Netflix has released the first promotional image of Olivia Colman as the Queen in the forthcoming third series of royal drama The Crown.
The photo, shot in the elegant style of a royal portrait, shows Colman in full costume, clad in one of the Queen’s trademark cardigans and holding a teacup.
Under the photo, the accompanying caption simply reads “patience” - a clever dual reference both to the monarch’s famous restraint and the long wait ahead for fans before the show’s return. No release date has been confirmed, but it is thought that new episodes will appear at the end of 2018 or early 2019.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The still is the first glimpse of the upcoming series, which will feature new actors in the roles of the Queen, Prince Philip and Princess Margaret as the characters enter middle age.
Alongside Colman’s monarch, Game of Thrones star Tobias Menzies will step into Matt Smith’s shoes as Prince Philip, while two-time Oscar nominee Helena Bonham Carter takes over from Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret.
Fan reaction to the image was bittersweet, as the show’s devotees welcomed Colman to the role, while simultaneously mourning the end of Claire Foy’s celebrated turn as the younger queen.
Series two of the biographical drama portrayed the Queen’s life during the 1950s and 1960s, and series three will depict the period up to 1976, Radio Times reports.
Key moments are likely to include the breakdown of Princess Margaret’s marriage to Lord Snowdon, Prince Charles’ investiture as the Prince of Wales and the Queen’s friendship with Harold Wilson - one of her favourites of the 13 prime ministers who have served during her reign.
According to Suzanne Mackie, a producer on the show, the latest series “will introduce Camilla Parker Bowles, who Prince Charles met at a polo match in 1971”, Good Housekeeping reports.
-
Political cartoons for November 27Cartoons Thursday's political cartoons include giving thanks, speaking American, and more
-
We Did OK, Kid: Anthony Hopkins’ candid memoir is a ‘page-turner’The Week Recommends The 87-year-old recounts his journey from ‘hopeless’ student to Oscar-winning actor
-
The Mushroom Tapes: a compelling deep dive into the trial that gripped AustraliaThe Week Recommends Acclaimed authors team up for a ‘sensitive and insightful’ examination of what led a seemingly ordinary woman to poison four people
-
The 8 best sci-fi series of all timethe week recommends Imagining — and fearing — the future continues to give us compelling and thoughtful television
-
The 8 best action movies of the 21st centurythe week recommends Thrills come in many forms, from assassins and spies to regular people fighting for justice
-
The 5 best narco movies of all timethe week recommends Cartels from hell and the greasy underside of the international drug trade
-
The Beast in Me: a ‘gleefully horrible story’The Week Recommends Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys star in a ‘gleefully horrible story’
-
The 8 greatest heist movies of all timethe week recommends True stories, social commentary and pure escapism highlight these great robbery movies
-
Gen Z in Los Angeles, the end of ‘Stranger Things’ and a new mystery from the creator of ‘Breaking Bad’ in November TVthe week recommends This month's new television releases include ‘I Love L.A.,’ ‘Stranger Things’ and ‘Pluribus’
-
The 5 best political thriller series of the 21st centuryThe Week Recommends Viewers can binge on most anything, including espionage and the formation of parliamentary coalitions
-
The 5 best TV shows about the mobThe Week Recommends From the show that launched TV’s golden age to a Batman spin-off, viewers can’t get enough of these magnificent mobsters
