Season 3 of Netflix series The Crown premiered on November 17, 2019.
Synopsis[]
As the 1960s and '70s unfold, the royal family contends with conflict and betrayal while striving to uphold tradition in the face of an evolving world.
Timeline[]
Season 3 covers 1964 to 1977, including the break-up of Princess Margaret's marriage, the young adulthood of Prince Charles and Princess Anne, and Harold Wilson's two terms as Prime Minister.[1] Events during Season 3 include Prince Charles's investiture as Prince of Wales and the deaths of Winston Churchill and the Duke of Windsor. The season opens with the Antony Blunt KGB spy scandal and examines the Queen's relationship with working-class Harold Wilson as the new Prime Minister following the Aberfan disaster in Wales. International events include the dissolution of colonies in Africa and the Caribbean, and the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Cast[]
The Royal Family[]
- Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II
- Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
- Josh O'Connor as Charles, Prince of Wales
- Erin Doherty as Princess Anne
- Marion Bailey as Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother
- Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
- Ben Daniels as Antony Armstrong-Jones
- Jane Lapotaire as Princess Alice of Battenberg
- Charles Dance as Lord Louis Mountbatten
- Derek Jacobi as Edward, Duke of Windsor
- Geraldine Chaplin as Wallis, Duchess of Windsor
Government[]
- Jason Watkins as Harold Wilson
- Charles Edwards as Martin Charteris
- David Rintoul as Michael Adeane
- Emerald Fennell as Camilla Shand
- Samuel West as Sir Antony Blunt
- Harry Treadaway as Roddy Llewelyn
Notes[]
- Season 3 explores the middle years of the Queen's reign, and features a new cast playing the Royal Family, featuring Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II.
- This season covers the two terms of Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's first term ran from 16 October 1964 – 19 June 1970; following the Labour Party defeat in 1970, he served as Leader of the Opposition until 4 March 1974, when a Labour Party victory restored him to the role of Prime Minister. His second term ran from 4 March 1974 – 5 April 1976, when he resigned and was succeeded by James Callaghan.
- This season addresses the discovery that Sir Antony Blunt, the Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures, was among five Cambridge University graduates, known as the Cambridge Five, who were spies for the Russians from the early 30s to late 50s.
Episodes[]
| # | Image | Title | Writer(s) | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 301 | 
|
“Olding” | Peter Morgan | Benjamin Caron |
| The royal family mourns the passing of Winston Churchill. The United Kingdom ushers in a new prime minister, the Labour Party's Harold Wilson whom Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth hear might be a Soviet spy. | ||||
| 302 | 
|
“Margaretology” | Peter Morgan | Benjamin Caron |
| While Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon visit the USA, the queen, at the bidding of Harold Wilson, asks them to make a side trip to Washington, D.C. to ask President Johnson for financial assistance for the United Kingdom. | ||||
| 303 | 
|
“Aberfan” | Peter Morgan | Benjamin Caron |
| A horrible disaster in the Welsh town of Aberfan leaves scores of children dead, but when the Queen takes a week to decide to visit the town to offer solace to its people, she must confront her reasons for postponing the trip. | ||||
| 304 | 
|
“Bubbikins” | Peter Morgan | Benjamin Caron |
| Left without a home by a political coup in Athens, Philip's eccentric mother, Princess Alice of Greece, is invited to live in Buckingham Palace by the Queen. | ||||
| 305 | 
|
“Coup” | Peter Morgan | Christian Schwochow |
| While the Queen travels abroad to learn about horse training, unhappiness among the British elite with the devaluation of the pound involves Lord Mountbatten in a plan to oust Harold Wilson. | ||||
| 306 | 
|
“Tywysog Cymru” | James Graham & Peter Morgan | Christian Schwochow |
| Prince Charles is sent to Aberystwyth to learn Welsh from an ardent nationalist in preparation for the ceremony for his investiture as Prince of Wales. | ||||
| 307 | 
|
“Moondust” | Peter Morgan | Jessica Hobbs |
| The 1969 moon landing occasions a mid-life crisis in Prince Philip, who thinks of the adventures he has missed as the Queen's consort. | ||||
| 308 | 
|
“Dangling Man” | David Hancock & Peter Morgan | Samuel Donovan |
| While Princess Anne dates her elder brother's polo rival Andrew Parker Bowles, Prince Charles falls deeply in love with Camilla Shand causing the Queen Mother and Lord Mountbatten to interfere. | ||||
| 309 | 
|
“Imbroglio” | Peter Morgan | Samuel Donovan |
| Charles visits the exiled Duke of Windsor in his Paris chateau, only to find him very ill. But will the Queen make peace with her uncle before he dies? | ||||
| 310 | 
|
“Cri de Coeur” | Peter Morgan | Jessica Hobbs |
| As her marriage falls apart, Princess Margaret finds solace in the arms of a much younger landscape gardener. The Queen and the nation celebrate Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee. | ||||
Companion Book[]
Lacey, Robert (2019). The Crown: The Official Companion (Volume 2: Political Scandal, Personal Struggle, and the Years that Defined Elizabeth II (1956-1977). New York: Crown Archetype. ISBN 978-0525573371
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