“The Crown” is coming back. Despite being part of the delay with the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down production around the world, Netflix’s Emmy-winning series is coming back for Season 4 later this year and with it, a new chapter in the lives of the British Royals.
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While Season 4 is going to continue the story of the Queen (played one last time by Olivia Colman before being replaced for the final two seasons), the upcoming episodes bring the story closer to the modern-day and introduce a very prominent member of the Royal Family—Princess Diana (Emma Corrin). Except this Diana isn’t, yet, the beloved historical figure that would inspire millions. Instead, she’s a young woman, just getting her proverbial feet wet in the world of royalty.
“You meet her and she’s…16 years old,” Corrin told Vanity Fair. “From episode one to three, we see her dynamic before she goes into the palace—and how normal she was, living in her flat with friends…then she’s really transported overnight.”
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As seen in the new first-look photos, we see Corrin as Diana and she definitely looks the part, which continues the series’ strong history of incredible casting. Now, we just have to see how the show navigates the story that has been analyzed so much through the public eye, as Diana ushers in a new era for the family. Expected to play major roles in Season 4 are Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher and Josh O’Connor, who plays Prince Charles.
“Ultimately, we all know what’s going to happen in Season 4 with a lot of the Diana years and where that went,” O’Connor told Harper’s Bazaar earlier this year. “I think it sets us up in a way where perhaps we feel some sympathy for Charles, some understanding of his playfulness and his rejection from the family. Camilla offers that, I guess, the playful side of Charles.
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Corrin looked to the princess’s fractured early family life for clues about the character’s psychology. “She wants any warmth,” the actor said. “The most useful research came from her childhood and her relationship with her parents, which was fucked, to say the least…. If you have a very fucked relationship with your parents, you constantly look for maternal and paternal figures.”
Season 4 of “The Crown” comes to Netflix on November 15. Check out the new photos below:
