Netflix’s historical drama series The Crown adds Call the Midwife’s Emerald Fennell for season 3; the British actress will portray a crucial member of the British royal family.
In November 2016, Netflix released The Crown’s first season, a lavish exploration of Queen Elizabeth’s ascent from 1947 to 1955. As the title character, Claire Foy rose to prominence, winning a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama for The Crown’s initial run, before winning a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for season 2, which covers the years 1956 to 1964. Given the extraordinary attention to detail and visual polish, The Crown has unsurprisingly impressed critics and binge-watchers with its production aesthetics, yet it’s the performances that drive the narrative, whether it’s a veteran such as John Lithgow or up-and-comers like Matthew Goode (Watchmen) and Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible — Fallout).
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Per TVLine, Fennell will portray Camilla Parker Bowles, the Duchess of Cornwall, in The Crown's third season. For the series’ next installment, covering the years 1964 to 1976, Olivia Colman will replace Foy as Queen Elizabeth II, while Fennell will portray her daughter-in-law, the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. In 1981, Charles - the heir apparent - married Princess Diana Spencer, who later gave birth to Prince William and Prince Harry. After Diana’s tragic 1997 death, Charles ultimately began a relationship with Camilla before officially marrying in 2005. Born in 1947, the Duchess of Cornwall was previously married to British Army officer Andrew Parker Bowles from 1973 to 1995.
In the 2012 film Anna Karenina, Fennell portrayed Princess Merkalova and later starred as Nurse Patsy Mount on BBC’s Call the Midwife from 2013 to 2017. The London native has also written four novels, a screenplay (Chukka, 2008), and even two 2016 episodes of the British sitcom Drifters. For The Crown season 3, the multi-talented actress will join Helena Bonham Carter (Fight Club), Tobias Menzies (Casino Royale), and Ben Daniels (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) as new additions to the acclaimed cast. Meanwhile, the original Queen Elizabeth II, Foy, will soon appear in theaters as the new Lisbeth Salander in Fede Álvarez’s The Girl in the Spider’s Web. Foy also stars alongside Ryan Gosling in Damien Chazelle’s Neil Armstrong biopic First Man.
While the The Crown’s main cast will be significantly different for season 3, fans can expect the same narrative look and feel as the series explores the Suez Crisis and the birth of the Queen’s youngest son, Prince Edward.
More: What To Expect From The Crown Season 3
The Crown Season 3 will premiere in 2019 on Netflix.
Source: TVLine