2nd November 2022 – (Hong Kong) The fifth season of The Crown, which follows the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II, will be released by Netflix on 9th November 2022. This will be the first season of the series to be released after both the death of Prince Philip on 9th April 2021 and the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8th September 2022.
According to news.com.au, English actor Dominic West sent a private letter to then-Prince Charles after he was offered the role of playing him on the upcoming season of The Crown.
The 53-year-old TV star had close ties with the British royal family as an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, a charity founded by Charles in 1976.
Concerned about the conflict of interest, West reached out to Charles informing him he would be playing him onscreen for season five of the Netflix show and that he ultimately wished to resign from the trust. Shortly afterwards, he received a surprising response from Charles’ press secretary.
He said the response was along the lines of: “‘You do what you like, you’re an actor, it’s nothing to do with us,’” West told Radio Times of the reply, adding that Charles ultimately rejected his resignation.
Imelda Staunton stars as Elizabeth, along with main cast members Jonathan Pryce, Lesley Manville, Jonny Lee Miller, Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki. All cast members are new to the series; this season marks The Crown’s second and final wholesale recasting, following the ensembles led by Claire Foy (seasons 1 and 2) and Olivia Colman (seasons 3 and 4).
In January 2020, Imelda Staunton was announced as succeeding Colman as the Queen in the fifth season, and her role in the final sixth season was reported in July. Also in July 2020, Lesley Manville was announced as portraying Princess Margaret, and the following month, Jonathan Pryce and Elizabeth Debicki had been cast as Prince Philip and Diana, Princess of Wales, respectively. In October 2020, Dominic West was in talks to play Prince Charles and was officially confirmed as part of the cast in April 2021. In June 2021, Jonny Lee Miller was cast as John Major and Olivia Williams announced that she would portray Camilla Parker Bowles. On 18th November 2021, it was announced Senan West, the real-life son of Dominic, was cast as Prince William. In March 2022, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu was cast as Monique Ritz.
Filming for the season began in July 2021. Jemima Khan, who was a friend of Princess Diana, revealed that she had stepped down as a consultant and co-writer on episodes focusing on the Princess over concerns that the story of her final years would not be as properly portrayed as she expected. Filming was temporarily halted that December after eight crew members tested positive for COVID-19, which resulted in them being quarantined.