‘The Crown’ Reportedly Working on Queen Elizabeth II Tribute With Returning Stars

The upcoming sixth and final season of Netflix’s historical drama  will reportedly be paying tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II. TV Insider reports that Claire Foy, Olivia Colman and Imelda Staunton, who all portrayed the late British monarch throughout the show’s run in its different timelines, will appear in new scenes in Season 6. The scenes, according to The Sun, will include newcomer Viola Prettejohn in a wartime depiction of Elizabeth.

“Netflix [is] playing a clever hand with these four queens, bringing the story of Her Majesty to a sensational end after telling virtually all of her life story over 60 episodes,” an insider shared. “The idea would most likely have been devised last year, around the time that the Queen passed away, as a way of paying tribute to her. Getting the actresses together was no mean feat, as both Claire and Olivia went on to bigger things after making The Crown and have packed schedules.”

Nothing has been confirmed by Netflix that this is happening, so everything is still up in the air. However, some sort of tribute to Queen Elizabeth II can be expected after her passing last year. When Her Majesty died, Deadline confirmed that the Netflix series would temporarily suspend production “as a mark of respect,” while writer Peter Morgan also said that Season 6 would “stop filming out of respect.”

Although Season 6 was in production at the time of her passing, it’s possible that there had been plans for a storyline or some sort of tribute to the Queen in case she died while the show was still filming. While nothing is set in stone for now, it would be interesting to see how all four actress comes together to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and how it ties the entire story together.

Meanwhile, what fans do actually know about the final season of The Crown is that it will begin in the late ’90s and close out in the early 2000s. It will cover Princess Diana’s tragic death in 1997 and behind-the-scenes photos from set showed a young Prince William and Kate Middleton at the University of St. Andrews. So while there still isn’t too much known about the specific plot, fans can still speculate just what all will be covered, along with the likely tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. As of now, there isn’t a set premiere date, but it will premiere sometime in the fall of 2023, so it will be coming very soon.