William Mourns Diana, Meets Kate Middleton
Marking the end of its reign, Netflix has released the trailer for Part 2 of the sixth and final season of “The Crown,” premiering on Dec. 14.
The series’ final six episodes will focus on Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) and Prince Charles (Dominic West), in addition to the now-older William and Harry, portrayed by Ed McVey and Luther Ford, respectively, in the season’s second half. Notable storylines include Charles’ wedding with Camilla Parker Bowles (Olivia Williams) and William’s budding romance with Kate Middleton, played by Meg Bellamy. The first half of Season 6, which premiered on Nov. 16, mainly followed Princess Diana, portrayed by Elizabeth Debicki, and the lead-up to her fatal car crash.
The logline teases, “Still coming to terms with his mother’s death, Prince William heads back to Eton amidst an increase in attention from young female fans touched by his plight. The struggle to re-adjust leads to tensions with his family, as they try to support another young heir to find his way in the system and the world. Later, as Prince William takes up his place at St Andrew’s University, the omnipresent conflict of life as a public servant continues as he tries to balance the traditional undergraduate rites of passage with the constraints of his position and constant presence of personal protection officers. His perseverance is tested when he develops a crush on one of the most desired students on campus: a woman by the name of Kate Middleton.”
Also, “Princess Margaret suffers a stroke and is suddenly forced to reassess her lifestyle. As her health continues to decline, she finds herself slipping back into her memories, back to her secret night out with her sister during the biggest party in history: VE Day 1945. The memories from that evening, and what it taught her about her older sister, comfort her in her final days. With the passing of her sister and her mother, her Golden Jubilee and having approved the marriage between Prince Charles and Camilla, the Queen starts to consider her reign and ultimately her legacy. Approaching her ninth decade, the Queen is forced to dig deep and really examine what is best for the future of the monarchy.”
Other Season 6 cast members include Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret, Claudia Harrison as Princess Anne, Bertie Carvel as Tony Blair, Salim Daw as Mohamed Al Fayed and Khalid Abdalla as Dodi Fayed.
“The Crown” creator Peter Morgan told Variety that Queen Elizabeth’s death forced him to alter the show’s ending. “We’d all been through the experience of the funeral,” he said. “So because of how deeply everybody will have felt that, I had to try and find a way in which the final episode dealt with the character’s death, even though she hadn’t died yet.”
The show’s timeline began in the 1940s in Season 1 and will end in 2005, which Morgan said was the right place to stop to “keep it historical, not journalistic.”
“The Crown” is executive produced by Morgan, Suzanne Mackie, Andy Harries, Stephen Daldry, Matthew Byam Shaw and Robert Fox.
Watch the full trailer below.