The Crown will have undergone a facelift when it returns in 2019, with the entirety of the show's cast being replaced as we enter the next eventful period in the Royal Family's history.

The third season of the award-winning Netflix series will feature Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II and will, according to series creator Peter Morgan, take place between the years 1964 and 1976.

Going by those dates, then, what can we expect to see in the new episodes? (Or, to put it another way, what will we be Googling on our phones next year to find out if "it really happened like that"?)

Here are just a few of the major events that affected the Royals, and Britain as a whole, across those 12 years.

1. Harold Wilson's tenure as Prime Minister

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BAFTA winner Jason Watkins has been cast as Wilson, reuniting with his The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies writer Morgan.

Wilson narrowly won the 1964 election and took up office in October 1964, serving his first term as PM until June 19, 1970. He returned to power in 1974 leading a minority government after the February '74 election resulted in a hung parliament, before winning another narrow Labour victory in a second general election in the autumn.

Wilson notably sent British troops into Northern Ireland in 1969, though refused to allow our military to become involved in the Vietnam War. His government also sponsored liberal changes, including easing laws on divorce, homosexuality, immigration and abortion; as well as the abolition of capital punishment.

His second spell at Number 10, though, was plagued with problems as the Labour leadership was split over Europe and trade union issues, with Wilson announcing his resignation in 1976. So no shortage of drama there.

2. The rise of Margaret Thatcher?

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Wilson's temporary ouster from the Prime Minister's office came courtesy of Edward 'Ted' Heath, who led the Conservatives to an election win in 1970.

Heath's time as leader of the country was mostly spent battling economic difficulties including high inflation and major strikes, and clashing with Margaret Thatcher, an in-party rival who supplanted him as party leader after the Tories lost two consecutive elections in '74.

Gillian Anderson has been cast as Margaret Thatcher, but not till season four – so while we'll see Anderson don the iron bouffant yet, it won't be in season three.

3. Princess Margaret's affair



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Though season two of The Crown saw Margaret (Vanessa Kirby) very much in love Anthony 'Tony' Armstrong-Jones (Matthew Goode), the couple had drifted apart by the early 1970s.

Margaret (who'll now be played by Helena Bonham Carter) eventually embarked on an affair with the British baronet and landscape gardener Roddy Llewellyn, who was 17 years her junior. Their relationship was eventually exposed by the News of the World, with the princess coming in for harsh criticism from both the press and politicians, who branded her a "floozy" and a "parasite".

Margaret and Tony publicly acknowledged the end of their marriage in March 1976, though their divorce was not finalised for another two years.

4. The arrival of Camilla

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It's been confirmed that the future Duchess of Cornwall will debut in the next season of The Crown, with a young Charles (now, reportedly, played by The Durrells actor Josh O'Connor) first being introduced to Camilla in 1971 by a mutual friend, Lucia Santa Cruz.

Charles and Camilla quickly became close friends and later a couple, with the prince even introducing her to some members of the Royal family. However, shortly after Charles travelled overseas to join the Royal Navy in early 1973, their relationship ended abruptly.

It's unclear exactly why they broke up, though rumours range from Camilla opting to marry Andrew Parker Bowles instead to Charles's great-uncle Lord Mountbatten conspiring to end the relationship, arranging to have Charles shipped oversea so he could eventually marry Mountbatten's granddaughter.

It'll certainly be interesting to see which path The Crown decides to take...

5. A state of emergency for Britain

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For seven weeks in 1972 (from January 9 to February 28), the National Union of Mineworkers went on strike over pay. Power shortages followed, with railway workers refusing to transport coal and power station workers refusing to handle coal in solidarity.

This, coupled with an unexpected cold spell, saw a state of emergency declared on February 9. The miners accepted an improved pay offer and went back to work 19 days later, though this was criticised as a "victory for violence" by the Conservative cabinet at the time, with some protesters having clashed with the police.

COBR (the Cabinet Office Briefing Room) was established as a result of this crisis, with the government's inadequate response to the strikes and power shortages provoking a re-evaluation of emergency planning.

6. The death of the Duke of Windsor

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One of the most dramatic episodes of The Crown's second year saw Edward VIIII (Alex Jennings) shunned by the Queen (Claire Foy) after the truth about his association with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party was uncovered. (The Duke, who was accused of having Nazi sympathies, visited Germany in 1937, against the advice of the British government, and met Hitler at his Berghof retreat in Bavaria.)

In the 1960s, the Duke's health deteriorated. On May 18, 1972, the Queen paid a visit to his residence in France while on a state visit, speaking to her uncle for 15 minutes only. 10 days later, he died – less than a month before his 78th birthday.

His body was returned to Britain and buried in the Royal Burial Ground.

7. The Queen's art curator unmasked as a Soviet spy

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It might sound like something out of an Ian Fleming novel, but in 1964, Sir Anthony Blunt, Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures, confessed to being a mole for Russia.

Blunt had been a member of the Cambridge Five, a group of spies working for the Soviet Union from the 1930s to the early 1950s. In 1963, MI5 learned of his betrayal from an American he'd recruited to the cause and, in April 1964, Blunt made a full confession in return for immunity from prosecution.

Though Queen Elizabeth II was informed of his status as a former spy, Blunt was remarkably allowed to continue in his role of maintaining the Royal collection of art until 1975.

He was publicly outed as an informant for the Reds by Margaret Thatcher in 1979, with the Queen then stripping him of his knighthood. (Though we'll have to wait for The Crown season four to see that!)

No, Diana won't be in The Crown season 3

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Lady Diana Spencer did not meet Prince Charles until November 1977, when she was aged 16 (and Charles was dating her older sister, Lady Sarah). That means she won't feature as a character in The Crown's third season, which will end its story a year earlier in 1976.

The show's casting director Nina Gold has confirmed that "Diana's not in this season", adding that "when we do get to her, that is going to be pretty interesting".

It sounds like The Crown season four will deliver plenty of its own drama.

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