Netflix released the first footage of season four of The Crown. The clip is 33 seconds long but it packs a punch. It shows three of the most powerful women in Britain: the Queen, Margaret Thatcher and Diana Spencer. These are our first images of either Thatcher or Diana in the series. But, as is the brilliance of Netflix’s editors, they give us a full face/body shot of Olivia Colman’s queen, riding in in military dress (the Old Guard) and then switched to shots of Gillian Anderson’s Thatcher and Emma Corrin’s Diana. Both ladies are shown in glimpses, from behind or out of focus shots, edited to create tension and suggesting how powerfully they will wind their way into QEII’s world. It’s a great spot:
The monarchy. Above all else. @GillianA and Emma Corrin join Olivia Colman in Season Four of The Crown, arriving 15th November. pic.twitter.com/Z4RPvzb32R
— The Crown (@TheCrownNetflix) August 20, 2020
I appreciate but also giggle at the use of hair in the clips. Thatcher and Diana were known for their iconic hairstyles, which is why I found their prominence in the teaser amusing. But the fact that people focused on hairstyles as one of these ladies’ main contribution to their legacy speaks to the inherent misogyny of the institutions they inhabited and what they fought once there.
I love the brief, foreboding shots of Thatcher. I know it’s for dramatic effect, but I also guess it’s because Gillian in makeup and costume is so dead on as Thatcher, it’s jarring. I’ll bet she has a really theatrical entrance that will make us all gasp. I really think Gillian will nail this part. I think most of us do, which is what worries us. None of us want to associate Gillian with Thatcher. I remember Thatcher but I didn’t pay too much attention to her while she was in office. I was a kid while she was serving as Prime Minister, British politics weren’t largely on my radar at that time. All I really knew was she was Reagan’s buddy.
Princesses were on my radar, though, and I remember every part of Diana Spencer’s life from when she started dating Prince Charles to the day she died. I remember my parents discussing her being photographed in the sun in a skirt with no slip, none of us knowing at the time the press set her up for it. I can remember her engagement photo on the front page of our paper. My mom and I woke at whatever ungodly hour to watch her wedding (we cried, we loved it. Except the dress, we hated her dress). My brother was in Europe right after Charles and Di’s wedding and sent me a postcard from Scotland with the shot below from their honeymoon. On it he wrote, “Greetings from Scotland, where the men wear skirts and the women wear their legs the other way around.” I thought it was so funny, I still have it. Then came both her sons’ births, the rumors, the destruction of her marriage, divorce, death and her canonization in the public’s perception – I lived every moment as she did, it was like hearing updates about a cousin. But, obviously, she isn’t my cousin. She was a young woman, only eight years older than me, who was born into a title and married the heir to the British throne whose world was completely beyond my grasp.
So when they show Emma in the clips, and cinematically suggest the amount of pressure and scrutiny Diana was under, I felt it in my core. I remember it in real time. But the most ominous shot is Emma as Diana from rocking back and forth in her giant wedding dress in that sterile antechamber. We know how it plays out from there. I feel like they hit the tones perfectly in this teaser, let’s hope they do it all justice in the series. Unlike many of you, I liked season three, so I am very excited to see season four. This little taste only reignited my love for the show.
The Crown Season Four beings November 15 on Netflix.
Photo credit: Netflix, Twitter, Getty Images and WENN/Avalon
I liked Season 3 too! I said on here the other day that I think the issue with it for many people is just that it wasn’t as dramatic a time for the queen as the 40s/50s, in terms of her life – the first two seasons had SO MUCH to work with – her marriage, the coronation, relationship with Churchill, Margaret and her love life, etc. The third season had less of that IMO. I really wish there had been more of an emphasis on Anne but I understand that the series can only do so much. Now we’re getting into the 80s and its going to be messy again. I also think the Queen was a LOT less sympathetic in the third season.
Anyway, I loved this teaser. The glimpses of Thatcher and then Diana, the crowds – the fact that you never see her or Thatcher full on, just from the side or in shadow etc – this is going to be really good. No shortage of drama here.
Pretty much. Season 3 wasn’t “action packed” as the first 2 seasons but I did find the historical accuracy of it to be a bit… weak (even compared to the first 2 seasons). But I get it’s a drama show.
But I really think they could have taken the Philip-astronaut episode and given it to Anne. Mark Phillips is/was a messy man so there was drama potential (but he was similar to Antony in terms of cheating and Peter in terms of a Princess having an affair with someone who worked for the palace) so I also do get if Peter Morgan thought Anne’s story was too “similar” to Margaret’s and decided not to show it – especially when Margaret is still alive and kicking and being played by HBC.
But I hope they get into Anne in Season 4
The astronaut episode was weak, and I thought it could have been very good. I think part of it was we saw so much of that in the first two seasons – Phillip finding his role, feeling like he wasn’t important or making a difference, etc.
I was really surprised they completely skipped the attempt to kidnap Anne, because I think that could have been a really good episode.
I feel in minority here, but I loved that episode the most. I feel it brought out all the issues of relevance of RF, Phillip, their understanding of the world surrounding them, being so behind reality… so many onion layers to peel. And I loved Tobias Menzies. That man can play a potato. In a way, with this role – he made him themost complex character of the show. It felt like he had his peak and his fall at the same time, that one episode. Maybe it was the cinematography, the narrative or maybe just Menzies. And yeah, I still can’t stand the real guy, but TM anything he does, I’d watch.
@Lemonylips: I see where you’re come from but that perspective could have come from any other BRF member. The episode came off as another “Philip manpain special” which we’ve seen a few times already.
I think Philip’s issues (getting older, feeling like he hasn’t achieved anything) could have been linked with an Anne episode (the kid who’s most like him is getting married. He’s got a grandchild coming along and he feels like he’s done nothing). Yes Philip would be linked to Anne’s story, but he could at least be a supporting character to Anne’s main arc.
@LemonyLips – that’s an interesting way to look at it. I think I would have been more on board with your perspective if I didn’t feel like we saw that play out a lot in the first two seasons – Phillip’s relevance, his role in the family, etc. I didn’t hate the episode, I just thought that they could have done a LOT better job even with the same story.
I did like the contrast between the formal palace that’s still decorated the same – very formal, old fashioned – and the astronauts. Time is marching on, and the royal family is still stuck in the same place, more or less.
I will give you Tobias Menzies though. He was really incredible as Phillip.
@lemonylips – I like the astronaut episode too. I especially like the part where astronauts, supposedly the biggest, most heroic and most famous men of their day, where 100% enthralled that Phillip’s alarm clock were a group of kilt wearing bagpipe players and not at all interested in his truly heroic experience in WWII.
I think this was meant to be a comment on how the “younger generation” was beginning to view royalty and the coming of celebrity culture which the BRF will eventually embrace and learn to use to their advantage with the arrival of Diana.
Season Three was such a waste of Helena Bonham-Carter’s talents. After the brilliance of the first two seasons, that was a disappointment, but season 4 looks interesting.
Watching Diana’s wedding is the first memory I have of a big, public event. I think I was 8. And her dress! The lace, buttons and bows plus mutton sleeves! Was it even fashionable back then?
NO! It was not IMPO!
I always thought Diana’s wedding dress was too big for her, in both the literal and figurative sense. It seemed like the dress aged her up and sometimes I have to remember that she was only 20 when she got married. It really swallowed her up, which is a dark foreshadowing of events to come.
Wasn’t this discussed in Tina Brown’s book, that Diana had imagined this fairtytale-esque wedding dress and regretted it later?
Diana went full Anne of Green Gables “I was want big, puffy sleeves.”
Anne was a 12 year old orphan who just wanted to fit in. You cross Anne, you cross me.
Diana told Morton she was losing a lot of weight in the run up to the wedding. The dress had to be taken in a few times. This dress was in the style of the eighties fashions.
I know there have been many Diana films but I hope those shots of her in this trailer are not triggering to Harry and William.
Anyway, looking forward to this because I really want to see how Gillian tackles her role.
May I ask why this would be triggering? There have been hundreds of shows ,films,docs and millions of images. I am sure they made a decision long ago on whether if they ever chose to engage ,watch or support anything to do with their mother without their authorisation and at this stage in their lives have a handle on it.
Because Harry said when he hears a camera click he is reminded of his mother. They interspersed the shots of Diana with photographer shots and camera clicks, not to mention the music faded to Diana standing alone like she’s on her own without support. But I’m not here to dictate how she should be shot. Just my 2cents this may be triggering and I could be very wrong since I’m not Harry or William. They may not even watch it.
Emma Corrin nailed Diana’s body language so well that it gave me chills. It feels like you’re watching Diana. That clip of her standing at the window and the clip of her walking towards the door are so spot-on and sad because she was so young, only just turned 20, and we know how her story turned out. I did think of William and Harry in that moment. They’ve spoken about the difficulty of coming to terms with things saying that because her image is still so common to see, it feels like she hasn’t gone away.
There’s also knowing pop culture yet again is focusing on your parents’ unhappy marriage.
Yes and storytelling in film is more immersive than pictures and documentaries especially If they get the cinematography, sound and acting right. I was 13 when she died so I’m a bit removed from the Diana effect, but those trailer shots still gave me chills. And I’m just a stranger watching. As a viewer, I like this trailer but I just hope it’s not triggering to the two (if they’re even watching).
Can’t wait. I’ve watched the first three seasons over and over.
I love this show. It’s SO well done. And I was all about Diana too. If pretty much begins and ends with her. I followed Will and Harry because they were her sons. Harry has grown into his own admirable man and married an amazing woman so he had earned my respect and attention.
Will has devolved into the Cain to Harry’s Abel and I only pay attention to what he does in relation to Harry. On his own he’s a bore.
Looking forward to S4. I did not care for Diana’s dress either. From Shy Di to a strong assertive woman. I enjoyed watching her change. How unfortunate she did not have the support H&M do today. Despite her personal angst and life within the toxic BRF she was vocal enough to give to Harry a desire to extricate himself.
Diana wasn’t on my radar until she died. Of course I’d seen tabloid covers at the market And knew she was famous but never paid attention. I flew home from Paris the night she died. My mom picked me up at the airport and told me about the crash. I brushed it off thinking that no one that famous would die in a car crash, I was young and naive. The jet lag attuned my schedule to the British news and I watched all the coverage for the week leading up to the funeral. It was so tragic and fascinating.
Princess Diana is always in my heart. She was one of a kind.
Mine too, Loretta.
Regarding her dress, though, despite the extremity ofthe ruffles and bows and lace and puffs and pearls, and would not want to see anyone else try to wear such a dress, I loved her beauty shining through that veil as it shimmered and twinkled, or was tugged by the wind -it made such an impression on me. And the other thing that made an impression was the skirt and the train, it seemed to go on forever. I never imagined in my life a dress could be like that. It had power, it was audacious, it demanded attention – the confidence and nerve you would have had to have to put that dress on and wear it down that endless aisle with a million eyes watching. In later years, it still seemed to sum Diana up for me- partly young, sheltered, innocent princess, and partly a strong, vibrant personality seeking self expression. Even at that age she must have had strength she didnt realise she had. Its not surprising with such a complex woman she draws forth so many different strongly held opinions. But I liked her and miss her. I wasnt even able to get through season 1 of the Crown, but Gillian Anderson makes it very tempting. I think id be afraid to see what they might do to Diana though.
I can’t wait!
And my God Diana’s wedding gown.
I know it was the ’80s but that thing was eating her alive.
Like the gown, the massive and messy royal machinery also ate her alive yikes.
Actually I think that monstrosity of a gown was foreseeing her life. A great metaphor .
This season, with Diana, will be great because so many of us recall the story from here on out. I watched that wedding in awe. Looking forward to this season!!!!
From the beginning of the series, I’ve been excited for when it reached the Diana years. I still am, but so much has happened in the RF since the series began – I mostly mean Harry & Meghan – that now I’m wishing the series would push on to the present time, even though they’ve said they won’t.
I actually have not watched any of this series, even tho it has been well received and popular.
The BRF is so out of touch, I simply don’t care to hear their history rehashed.
Currently Prince Andrew is a walking free criminal. H&M seem like reality tv stars to me.
Hard Pass.
I watched it when I moved to the UK, with my bf who is anti royal completely like me. We went out of it thinking the BRF is even worse than we imagined. And it didn’t make me feel sad for them although it did do that for some as it emphasizes the entrapment of the institution, like TQ is not a person but a role, and yet she lacks all the personality apart from jealousy (with Jackie O for instance or her sister). I do like the show and I loved the Moon episode (in a minority here) cause it just proved how out of touch with what is actually important they as a BRF are. Anyway, I’m back to rereading my favorite book The Century of War by Engdahl. If you want to see all of the behind the scene developments in politics that have created the time we are in now – I recommend it. It’s a hard thing to swollow at these times but it’s a great reminder for all of us of how the world functions.
@Lemonylips Exactly how I feel. I’m rewatching for the umpteenth time and was just thinking how much the creators dislike the institution. You can see the way Meghan was treated was to be completely expected.
I gobbled up the first 2 seasons. While there were excellent individual episodes in season 3 I thought it sagged a bit as a whole. But very much looking forward to the next season and its depiction of Diana. Hope they capture her character and complexity. I think she was just coming into her own when she died, so tragic
I don’t have much faith in how Peter handles a woman’s story.
I have a feeling we’re going to watch a lot more man pain. But this should start as the story of a twenty year old girl marrying a much older man who has so much more power than her and is secretive and emotionally cheating on her with his married ex.
She’s going to spend her honeymoon being ignored by him so he can read philosophy books and they’ll argue about the disrespect of Camilla’s Fred and Gladys cufflinks. Her much older husband is going to call her crazy and be angry and spiteful when his young wife does anything better than him because he doesn’t respect or love her. She’s there to produce children.
There’s a clip on YouTube of Charles whirling Diana around on a dancefloor and I mean whirling very fast and in endless circles. She has a smile fixed on her face and it’s a credit to how well she could dance because she’s keeping up while doing the same steps backwards. it’s mean and Charles comes across as rough and aggressive.
Diana was not a saint. She should never have used William as her support system, and her behavior later was horrible. Even before, gloating about how she treated her stepmother was not okay. None of that changes that Charles was awful to her and saw her as someone to be used for his own needs.
That’s a very well worded summary of the situation. On the one hand, it’s evident from the stories we’ve heard that Diana was not, in some ways, a well woman. But how much of that was inherent mental illness and how much was the situation in which she landed?
I think your last paragraph is pretty dead on.
I actually think in a few decades the perception of Diana and Charles will be something people study (they study it now, but time gives more objectivity sometimes.) Like, there was a period of sainthood when Diana died, and that has been scaled back and her various issues and mistakes have become more of the focus – lots of “well Diana was far from perfect” and that’s true, but the pendulum re: Charles has also swung the other way. He went from being the villain to “well, he just married the wrong woman the first time around” coupled again with “Diana was far from perfect” and people are beginning to really overlook how the royal family treated her, how Charles treated her – she was SO YOUNG. 20! I knew she was only 36 when she died, but I never really thought about until the past few years in terms of how young she was when she got married. (and she was barely 20.) She had William before she turned 21. I mean, how could she have been equipped to deal with what she was facing?
Charles was made out to be a sympathetic character in Season 3 and I was on his side. Knowing how he eventually treated Diana, I was interested even last season in how they are going to show this part of his character when he was one to be sympathized with in S3. I don’t think he can get away with being seen in a positive light from here on out.
William was away at school a lot. I think William as Diana’s “support system” has been exaggerated . She would tell him ahead of time about headlines. I think Charles did worse using William to help get Camilla Parker Bowles accepted. If DIana had lived I doubt she would have allowed Harry and Meghan to reach a point where they felt they had to leave. She would not have let William get away with the way he treated Harry.
I’ve always thought this too. Apart from being away at school, if you are divorcing, you have to talk to your older kids about it, to help them understand what’s going on, that it isn’t their fault, that they will still be loved. And that they will start to see their parent with a new partner etc. And especially so if they are not going to be able to escape every detail, true or not, as front page news everywhere. Its hard enough without the inescapable publicity. And maybe Diana had memories of the divorce scenario being incredibly hurtful and feeling alone, and trying to do things differently, who knows? And finally, its always put forward about the tissues under the bathroom door story that this is proof Diana used poor William as a confidante. I see it as the opposite. The only place a mother can get privacy from her kids is in the bathroom. She was in there so they wouldn’t see her cry. Poking a tissue under the door for his mum when he knew she was upset but was hiding it actually sounds like one of the nicer things I’ve ever heard about William.
I really enjoyed the show for a while. Superb acting. But the whole Harry and Meghan fiasco, and the whole Andrew rug shuffle left such a truly poisonous trail of ‘improprieties,’ personal royal consumption has to go much further back in time parading an entirely different host of players lol. It’s like watching comedians perform in our current climate. Nothing’s funny right now. I try to separate politics from EVERYTHING, but it’s like I’m a one trick pony until law-abiding adults return and restore character, quality and intelligence.
This is kind of where I am, too. Especially when I heard that the showrunner was planning to stop and not deal with the current day BRF when so many of their previous problems that they did dramatize have directly led to the situation they are in now, protecting a pedophile because he’s a “blood prince” and the Queen’s favorite, being so insecure that they allow the harassment and exile of their first mixed-race member, the way the courtiers continue to have an incredible amount of power over this institution and refuse to allow it to change at all, how the Queen puts her head in the sand rather than deal with any of it…. I feel like the showrunner is too sympathetic to them and doesn’t want to show their downfall. Because it’s ugly, but what we’ve been seeing in previous seasons is that it’s always been ugly.
I haven’t decided yet if the behavior of the real Liz of House Petty has soured me so much that i can’t enjoy this story.
I loved seasons 1 and 2.
I love Olivia Coleman (Broadchurch, The Night Manager, the Favourite), but i really am disgusted by the royal family- and i won’t blame their employees the courtiers, i know they wield their own power, but she could fire those bitches for being racist and anti progress and anti Duchess Megan, and she chose not to.
WOOO!! That gave me goosebumps! While I’m not feeling very “keen” on this family lately, Netflix always manages to nail their trailers.
I think I’ll likely jump back into the show with this season. It didn’t hold my interest before but this seems pretty juicy.
Season 3 was dull and didn’t have enough of HBC, but I am looking forward to season 4 and beyond!
I will watch for Olivia Colman. Probably wouldn’t care otherwise.
I was excited to see that Diana’s ghastly taffeta puffy wedding dress was remade. I applaud whoever had to work on that monstrosity. (note: I acknowledge that it’s an iconic dress and of its time but egads!). I liked the shot of Diana looking out the window of Buckingham Palace. It seems Emma Corrin has Di’s mannerisms down.
I saw it on exhibit and it looked a lot better “in person.” It even had a parasol with it in case it rained. The parasol was on display also.
I love this show and can’t wait to see it. I was always fascinated with Diana.
No
I think season 4 will be better than season 3. I think season 3 struggles slightly because the years they covered were dormant in terms of the RF history. Every so often they slip into a lull for a number of years and only gets reinvigorated by weddings, births etc. I think from the late 60s all through the 70s was a lull and Diana brought it back to life. We are currently in a peak right now with Meghan and harry, but eventually it will slip into another lull, until the Cambridge’s kids are grown up. Kate was suppose to reinvigorate it, but didn’t quite bring it back to life.
I also think the change in actors is hard to adjust to, even though all performances were incredible. I guess I missed Matt Smith and Claire foy.
But I will say the Aberfan episode was incredible. It was so sad to watch I could cry just thinking about it.
Yes, the Aberfan episode was really the most poignant part of season 3, and it could standalone as a film.
I find Kate and WIlliam offputting. They both seemed very cold hearted and William has gotten power hungry. A pity.
I’m right there with you Hecate regarding Diana’s life. I was 11 when they married. When she died my mother actually called me to offer her condolences.
I remember my husband coming home from work upset, because he knew I dont watch tv or listen to radio, disressed at having to break the news to me. I didn’t believe him .
I won’t be watching the show anymore. The entire BRF with the exception of Harry and Megan has left me so disgusted with their behavior this year, and maybe always. From the Andrew pedophile scandal, to Liz’s incompetence and the racism, the pure nastiness of the Cambridge’s … I’m done with all of them. Nothing can change my mind at this point
This.
I haven’t decided if I’ll watch. If I do it won’t be for Thatcher or Spencer. I considered them both overrated at the time and don’t care to revisit the excess of the 80’s either.
I liked season 3, but I felt that the Margaret stuff was poorly handled as a story line. I would have liked to see it dealt with a lot better than it was, since it just seemed so overwrought and awful. It would have been nice to see Margaret’s snobbery acknowledged, how out of place she felt with her sister as Queen. Vanessa Kirby did a much better job of that in season 1 and 2. This Margaret got to her middle age, but we saw no real explanation for it.
And I would have liked to see a comparison between Margaret and Anne. We have a particular image of Anne in the media, but I do think that, in reality, she’s about as snobby as Margaret was, and just as annoyed that she’s been displaced by three older brothers, all of whom she probably thinks are ill-suited for being monarch. That’s just my personal guess though.
I enjoyed Josh O’Connor’s portrayal, but again, we get the same problem as we do with Margaret. We know Charles is not a nice person, entirely. But the Charles in the Crown comes off as way too sympathetic. I feel like the creators and writers of the show are still stuck in a largely 80s frame of mind, where the most embarrassing vulnerability for the monarchy was being too sensitive, or displaying too much emotion, rather than the corruption, the snobbery, the classism, the awful rudeness of the institution that’s bolstered by a deeply held sense of self-importance. Rather, the whole thing makes it seem like the worst side of Margaret and Charles is the fact that they’re badly disappointed by their love lives in this world.
But y’know, the show is not about any of the rest of them. It’s about the Queen. She is The Crown. We see some glimpses of her digging her heels in and refusing to change with the times in the earlier seasons. But as I said, it’s still such a polite, respectful, reverential portrayal of her and her position. She’s nowhere near this humble in real life. Why not show that side of the monarchy for a change?
This is exactly why I couldnt get through it. Far too deferential. I dont want to be sold their myth, the price is far too high.
There were real inaccuracies. The “teaming up” of Mountbatten and the Queen Mum to stop Camilla from marrying Charles was fiction. The Queen Mum never trusted Mountbatten and did not want Philip to marry Elizabeth and she and George VI insisted Elizabeth wait another year to consider marrying Philip. It also leaves out Charles other relationships, and that he was serious about some of the women he dated and was said to have wanted to marry Davina Sheffield
I’ll always be fascinated by Princess Diana. I remember my mom waking me up very early on the day of their wedding, I was like 6 years old. She was never one to let me indulge in any kind of princess fantasies, but I remember her saying, look – “ella es una verdadera princesa”. When I saw Emma, I thought she was a good choice, maybe she can capture some of Diana’s innocence at that time in her life. When I saw some of the pics on set I was a little disappointed, it seems like they just put her in bad “diana” wig. They should’ve just given her a similar cut – where she still resembles her a bit – and let the actress do the work of trying to capture some of her spirit. As one of the most famous women of all time, I can understand the challenges of trying to get it right, and maybe that’s the point. There was and will only ever be one Diana ❤️
I was born the year before Thatcher came to power so I grew up in the country she was running and I’m really looking forward to see her portrayed in this. I have been ardently anti-conservative for as long as I can remember and that stems from growing up in Thatchers Britain.
On another note whenever I see her I think of a comedian who described later Tory PM David Cameron (who gave us Brexit) as ‘Thatchers final horcrux’ which seems bang on and always makes me chuckle. During the debate we had a few years back about whether or not she would get a state funeral when she died he suggested that the only real question was whether we could dig a hole deep enough to hand her back over to Satan himself. I think Gillian Anderson is a fantastic pick to play this woman.
Season 3 was SO BORING. I forced myself to watch and get through it. There is no way this season will be boring with the amount of material they have to work with.