The Crown released back in 2016 and immediately became a crowd favorite with streamers on Netflix. The award-winning drama revolves around the reign of Queen Elizabeth II and is quite unique in the way the royal family is portrayed. For the first two seasons, we saw Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II and Matt Smith as Prince Philip but the third season (coming out on November 17) will show Olivia Colman and Tobias Menzies as the head of the royal family.
The new season will pick up in 1963 where we'll see more of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's children as they figure out adulthood in the public eye. Before season three takes off, let's take a look at five things we love about the new cast and five things we'll miss terribly.
OLIVIA COLMAN AS QUEEN ELIZABETH II
British actress Olivia Colman will take over for Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II. Colman is a phenomenal choice to play the queen as she's English herself and is an Academy Award and Oscar winner.
Colman has some history playing a royal figure in England as she won an Oscar for playing Queen Anne in The Favourite. To get ready for her new role, Colman had to learn not to smile as much, according to The Daily Mail.
BUT WE'LL MISS CLAIRE FOY'S IMPECABLE REPRESENTATION OF ELIZABETH'S ACCENT
Actress Claire Foy comes from the UK and already has a brilliant accent, however, to get ready for her role as the queen, she had to adjust her accent ever so slightly. Queen Elizabeth II has a very specific and proper speech that can be hard to emulate. However, Foy did it beautifully.
Foy admitted on The Late Late Show with James Corden that the show had a dialect coach who helped the cast get into character, so one can imagine that Olivia Colman will have the same. There's nothing quite like seeing Claire Foy's beauty on screen, though. She will be missed.
HELENA BONHAM CARTER SPOKE TO PRINCESS MARGARET VIA A PSYCHIC
British actress Helena Bonham Carter is an incredible actress who is well-known for throwing herself in her characters and becoming who she's portraying. While she may be beloved for her take on Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter series, Helena is sure to turn heads as she takes on the queen's sister, Princess Margaret in the third season of The Crown.
Before Helena could get into character though, she decided to reach out to a psychic to try and get in touch with the deceased princess. While on the Graham Norton Show, Helena admitted that she asked Princess Margaret if she could play her on The Crown and her spirit came through and said "I think you’re a better idea than the other actor." Many have said the response was a very "Margarete" reply.
BUT WE'LL MISS SEEING VANESSA KIRBY'S TAKE ON THE PRINCESS
Vanessa Kirby played Princess Margaret in the first two seasons of The Crown and did a beautiful job. As the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, we saw the tennis match that went back and forth between her wanting to be a "normal" English woman and wanting the spotlight on her celebrity.
Queen Elizabeth II had a duty to fulfill and expected the same kind of respect and grace from her sister but as we know from the first two seasons, that didn't always pan out. From her heartbreaking relationship with Peter Townsend to her wild relationship and marriage to Anthony Armstrong, Kirby gave incredible detail to the character.
TOBIAS MENZIES HAS SOME EXPERIENCE BEING ROYAL
Similar to Oliva Colman who's playing the queen, her husband in the show, Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, has some prior experience of playing a member of the royal family. Starring alongside Emma Thompson, Menzies has also played in King Lear as the Duke of Cornwall. We've also seen him in Outlander and Game of Thrones.
In the first two seasons, we saw the relationship between Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip change dramatically. After the high of being newlyweds, they were immediately thrown into the highest role England possibly has. It'll be interesting to see how Prince Philip acts in the third season with Tobias leading the way.
WE ALREADY MISS JOHN LITHGOW AS WINSTON CHURCHILL
The wonderful thing about The Crown is that the casting directors aimed for an entirely British cast. The one exception of hiring John Lithgow as the former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. Churchill was a notoriously popular figure in the United Kingdom and helped Queen Elizabeth II get accustomed to her reign after her father passed away.
He was blunt, he was direct, but he had the utmost respect for the queen and the monarchy. After his failing health, Churchill stepped down as the prime minister and spent time with family. John Lithgow, however, did a fantastic job of representing the iconic Churchill.
WE CANNOT WAIT TO SEE EMMA CORRIN AS PRINCESS DIANA
As the world became fascinated with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's relationship once they came to power, that fascination only multiplied when their son Prince Charles began courting Lady Diana Spencer. Once the two became engaged to be married, the Brittish press had a field day.
Princess Diana was unlike anyone else in the royal family and was her own celebrity. Sadly, their relationship was filled with deceit and drama and the two divorced. What's worse is she passed away in a car accident back in 1997.
For The Crown's third season, actress Emma Corrin will star as Princess Diana and we cannot wait to see how her relationship with Prince Charles unfolds on camera.
WE'LL MISS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN QUEEN ELIZABETH II AND THE QUEEN MOTHER
Claire Foy and Victoria Hamilton had a great connection on screen as the mother and daughter duo. The Queen Mother loves her girls and the monarchy but has a hard time getting over the loss of her husband, King George VI.
We see the new queen and the Queen Mother battle from time to time on what's considered proper and how to move forward in a changing world. Now in season three, Marion Bailey will be taking over as the Queen Mother. However, it appears she's only in one episode.
AND JOSH O'CONNOR IS 'MILDLY IN LOVE' WITH PRINCE CHARLES
One of the biggest storylines today was the relationship between Prince Charles, his ex-wife Princess Diana, and his mistress and current wife Camilla Parker Bowles. In the third season of The Crown, we'll see actor Josh O'Connor take on Prince Charle's storyline and watch his relationships unfold.
According to The Telegraph, O'Connor has said to be "mildly in love" with Prince Charles and the man he is. "He's an incredible man," he said.
WE'LL MISS MATT SMITH AS PRINCE PHILIP'S YOUNGER SELF
Matt Smith's portrayal of Prince Philip was a lasting one in the first two seasons. We saw how much he loved Queen Elizabeth II but struggled with his role as the husband to the queen. He was eventually given the title of "prince" but he had trouble adapting to life outside of the military, living in Buckingham Palace, and not having his wife take his last name.
We also caught a glimpse of his wandering eye and the turmoil it had on his relationship with the queen (whether it's true or not). We have no doubt Tobias Menzies will do great as the older prince, but we'll sure miss Smith's performance.