After a controversial series, Netflix’s royal drama The Crown will soon come to an end with its sixth and final series.
The final part will air in two parts, with the first launching on November 16 and the second on December 14.
And the final episodes of the series will be more controversial than ever, with a furious reaction to the details made public so far.
The Netflix drama was set to end with series five, but creator Peter Morgan told it Deadline that he decided to return to his original vision and implement these six series.
He said: “When we started discussing the storylines for Series 5, it quickly became clear that to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story, we would have to go back to the original plan and create six seasons.
The final series will explore the final days of Diana, Princess of Wales, played by Elizabeth Debicki (pictured) – and will also feature her ghost
‘To be clear, Series 6 will not bring us closer to the present; it will simply allow us to describe the same period in more detail.”
Series five featured a number of shocking moments that caused controversy among viewers.
Some of these moments were fictional – for example, a storyline in which Charles tried to force the Queen’s abdication with the help of Prime Minister John Major.
Sir John, who was Prime Minister of Britain from 1992 to 1997, described the abdication storyline in the series as a “barrel of evil nonsense”.
Another controversial storyline was based on the real-life 1992 Windsor Castle fire, but added an extra dose of drama by showing Princess Margaret pointing the finger at Princess Diana for causing the fire.
One of the boldest insinuations came in episode six of series five: the suggestion that a ‘lonely’ Prince Philip turned to Penny Knatchbull, then known as Penny Romsey, for ‘intellectual company’.
In real life too, the close bond between the Duke of Edinburgh and Penny Knatchbull led to rumors of an affair due to their decades-long friendship, but the pair always strongly denied the accusation.
And rumors of a romance between the two calmed down somewhat after Penny also developed a close relationship with the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The upcoming series will be just as dramatic, with a number of storylines likely to spark debate about the nature of the series. Here, FEMAIL looks at all the things we can expect in series six of The Crown, both in real life and in dramatized form…
Meeting between Prince William and Kate Middleton in St. Andrews
One of the storylines in series 6 involves Prince William meeting Kate Middleton at Prince Andrews University in Scotland in the early 2000s (photo L-R: Meg Bellamy plays Kate Middleton and Ed McVey plays Prince William in the latest series of The Crown)
Following the tumultuous marriage and divorce of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, in previous series, the final installment will see their son Prince William (Rufus Kampa, Ed McVey) meet his wife-to-be Kate Middleton (Meg Bellamy).
In real life, the couple met at St. Andrews University in Scotland in the early 2000s.
Speaking on The Crown: The Official Podcast in November 2022, creator Peter Morgan said: ‘In season 6, the arrival of William, Kate and Harry blows the doors open.’
‘You want to see them. It happened while reading through. You could just tell everyone was looking up and looking at each other across the room.
‘And every time William spoke, I thought, “Oh my God, this is just riveting.”
Prince Harry also features in the final series, first played by Fflyn Edwards in earlier episodes, then by Luther Ford towards the end of the season.
Wedding of Charles and Camilla, 2005
It is thought the new series will feature Charles and Camilla’s wedding after the production team shared this image online
Earlier this year, the team behind the big royal drama shared an insight into the new season.
They took to X (formerly Twitter) and posted an image from the upcoming series alongside a caption.
The caption read: ‘After six seasons, seven years and three casts, it’s coming to an end later this year (The Crown).
“We’ll have more coming soon, but here’s a hint at what’s in store for our final season.”
Meanwhile, the image showed what looked like a church pew, on which an order of service rested.
The document read: ‘Prayer service and devotion following the wedding of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall. St. George’s Chapel Windsor Castle. Saturday April 9, 2005 2:30 PM
The return of some familiar faces
Several cast members, including Dominic West who plays Prince Charles (pictured), are returning for the final series of the drama
A number of cast members will reprise their roles in the sixth and final series of the show.
They include Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II and Jonathan Pryce as Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Also returning are Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret and Claudia Harrison as Princess Anne. And Khalid Abdalla returns as Dodi Fayed with Salim Daw as Mohamed al Fayed.
Diana, Princess of Wales is once again played by Elizabeth Debicki, with Dominic West reprising his role as Prince Charles.
The ghost of Diana, Princess of Wales
One of the most controversial details to emerge regarding the final series of The Crown is that the ghost of Diana, Princess of Wales, will appear twice: once speaking to Prince Charles and again speaking to the Queen .
Previously speaking about the upcoming series of the royal drama, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline that “the idea that they’ve even considered Diana as a ghost seems absolutely weird,” especially given the controversial elements already floating around the show.
Mr Fitzwilliams said: ‘It’s going to be a controversial series anyway with what they’ve already shown – the Panorama documentary, her death and the funeral – and in my opinion this final series should never have been released in the first place.
‘The whole idea that Peter Morgan wrote ghostly performances of Diana is completely tasteless.
“It’s pathetic that someone with his skills has reduced an undoubted tragedy to something he knows full well will be controversial.
‘The idea that he has written a ghostly figure of Prince William and Harry’s mother is clearly in poor taste and the whole concept, no matter what the ghost says or does, seems completely bizarre.’
A Netflix source said that Debicki’s appearance after Diana’s death was intended as a “visualization of the deepest thoughts” and was not intended to be interpreted as “supernatural.”
Diana’s last days are shown, but not her death
Coming soon: The series’ poster features a striking photo of Princess Diana in a blue swimsuit, sitting at the end of a dock
According to reports, series 6 will pick up where series 5 left off. It will cover Diana’s last days, but will not show the moment of impact when it comes to the car accident that killed her.
According to Deadlinesaid an anonymous production source: “We were scared to get to this point.
‘The countdown is two weeks and as we quietly move forward, it’s fair to acknowledge that there is some fear; a palpable feeling of being slightly tense. I mean, there’s a tremendous sensitivity here.”
They added that the program will show the events before and after the fatal collision.
“It’s the lead-up: the car leaving The Ritz after midnight with paparazzi in hot pursuit and then the aftermath with the British Ambassador to France taking action at the Foreign Office and then the subsequent constitutional aftermath,” the source said.