Imelda Staunton; Queen Elizabeth.Photo: Netflix; Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty
It’s been seven years sinceThe Crownpremiered on Netflix, introducing a new generation to the sprawling story ofQueen Elizabethand the modern royal family.
Now, one year after the death of the long-serving monarch at age 96, the hit royal saga, which hasuniquely featuredarotating castduring its run, is making its final curtsy with a split premiere on Nov. 16 and Dec. 14.
“It will add to the nostalgia and create a poignancy and sense of loss,” Robert Lacey, the series’ historical consultant, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue.
Queen Elizabeth in 2006.Pool/Anwar Hussein Collection/Getty
Pool/Anwar Hussein Collection/Getty
Though the show has depicted some of the darkest times in the royal family’s history, it also strengthened public perception of the monarch.
“People born during her reign had no idea about the magic she exerted in those early years — it restored the glamour and surprising femininity that she had,” Lacey says. “It’s educated young people and people around the world about the Queen as a person. Viewers came to understand that she had a job to do. At a time of great change and flux, here is the story of a person who stood solidly.”
Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana in ‘The Crown’.Courtesy Netflix
Courtesy Netflix
Although the final season wraps with the events of 2005, the death of Queen Elizabeth on Sept. 8, 2022, led series creator Peter Morgan tochange the show’s initial ending.
In real life “we’d all been through the experience of the [Queen’s] funeral,” Morgan toldVarietyin October. “So because of how deeply everybody will have felt that, I had to try and find a way in which the final episode dealt with [her] death, even though [the character] hadn’t died yet.”
Though the riveting drama played out before a rich royal backdrop, Lacey credits some ofThe Crown’s enduring allure to its most powerful theme: family.
“It is a cliché to say they are a family like the rest of us but actually they were. And it madeThe Crowneven more part of 21st-century culture than might otherwise have been the case,” he tells PEOPLE.
Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth in ‘The Crown’.Keith Bernstein/Netflix
Keith Bernstein/Netflix
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The historian further points to the prowess of the series’ three Queens —Claire Foy,Olivia ColmanandImelda Staunton— as a reason the show so brightly sparkled.The Crownwon 21 Emmy Awards and 10 Golden Globes through the first five seasons, including Netflix’s first Emmy for Best Drama in 2021.
source: people.com
