The stars of The Crown have teased what fans can expect from season 5, suggesting that the new episodes show “a different viewpoint”.
Speaking to Digital Spy and other press, the actors spoke of the historical significance of this season and adding “colour” to the events being depicted.
Lesley Manville, who plays Princess Margaret, explained: “It’s a very turbulent time for the Royal Family in terms of their roles being questioned.
“The whole premise of a Royal Family being questioned – apart from all of the disasters that have happened, with the Windsor fire, and the divorces and separation. It’s a very, very complex time, and it sort of throws them.
“You suddenly stop seeing them as Royals, because you see them going through emotional experiences that we all go through.”
Meanwhile, Imelda Staunton, who plays Queen Elizabeth II, said she is “grateful” to be portraying the Royals in this most recent era of the show.
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“I think it’s rich pickings for a writer, that actually this part of history that we’re now in, Peter [Morgan, creator]… Well, first of all, everything’s been documented anyway," she said.
“He’s not telling anything that hasn’t happened. But he’s giving the audience, if you like, a sort of different viewpoint, from their point of view. And that’s lovely for an actor, to play that. I’m rather grateful that we’re doing this era.”
Fellow star Jonathan Pryce, who plays Prince Philip, added that the show presents a more emotional side to the Royals.
He said: “What the opportunity gives people is to show the emotional lives of these characters, and to show the effect a newspaper headline would have on the Queen if she read it that morning, saying Charles should replace her.
“It’s just an interesting detail like that, because, as Imelda said, the facts and what happened is a given. What we can do is add some colour to it.”
Dame Judi Dench recently criticised the drama over reported historical inaccuracies, describing it as "hurtful" and "crude sensationalism". Not long afterwards, Netflix added a "fictional dramatisation" disclaimer to the show's season 5 trailer.
The Crown season 5 will premiere on November 9, 2022, while seasons 1-4 are now streaming on Netflix. Seasons 1-3 are also available on DVD and Blu-ray.
Netflix/Left Bank Pictures The Crown season 3 with Amazon exclusive box artwork
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
