Former Royal Butler Predicts Kate Middleton's Feelings About Being Portrayed In The Crown
While we're still waiting for the fifth season of "The Crown" to drop, fans have already learned a major spoiler about the show's sixth and final season. Season 6 will reportedly cover the time from 1997 to the early aughts, which will include the divorce of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, as well as Diana's death (per the Daily Star). Daily Star also reported that the show will be covering the infamous interview between Princess Diana and Martin Bashir. You know, the one where Diana admitted that there were three people in her marriage: Herself, Prince Charles, and Camilla Parker Bowles (via The U.S. Sun).
With the show stretching into the 2000s, the creators of "The Crown" have recently put out a casting call for actors to play teenage Prince William and Prince Harry — and to play Kate Middleton, as well (per The Sun). Sources also told The Sun that including Kate will probably come down to being able to find the perfect actress to play the young duchess before she was a royal.
Originally, there was uncertainty about how far into the present-day lives of the royals the show's writer, Peter Morgan, was going to cover. In an interview with Broadcast, the show's executive producer, Suzanne Mackie, explained that Morgan won't cover something just to pull in viewers. "Peter [Morgan] has said it very articulately, that he simply can't write something unless there has been time to gain a proper perspective" (via Cosmopolitan). Now, a former royal butler is weighing in on how Middleton will reportedly feel about this portrayal.
Is Kate Middleton ready to be on The Crown?
While "The Crown" is historical fiction, the British royal family has provided plenty of drama-filled moments for the writers to work with. One member of the royal family that may be hard to dramatize, though, is Kate Middleton. The Duchess of Cambridge's stunning transformation from the quiet wife in her husband's shadow to a confident mother and the future queen has come subtly and naturally.
A source recently told The Sun that including Kate in the popular Netflix show is an easy way to grab viewers because of how much people love the duchess. As Grant Harrold, a former butler for Prince Charles, explained to OK! Magazine, the duchess "doesn't have much to worry about, her PR and image is perfect. There is nothing not perfect about her," (via Daily Mail). Harrold added, "So they may well see it as good PR. There will be an interest for them and she is likely to come face to face with the actress that plays her at some point at an event."
With show writer Peter Morgan's commitment to focusing on events that have happened ten or more years ago, any drama that may have been unfolding between Prince Harry, Megan Markle, Prince William, and Kate most likely won't be included. With Season 6 supposedly covering Charles and Diana's divorce, as well as Diana's death, the show is already going to be packed with royal drama.
Season 6 of "The Crown" is set to begin filming in August, according to The Sun.
Here's what we know about the final seasons of The Crown so far
While there was originally some back and forth about how many seasons "The Crown" would run, the show's creator and writer Peter Morgan decided in 2020 that there would be two final seasons of the hit Netflix series. "As we started to discuss the storylines for [season] five, it soon became clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story, we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons," Morgan explained, per Deadline.
One fact we know for sure about the upcoming seasons is who will play the main cast. Imelda Staunton, known for her role as Professor Umbridge in the "Harry Potter" movies, has been cast as Queen Elizabeth. Princess Margaret will be portrayed by Lesley Manville, while Jonathan Pryce will take on the role of Prince Philip, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Meanwhile, Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki will bring Prince Charles and Princess Diana to life. Based on pictures of the two taken during filming, Season 5 will include Charles and Diana's trip to Italy as well as the dinner Diana famously wore her "revenge dress" to after Charles' admission to cheating on her (via Elle).
According to Marie Claire, Season 5 of "The Crown" will pick up right where Season 4 ended — in 1990.
1992 will probably be a major focus for Season 5 of The Crown
There was a lot more going on for the royal family in the 1990s than just the drama between Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
As if the Margaret Thatcher years hadn't been hard enough for Queen Elizabeth, 1992 marked her Ruby Jubilee — a year she described as "annus horribilis" in a speech at the time. That translates into "horrible year." According to the BBC, 1992 saw the dissolution of three royal marriages: Prince Charles', Princess Anne's, and Prince Andrew's. There was also a major fire at Windsor Castle, which caused millions in damages.
Any of that could come into play on "The Crown." We may also see a royal re-marriage, which also took place in 1992. According to Hello! Magazine, Princess Anne remarried in December of the year; she and Timothy Laurence exchanged vows at a church in Scotland.
Queen Elizabeth reflected on the year in a speech around her Ruby Jubilee. "I sometimes wonder how future generations will judge the events of this tumultuous year. I dare say that history will take a slightly more moderate view than that of some contemporary commentators. Distance," she continued, "is well-known to lend enchantment, even to the less attractive views. After all, it has the inestimable advantage of hindsight."
We may soon see what views Peter Morgan had on these events and the historical impact they had on popular culture and British history.