Netflix recently released some first-look Season 4 photos that introduced the one and only Gillian Anderson as Prime Minister Margaret “Iron Lady” Thatcher and newcomer Emma Corrin as Princess Diana, and now, we’ve got a teaser that casts a shadow upon both the House of Windsor and Downing Street. Of major interest to royal watchers will be how the show frames the royal entrance of Diana, who would become the People’s Princess amid her stormy marriage to Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor). And as this teaser suggests, the fairy tale certainly isn’t everything that Diana expected it to be.
The season will stream on November 15, so viewers will have to wait until then to see how Diana’s public reception clashes with what she experiences at home. The high-pressure situation led to her profound unhappiness, and eventually, the tragedy that shall come in a future season. This year, we’ll see the cracks begin to appear, both for Diana and for late-1970s and mid-1980s England. From the synopsis:
As the 1970s are drawing to a close, Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Colman) and her family find themselves preoccupied with safeguarding the line of succession by securing an appropriate bride for Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor), who is still unmarried at 30.
While Charles’ romance with a young Lady Diana Spencer (Emma Corrin) provides a much-needed fairytale to unite the British people, as the transformation from teenager to Princess of Wales takes place, it is anything but a fairytale for Diana.
The teaser also gives some face time to Thatcher, and viewers will be interested to see exactly how she carries those distinctively authoritative tones (which were partially down to throat lozenges). Further, we’ll see Thatcher’s jousting with Queen Elizabeth II as Olivia Colman continues to wear the crown. That’ll be an interesting balance for the show to achieve, given that Elizabeth maintained a very judicious position of appearing to never take a political stance (although you know she did).
Fingers crossed for a lot of Helena Bonham Carter continuing to be the fabulously bawdy Princess Margaret, and Tobia Menzies maintaining a steady presence as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The Crown Season 4 will stream on November 15.
