragedy, will be a focus of The Crown series 3, as well as her fragile relationship with her only son, Prince Philip.

Alice, who was born deaf was diagnosed with schizophrenia and sent to a hospital where she was treated by Sigmund Freud, when Philip was just 10. Later, during the clashes of the 1967 Colonels' Coup, she abandoned her nunnery in Athens and moved in with the Queen and Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace.

Princess Alice died in Buckingham Palace on 5 December 1969.

Princess Margaret's marriage breaks down

The show's history consultant Robert Lacey told Town&Country, "We’re now writing season three, and without giving anything away—it’s on the record, it’s history—we’ll see the breakup of this extraordinary marriage between Margaret and Snowdon. This season, you see how it starts, and what a strange character, a brilliant character Snowden was."

Princess Diana will appear

Showrunner Peter Morgan confirmed to People that Princess Diana will make her first appearance toward the end of Season 3 before becoming a main character in Seasons 4 and 5.

Harold Wilson will be in charge

Per The Sunday Times, it "will be the Wilson era", referring to Harold Wilson, the prime minister from 1964 to 1970 and 1974 to 1976.

Watch The Crown Season 3 on Netflix.

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