As a show about the current crop of royals in England, Netflix's The Crown has many fans of the royal family wondering when they can hope to see the show's version of Princess Diana on screen. Well, now we know the answer, and it looks like we'll have to wait a while. The show, which has been following the reign of England's current queen, Elizabeth II, is taking things slow in its dramatization of the events of her time on the throne, and won't be bringing Princess Diana into the picture until the end of Season 3. The show is then planning to feature her heavily for Seasons 4 and 5.
Princess Diana, of course, became one of people's favorite members of the royal family after her wedding to Queen Elizabeth's eldest child and heir apparent, Prince Charles. Their wedding captured the imagination of the world in 1981, as it was televised and reached over 750 million people around the world. She was widely known as The People's Princess, and did extensive charity work on the behalf of a variety of causes, including mental illness, drug abuse, landmines, homelessness, HIV/AIDS, and leprosy. Diana quickly became the most photographed member of the royal family, and this led to her death in a car accident as she and her boyfriend were being followed by paparazzi in 1997. Her televised funeral saw 32.10 million people tune in in Britain, while several millions more watched around the world.
It's obvious that the life of Princess Diana and her time as a member of the royal family will be a big arc for The Crown once the show reaches that time period. Someone who was as well-known and loved as her would have to be included in the series, as long as it lasts long enough to tell her story in Season 3, 4 and 5. The show, though, has some work to do to get up to that point in the story of Queen Elizabeth's reign and those that have been a part of her life and career all this time.
First, they have to make Prince Charles a bigger part of the story. As of the end of Season 1, he was still a boy who didn't have much of a role in the series, other than being seen playing with his little sister, Princess Anne, or being taught to fish by his father, Prince Philip. But, filming on Season 2 is currently underway, and they've already started making inroads in that direction. The Crown creator and writer Peter Morgan also spoke with People magazine about the direction that the second season is taking, saying:
We start to focus on Charles as a young boy and his education, and on Philip and his back story.
While the first season of The Crown did the hard work of introducing audiences to Elizabeth, her husband Philip and the rest of the royal family during the early days of her reign, now the show will be able to branch out a bit and focus more on Philip's backstory, and on the boy who will someday be king. As is to be expected, as Charles grows up on screen, we'll likely see more of him, which will eventually lead to his relationship with Princess Diana.
There's no exact release date for The Crown Season 2 just yet, but it's expected to hit Netflix sometime in late 2017. For what to watch in the coming months, check out our midseason premiere schedule.
