The first half of the final season of The Crown may have dropped on Netflix a few weeks ago but it’s still very much on our minds. Picking up where season five left off, viewers watched as Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed’s relationship blossomed until their tragic deaths in 1997 – a relationship that forms the central plot for the first four episodes.

The second part of this final season is due for release later this month and will move the focus onto Prince William and Harry as they navigate life as young royals. Netflix has released first-look images for the upcoming episodes as well as a trailer that gives us a glimpse into a young William finding love at university.

And so, here’s everything to know about season six of The Crown.

What will season six of The Crown involve?

Season five left us in the aftermath of Charles and Diana’s “irretrievably broken” marriage, with Tony Blair as prime minister and the developing grandmother-grandson partnership between Queen Elizabeth II and a young Prince William.

In the last episode of season five, Princess Diana bumped into Mohamed Al-Fayed at a ballet, where he invited her to spend the summer holidays with him on his yacht. This is a well-documented part of Diana’s history, as it was the true beginning of her romance with Dodi Fayed. Pictures from this particular event circulated in the press at the time (as did almost anything that the Princess of Wales did) and similar on-set photos have been shared.

The first half of season six delved deeper into the Diana-Dodi tale, a brief but widely known love affair that lasted until their shocking and untimely deaths later that year. 

Other events that occupied the family in the late 90s include the integration of Camilla Parker-Bowles into public life alongside Prince Charles in the wake of the future King’s divorce. In episode three of the sixth season, we see this play out when the Queen fails to attend a birthday party Charles throws for Camilla.

The second part of season six will jump ahead in the royal timeline and is set to include storylines around Charles’ wedding to Camilla, William’s romance with Kate Middleton, Princess Margaret’s declining health and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. The series timeline is set to end in 2005.

“Approaching her ninth decade, the Queen is forced to dig deep and really examine what is best for the future of the monarchy,” reads part of the series synopsis.

Who will star in The Crown season six?

The role of Prince William will be taken on by two actors: Rufus Kampa as a 15-year-old William who is coming to terms with the death of his mother, and Ed McVey embodying his later teens and years at St Andrews, where he met Kate Middleton, who will be played by newcomer Meg Bellamy. Together with McVey, we’ll see how they portray the couple’s early period of courtship.

The rest of the cast will be a collection of familiar faces to season five viewers, with Imelda Staunton returning as Queen Elizabeth II, alongside Jonathan Pryce and Lesley Manville as Prince Phillip and Princess Margaret. Elizabeth Debicki and Dominic West will reprise their roles as Princess Diana and Prince Charles, and although Jonny Lee Miller bowed out at the end of season five, we’ll no doubt be seeing a lot more of Tony Blair in the form of Bertie Carvel.

When is season six of The Crown coming out?

Netflix previously confirmed that season six of The Crown will be split into two parts (similar to Stranger Things and The Witcher) with the first part released on 16 November and the second dropping on 14 December.

Images: Netflix