The Crown season 3: Everything you need to know

We watched as Claire Foy took her final bow as Queen Elizabeth II on the Crown, but what do we know about season 3 of the Netflix drama?

The Crown has a very special format that makes it one of the most compelling shows to watch on Netflix right now, detailing the life of Queen Elizabeth II. Every two seasons, new actors take on roles of the Royal family, all to detail the good, the bad and the royally dramatic details that have been Queen Elizabeth’s life. With season 3, we’re seeing Olivia Colman, Tobias Menzies, Helena Bonham Carter and more heading to the throne to tell a different era of Elizabeth’s life.

While we’re going to miss Claire Foy and Matt Smith, the show is set to span most of Elizabeth’s life throughout all of its 60 episodes.

When is season 3 out? How can I watch?

A Netflix original show, you can catch up on The Crown on the streaming service whenever you’d like. It is always available and ready for our binging purposes. The problem is that the show is only available on Netflix. So you’ll have to have a subscription in order to watch it before season 3 premieres sometime in 2019. We don’t have an exact date yet, but we do know that sometime next year, Olivia Colman will be taking over Elizabeth II.

How many episodes will there be?

The season should have 10 episodes coming out. It is rumored that The Crown will end up being 60 episodes in total, all being an hour long. So season 3 and 4 should both be 10 hours long. 

Who’s returning in the show? Who will be new?

Well, none of the old cast members are coming back because the show is going into a later period of Elizabeth’s life — which is a bit unfortunate because Claire Foy as Elizabeth II was perfect. But who can even touch the role after if not Olivia Colman? And Tobias Menzies taking over for Matt Smith? Not to mention that Princess Margaret is none other than Helena Bonham Carter herself! They did a great job of casting the older versions of Elizabeth, Margaret, and Philip, but it is sad that the actors we fell in love with are no longer on the show.

Are there any fan theories out about next season?

It’s history. So any fan “theories” can be attributed to the history books we look at. Olivia Colman has teased a few things about the season so far, such as seeing a sounder relationship between Elizabeth and Margaret. The same will become of Elizabeth’s relationship with husband Prince Philip this season, as Colman says the two are older and “more mature” this time around. Most notably though will be the mention of Princess Diana, who will reportedly be introduced towards the end of season 3. Diana’s story will play out more so through seasons 4 and 5, with season 5 focusing heavily on her.

What did I miss last season?

With a show like The Crown, as long as you’re up on your Royal family history, you’d know for the most part what has happened on the show. Still, what The Crown does well is highlight specific aspects of Elizabeth’s life, such as a visit from the Kennedys to Buckingham Palace. When Jacqueline Kennedy and John F. Kennedy stop by on a tour of Europe, Elizabeth finds herself jealous of the youth and beauty of Mrs. Kennedy, and it leads to a very fascinating episode. 

It is going to be sad to watch The Crown without Claire Foy or Matt Smith’s performances, but that is the nature of the show. We’ll have to tune in for season 3 to see where history is going to take us next.

Check back here on Culturess after season 3 of The Crown airs on Netflix.