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 18:21 · Tom Murray]

The Independent gives The Crown two stars

In a two-star review for The Independent, Nick Hilton called The Crown’s fifth season “the definition of first world problems”.

“The reality is that The Crown ran out of steam a while ago... The longer it has gone on, the more it has assumed an exhaustive and soap operatic quality.”

Read the full review here

[9 November 2022 19:28 · Tom Murray]

Comparison between Elizabeth Debicki and Princess Diana clip goes viral

A video circulating on social media shows Princess Diana’s infamous 1995 interview with Martin Bashir alongside Elizabeth Debicki’s rendition in The Crown.

The interview included Diana saying openly that “there were three of us in this marriage”, alluding to Charles’ affair with Camilla Parker Bowles.

[9 November 2022 20:00 · Tom Murray]

Princess Anne actor Claudia Harrison thinks public will be ‘surprised by’ the ‘truth’ of tampongate

In an interview with The Independent, Claudia Harrison, spoke about the infamous recording leaked by People in 1989.

The recording showed a conversation between Charles and his then-mistress Camilla Parker Bowles in which the prince expressed his desire to be reincarnated as a tampon so that he could live inside her.

Harisson said: “The truth of that recording, I think the British public will be surprised by, because at the time it was portrayed as a thing that it wasn’t.”

[9 November 2022 23:07 · Tom Murray]

‘Thats not the Queen. Thats Professor Umbridge'

Harry Potter fans are having a hard time witnessing Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II.

Staunton famously played the sadistic Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Read more

[10 November 2022 00:17 · Tom Murray]

Season five points to Prince Andrew scandal

One scene in the new series of The Crown appears to make a nod at Prince Andrew’s scandal involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“People tell me I put my foot in it from time to time,” Andrew (James Murray) tells the Queen (Imelda Staunton) while discussing Sarah Ferguson’s affair.

In 2015, one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, alleged that she was forced to have sex with Epstein and Prince Andrew, a claim that the Duke of York has denied.

Read more

[10 November 2022 01:15 · Tom Murray]

King Charles actor Dominic West says calls for a disclaimer are ‘flattering’ as The Crown feels ‘more authentic’ than other shows and films about the royal family

[10 November 2022 02:15 · Tom Murray]

Who is Penelope Knatchbull?

Season five of The Crown shines a light on the Duke of Edinburgh’s close confidante.

Knatchbull (played by Natascha Mceklhone) was one of only 30 mourners who were invited to attend Philip’s funeral last year.

In the series, it is suggested that Phillip pursued an emotional affair with the younger woman while being married to the Queen.

Read more

[10 November 2022 03:15 · Tom Murray]

Fans highlight ‘emotional' scene involving Diana, William and Harry

Viewers have already picked up on one poignant scene involving Princess Diana and her sons, William and Harry.

The scene shows the two boys, played by Timothee Sambor (William) and Teddy Hawley (Harry) sticking up for their mother as Charles shoots down her suggestion.

[10 November 2022 07:49 · Louis Chilton]

Despite the back-and-forth over historical accuracy, there’s no denying the uncanny faithfullness in some of The Crown’s scenes, as people have been pointing out.

Look at the recreation of this moment from Diana’s famous interview...