The Crown’s highly anticipated fourth series has its first trailer – giving fans a first look at Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher and Princess Diana in her wedding dress.
The new clip shows Emma Corrin as Diana as she is due to marry Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor), with a teaser shot taken of the character in her white dress from behind.
A post on The Crown‘s official Instagram page captions the trailer: “The monarchy. Above all else.”
It marks Netflix‘s announcement of the launch date for the new series – 15 November 2020.
Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher
Season four picks up as the 1970s are drawing to a close, with Queen Elizabeth – played once again by Oscar-winner Olivia Colman – and the rest of the Royal Family concerned about safeguarding the line of succession and finding an appropriate bride for the heir to the throne.
As the UK starts to feel the impact of Britain’s first female prime minister and her divisive policies, tensions arise between her and the Queen – growing worse as Thatcher leads the country into the Falklands War.
Following Charles’s romance with a young Diana, the drama shows that “behind closed doors, the Royal Family is becoming increasingly divided”, Netflix has teased.
“Something as important as the monarchy simply cannot be allowed to fail,” the Queen says at the beginning of the clip.
It also features shots showing Diana facing packs of photographers.
The trailer comes as further details of seasons five and six of the big-budget drama, which refreshes its actors every two series in order to reflect an accurate age for the royals portrayed, were released earlier this week.
They will focus on the Queen’s reign into the early 21st century, including several royal crises that led to the monarch’s infamous 1992 “annus horribilis”.
Imelda Staunton will step into the role of the Queen, replacing Colman, while Lesley Manville will take over from Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret.
Imelda Staunton will inherit the crown from Olivia Colman for the final two seasons
Jonathan Pryce will play the Duke of Edinburgh, taking over from Tobias Menzies, while Elizabeth Debicki will replace Corrin as Princess Diana.
And sad news for fans of Harry and Meghan, as the show’s creator Peter Morgan has said the Duchess of Sussex will not be depicted in the final series of the drama because she’s too recent an addition to the Royal Family.
The screenwriter said the omission is due to his “20-year rule”, which he enforces to allow “distance” from the stories.