The Crown season 5 release: 5 key talking points from confused Harry Potter fans to tampongate

Season five has finally landed on Netflix

The Crown Season 5 trailer

The Crown viewers rejoiced at the arrival of the show’s fifth season on Netflix.

The historical drama returned on Wednesday (9 November) with a new cast stepping into the (rather sensible) shoes of the British royal family.

As The Crown heads into the Nineties, Imelda Staunton has taken over from Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II. Jonathan Pryce plays her husband Prince Philip, a role last portrayed by Tobias Menzies.

Season five focuses on the demise of the relationship between the then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana, played by Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki.

The breakdown of their marriage, including the “tampongate” scandal and Diana’s Panorama interview, are among the most contentious topics covered this season.

The Crown has also been surrounded by controversy as royal supporters have demanded that the series comes with a disclaimer clarifying that it is a work of fiction.

Below you can find six of the major talking points from the season five release.

Fans were hyped by the return of Claire Foy

Episode one of the new series starts with a black-and-white flashback of the queen in her youth. It featured the series’ original Elizabeth II – Claire Foy.

Foy played the Queen in the first two seasons of the show, earning acclaim as well as two Emmy Awards for her performance.

Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana in ‘The Crown' (Keith Bernstein/Netflix)

Many hailed Foy’s performance, with one calling her “irreplaceable” and another stating she is “by far the best portrayal of the queen I’ve seen”.

John Major looked a little too appealing for some viewers

Many were left feeling conflicted as they found themselves fancying the former Conservative prime minister. In the series, Major is played by Trainspotting actor Jonny Lee Miller.

“Why is Johnny Lee Miller playing John Major...he is far too hot. I don’t want to fancy John Major,” one fan wrote, while another added: “If you make me fancy John Major I’ll be furious.”

The Independent previously investigated why a show about largely unsexy people is so ripe with sexy actors.

Harry Potter fans couldn’t get one character out of their mind

Some people found it hard to detach Staunton’s most famous role from her new one as the Queen. Staunton famously starred as the wicked Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

It’s made particularly difficult as Umbridge’s high-pitched, RP accent is not a million miles off Staunton’s interpretation of the Queen’s accent.

“I love Imelda Staunton & she’s cast well as the next queen in The Crown, but sadly I still only hear Umbridge from Harry Potter when she speaks!” one person wrote.

An ‘emotional’ scene between Princess Diana and her sons

One scene from the first episode in particular had fans reaching for the tissue box. In it, Princes William and Harry defend their mother after Prince Charles mocks her suggestion of going shopping while the family is on holiday.

In a follow-up scene, Diana tells her sons: “Thanks for sticking up for me. That was brave.”

“Prince Harry and Prince William standing up for Diana, my heart is lowkey weeeeeeping,” one viewer wrote.

Tampongate

The tampongate scandal refers to a 1989 phone call that was leaked to the press between the then-Prince Charles and his mistress at the time, Camilla Parker Bowles (now the Queen Consort).

The scandal is tackled in the series, however, Princess Anne star Claudia Harrison she believes the British public will be “surprised by” the “truth” of the affair.

In a scene in which Anne talks to Dominic West’s Prince Charles about the recording, she tells him “no one deserves” the humiliation he’s going through, and says that when she got over the “gyneaological” aspect of the transcript, she saw “two teenagers of a certain age being so gloriously human and entirely in love”.

Relive all the major reactions from release day below...

[9 November 2022 08:15 · Isobel Lewis]

What is ‘Queen Victoria Syndrome’?

The first episode of The Crown season five is titled “Queen Victoria Syndrome”, but what is it?

[9 November 2022 08:19 · Isobel Lewis]

The Crown season five doesn’t feature disclaimer after all

An interesting update! While Elizabeth Debicki appeared to reference the presence of a disclaimer during last night’s premiere, it appears that the show has arrived on Netflix without one.

[9 November 2022 08:29 · Isobel Lewis]

Are you tuning in yet?

[9 November 2022 08:40 · Isobel Lewis]

Dominic West says The Crown critics should watch a documentary about royals

Dominic West, our new Prince Charles in The Crown, has offered his thoughts on the “fact-or-fiction” debate.

The actor has called The Crown a work of “imaginative speculation”, saying that debates about the show are probably rife due to the death of the Queen.

[9 November 2022 08:49 · Isobel Lewis]

Andrew Morton says Elizabeth Debicki shows Diana as he knew her

Elizabeth Debicki’s performance as Princess Diana has been given the seal of approval by biographer Andrew Morton.

Morton, who worked with Diana on the book Diana: Her True Story, said on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday (9 November): “I don’t say this slightly but [Debicki’s] performance really conveys the Diana I got to know for a couple of years in the early 1990s.

“I was struck just watching the episode about how the paper I typed the book on was the same paper, the typeface was the same. The attention to detail was astounding. I’m really quite blown away by it. Of course there are liberties taken but Peter Morgan has done a remarkable job.”

[9 November 2022 09:00 · Isobel Lewis]

One of the new royals introduced in The Crown season five is Countess Mountbatten, Penelope Knatchbull, a friend of the Queen’s.

[9 November 2022 09:15 · Isobel Lewis]

Fans are already sharing their verdicts on season five – and it would seem the return of one former star has left viewers very excited.

[9 November 2022 09:30 · Isobel Lewis]

John Major has been an outspoken voice against this season of The Crown due to his portrayal by Jonny Lee Miller.

But what acrually happened between the former prime minister and Prince Charles?

[9 November 2022 09:45 · Isobel Lewis]

The Crown season five doesn’t feature disclaimer

While the trailer for season five may have come with a warning that the show was fictional, season five has arrived without a disclaimer.

[9 November 2022 09:53 · Isobel Lewis]

Wondering what you can expect from The Crown season five?

Here all the major storylines featuring in the show.