'The Crown' season 6 gives us a first look at young Prince William and Kate Middleton

See the now-married royals meet as college coeds in 'The Crown' season 6

Actress Meg Bellamy, who plays Kate Middleton is seen during filming for The Crown season 6 in St Andrews, on March 17, 2023 in St Andrews, Scotland. The sixth series of the drama, based on the real lives of the recent British monarchy, is set in St Andrews where the Prince and Princess of Wales met whilst studying at University
(Image credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty)

Where season 5 delved into Lady Di, The Crown season 6 is fast-forwarding to the next generation: namely, Prince William, Prince Harry and Kate Middleton. 

If you binge-watched The Crown season 5, with all its royal scandals and new faces—like Penny Knatchbull—we don't blame you for waiting less-than-patiently for another installment, especially since the storyline is creeping closer and closer to the present day. 

As fans of one of Netflix's most-watched shows will know, The Crown centers on Queen Elizabeth II and her reign. So far, it has depicted the events following her wedding to Prince Philip in the 1950s right through to the breakdown of Prince Charles and Princess Diana's tumultuous marriage in the '90s. The fifth season featured everything from the fire at Windsor Castle to Diana's iconic revenge dress.

But what of the sixth season? So far we know that The Crown season 6 has sparked some backlash, as its timeframe (the '90s to early 2000s) will cover Diana's tragic death. Here's everything you need to know about season 6, from production news to potential plotlines to, yes, those "Prince William" photos. 

'The Crown' season 6: what we know so far

Yes, thankfully for all you royal-drama-loving folks out there, The Crown season 6 is officially on its way. It will, however, be the final installment of the award-winning show.

Despite the renewal, things were looking slightly touch and go, after showrunners contemplated ending the show with the fifth season. However, the show's creator Peter Morgan issued a statement that there would be a sixth season after all, saying: "It soon became clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons."

Production for season six began in September 2022, with images of the cast on set—though filming was briefly suspended following the Queen's death on September 8th.

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When is 'The Crown' season 6 release date?

So far there is no official release date and with filming still taking place in March 2023, fans will have a bit of a wait before the sixth season hits Netflix. The previous seasons have all dropped around November/December, so winter 2023 is definitely a safe bet.

Who is in 'The Crown' season 6 cast?

As previous seasons have seen the actors playing the main royal family members return for two seasons, this will be the same for season six. That means that Imelda Staunton, Elizabeth Debicki and Dominic West are all reprising their roles as Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana and Prince Charles, respectively. 

The full cast list includes:

  • Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II
  • Viola Prettejohn as young Princess Elizabeth
  • Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
  • Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
  • Beau Gadsdon as young Princess Margaret
  • Dominic West as Charles, Prince of Wales
  • Olivia Williams as Camilla Parker Bowles
  • Elizabeth Debicki as Diana, Princess of Wales, Charles' ex-wife
  • Khalid Abdalla as Dodi Fayed
  • Salim Daw as Mohamed Al-Fayed
  • Bertie Carvel as Tony Blair, Prime Minister
  • Lydia Leonard as Cherie Blair
  • Andrew Havill as Robert Fellowes
  • Marcia Warren as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
  • Claudia Harrison as Anne, Princess Royal
  • Theo Fraser Steele as Timothy Laurence
  • James Murray as Prince Andrew, Duke of York
  • Sam Woolf as Prince Edward
  • Ed McVey as Prince William of Wales
  • Rufus Kampa as young Prince William of Wales
  • Meg Bellamy as Kate Middleton
  • Luther Ford as Prince Harry of Wales
  • Will Powell as young Prince Harry of Wales
  • Richard Rycroft as George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury
  • Timothy Dutton as Michael Middleton

Tristan Gemmill has confirmed that he will also be appearing in the show, though his role currently remains a mystery. Plus, model Kelly Brooks says she will also cameo, as showrunners requested to use a picture of her from her 90s modeling days as a poster. 

She told the Daily Star: "That's definitely got to be a teenage boy's bedroom. Could I be on the wall of Prince Harry or Prince William's bedroom at Buckingham Palace? Was I a pin-up for them back in the 90s? How old were they then? Well, this is incredible. Of course, I have said yes."

What will 'The Crown' season 6 be about?

So far we know that the final season will cover the events from the late 90s and early 00s, which will include Princess Diana's death in 1997.

The Crown season 6 will feature the events leading up to the fatal car crash that killed Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed and the aftermath. This has sparked a lot of backlash, though Netflix has confirmed to People that the moment of impact will not be shown in the series.

Elizabeth Debicki (who plays Diana in seasons 5 and 6) has also broken her silence about the plot, telling Entertainment Weekly: "I'll say that Peter and the entire crew of this job do their utmost to really handle everything with such sensitivity and truth and complexity, as do actors."

The plot will also likely focus on Prince William and Harry's teenage years and we can assume, with the casting of Kate Middleton, that we will see the couple meet and date at university—but will not go beyond the early 2000s.

Christina Izzo

Christina Izzo is the Deputy Editor of My Imperfect Life. 


More generally, she is a writer-editor covering food and drink, travel, lifestyle and culture in New York City. She was previously the Features Editor at Rachael Ray In Season and Reveal, as well as the Food & Drink Editor and chief restaurant critic at Time Out New York


When she’s not doing all that, she can probably be found eating cheese somewhere.