A new trailer for The Crown season 4 has dropped, and it teases what we can expect from the acclaimed royal drama’s latest big storyline. As the series reaches the late 70s/early 80s, season 4 will tackle the romance and subsequent marriage between Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, which – as the promo reminds us – was viewed as “a fairy tale” at the time. Of course, we know that in reality, the relationship ended in tragedy, something reflected in the teaser’s ominous tone.
We’ve seen a lot of her in set photos and a promo image which revealed the actress in a recreation of Diana’s iconic wedding dress, but this is our first proper look at Emma Corrin in action as the late Princess of Wales. She appears to be another bit of stellar casting for the series, too, as she looks uncannily like the real Diana in certain scenes.
For more, here’s the official synopsis, which was released along with the teaser and further hints at the exploration of the dark side behind the royal marriage:
As the 1970s are drawing to a close, Queen Elizabeth and her family find themselves preoccupied with safeguarding the line of succession by securing an appropriate bride for Prince Charles, who is still unmarried at 30.
While Charles’ romance with a young Lady Diana Spencer 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 fairy tale for Diana.
Of course, this trailer also reveals our first clips of Gillian Anderson, looking almost unrecognizable as Margaret Thatcher, whose highly controversial reign as Prime Minister and frosty relationship with the Queen will be another major plotline this season.
Speaking of which, season 4 is the second run for Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth, Tobias Menzies as Prince Phillip, Helena Bonham-Carter as Princess Margaret and Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles. Just as we saw after season 2, though, the principal cast will stand aside from their roles for season 5 and 6 to allow for older actors to take on the parts. For instance, Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce will step up as the Queen and Prince Phillip.
The Crown season 4 lands on Netflix on November 15th and you might want to make it last, as the show won’t return until 2022 after this.