First look: The Crown Season 3 gets November release date

Staff Writer

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The Crown Season 3 finally has a UK release date – and with it comes a first look at Olivia Colman in the role of Queen Elizabeth II.

Netflix’s royal drama, which charts the life and reign of Her Maj, has been a huge smash hit for the streaming giant, picking up awards and nominations galore, not least for Claire Foy’s turn as the monarch. Now, though, she is handing the crown over to national treasure Olivia Colman, as Season 3 sees the programme move through history too quickly for its cast to portray the royal family believably – and so, led by Colman, the show is undergoing a wave of recasting, from Jason Watkins as Harold Wilson to Outlander’s Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip.

The rest of the cast include Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret, Ben Daniels as Tony Armstrong-Jones, Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles, Erin Doherty as Princess Anne and Marion Bailey as The Queen Mother. The main question now is when we get to see these stars in action. Now, we have an answer: The Crown Season 3 will premiere on Sunday 17th November.

Here’s the first teaser:

First look: Tobias Menzies as The Crown’s Prince Philip

28th August 2018

Netflix has revealed the first picture of Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip in The Crown.

The royal drama, which charts the life and reign of Her Maj, has been a huge smash hit for the streaming giant, picking up awards and nominations galore, not least for Claire Foy’s turn as the monarch. Now, though, she is handing the crown over to Olivia Colman, as Season 3 sees the programme move through history too quickly for its cast to portray the royal family believably – and so, led by Colman, the show is undergoing a wave of recasting, from Jason Watkins as Harold Wilson to Outlander’s Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip.

Menzie replaces Matt Smith in the role, and now, we’ve got our first proper glimpse of him in costume. The Crown Season 3 will premiere in 2019.

First look: Helena Bonham Carter in The Crown Season 3

Olivia Colman will see you now. The Crown S3, coming 17 November. pic.twitter.com/dYUtQlyMXc — Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) August 12, 2019

18th July 2018

Hot on the heels of our first look at Olivia Colman’s Queen Elizabeth II, Netflix has dropped the first pictures of Helena Bonham Carter and Ben Daniels in the third season of The Crown.

The royal drama, which charts the life and reign of Her Maj, has been a huge smash hit for the streaming giant, picking up awards and nominations galore, not least for Claire Foy’s turn as the monarch. Now, though, she is handing the crown over to Olivia Colman, as Season 3 sees the programme move through history too quickly for its cast to portray the royal family believably – and so, led by Colman, the show is undergoing a wave of recasting, from Outlander’s Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip to Jason Watkins as Harold Wilson.

Two of the most prominent figures in Season 3 will be Princess Margaret and her husband, Anthony Armstrong-Jones. They, too, are being recast, with Helena Bonham Carter replacing Vanessa Kirby and Ben Daniels replacing Matthew Goode respectively. Now, we’ve got our first proper glimpse of them on set in costume, the atmospheric photos already hinting at stormy romantic drama to come:

First look: Olivia Colman in The Crown Season 3

16th July 2018

Netflix has released its first official picture of Olivia Colman in The Crown Season 3.

Netflix’s royal drama, which charts the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II, is in the process of shuffling its cast for the new season, as the show moves through history at pace and its real life characters age. Claire Foy’s award-winning turn as the monarch has been the anchor of the show, alongside Matt Smith as Prince Philip. The pair have won viewers over across the UK with their portrayal of the royal couple, but the series’ sheer scale means that they can’t continue to play those roles forever. Creator Peter Morgan confirmed when the first season was released that the programme would need to recast those leads to keep up with its characters’ ages – and with Season 2 taking the royal couple up to 1964, Season 3 onwards will require a new head wearing the crown.

That head, we learned this year, will be Olivia Colman, while Outlander’s Tobias Menzies will take over from Smith as her husband. Other cast changes including Helena Bonham Carter replacing Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret, and Ben Daniels as her husband, Anthony Armstrong-Jones, previously played by Matthew Goode. Jason Watkins will also join the ensemble as Harold Wilson.

While the thought of Foy not being in The Crown is a sad one, Colman is as safe a pair of hands as possible for Netflix to find. After roles in such films as Tyrannosaur and Cuban Fury, and such TV shows as Broadchurch, Colman has become a veritable national treasure. She recently won a Golden Globe for her role in The Night Manager, a co-production between the BBC and AMC. Season 3 of The Crown will mark the second time she has played a royal, following a part as Queen Elizabeth’s mother in Hyde Park on Hudson.

Here’s the first image of her in costume: