Updated on 13 October: Everyone loves a royal wedding. Well, they usually do. 

However, as the echoing tick of a grandfather clock makes all too clear in The Crown’s season 4 trailer, the marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana is very much on borrowed time from the very beginning.

And, when that clock runs out, fans of the Netflix show already know that it will end in tragedy.

Hammering this point home, of course, is the trailer’s voiceover.

“Here is the stuff of which fairytales are made,” it says. “A prince and princess on their wedding day. But fairytales usually end at this point, with a simple phrase: ‘They lived happily ever after.’”

Watch it for yourself below:

The official synopsis for The Crown’s fourth season reads: “As the 1970s are drawing to a close, Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Colman) and her family find themselves preoccupied with safeguarding the line of succession by securing an appropriate bride for Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor), who is still unmarried at 30.

“While Charles’ romance with a young Lady Diana Spencer (Emma Corrin) provides a much-needed fairy tale to unite the British people, as the transformation from teenager to Princess of Wales takes place, it is anything but a fairy tale for Diana.”

As reported on 29 September: When we first learned that Gillian Anderson would be stepping into Margaret Thatcher’s shoes for Netflix’s The Crown, we knew it was going to be must-watch TV. We knew it.

And we don’t have long to wait until Anderson – who recently won critical acclaim for her stint in Netflix’s Sex Education – appears on our screens as the Conservative prime minister, as the show’s fourth season is due to hit our TV screens on Sunday 15 November.

If you’re already desperate for your first look at new series, though, you’re in luck, as the streaming giant has unveiled some must-see stills from the royal drama.

“As the 1970s are drawing to a close, Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Colman) and her family find themselves preoccupied with safeguarding the line of succession by securing an appropriate bride for Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor), who is still unmarried at 30,” reads the accompanying Netflix synopsis.

It continues: “As the nation begins to feel the impact of divisive policies introduced by Britain’s first female Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson), tensions arise between her and the Queen which only grow worse as Thatcher leads the country into the Falklands War, generating conflict within the Commonwealth.”

The synopsis ends ominously: “While Charles’ romance with a young Lady Diana Spencer (Emma Corrin) provides a much-needed fairytale to unite the British people, behind closed doors, the royal family is becoming increasingly divided.”

The much-hyped TV series, as previously reported by Stylist, boasts an all-star cast.

Indeed, as well as Anderson, we have the following big names to watch out for:

• Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II.
• Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Elizabeth II.
• Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, younger sister of Elizabeth II.
• Ben Daniels as Antony Armstrong-Jones, Earl of Snowdon, known as Lord Snowdon.
• Marion Bailey as Queen Elizabeth, wife of George VI and mother of Elizabeth II.
• Erin Doherty as Princess Anne, Philip and Elizabeth’s second child and only daughter.
• Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles, Philip and Elizabeth’s eldest child and the heir apparent.
• Emerald Fennell as Camilla Parker Bowles.
• Charles Dance as Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma.
• Emma Corrin as Lady Diana Spencer.
• Angus Imrie as Prince Edward, Philip and Elizabeth’s youngest child.

With that in mind, then, we have one question for you: will you be streaming The Crown season 4 when it premieres on Netflix on this November?

Images: Matthew Shave/Stylist/Netflix