Note: Contains spoilers for The Crown.



Netflix unleashed the second season of its award-winning series The Crown, starring Claire Foy and Matt Smith, back in December 2017, which means it's high time we were treated to a fresh batch of episodes.

The good news: season three is on its way, and will feature the glorious Olivia Colman in the title role. After playing Queen Anne in Yorgos Lanthimos's The Favourite, for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress, the former Peep Show star is more than equipped to take on the right royal role.

Although we're still waiting on a full-length trailer, there are some details out there about what we can expect from the $100 million smash hit, which is set to continue for another three seasons after the latest has landed.

Here's everything you need to know.

The Crown season 3 release date: When can I watch?

We've known for a while now that season three will hit screens in the second half of 2019 and now our patience has finally been rewarded. Netflix has revealed that The Crown will grace us with its presence very soon when season three arrives on Sunday, November 17.

The Crown season 3 trailer: When can I see it?



We're still waiting on a full-length trailer, but Netflix has now offered us mere mortals our first glimpse of Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II in this teaser promo which you can watch below.

The Crown season 3 cast: Who's been recast?

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Everyone. "It's hard to recast," said The Crown's executive producer Suzanne Mackie. "But once you've made that commitment, it's all or nothing. Everyone has to change."

So far, we've got word on who'll be playing Queen Elizabeth II: TV and film royalty Olivia Colman is stepping into Claire Foy's regal loafers.

When asked by PA which of her roles has been the most challenging, Colman said: "I find the harder is Queen Elizabeth because everyone knows what she looks like, everyone knows what she sounds like, everyone has an opinion on whether the casting is right.

"I am loving the job, I am loving trying to play her, but I find her harder."

Elsewhere, Tobias Menzies is taking over from Matt Smith as Prince Philip...

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...and Helena Bonham Carter is replacing Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret.

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Related: The Crown season 3 pictures reveal grown-up Prince Charles and new look at Olivia Colman's Queen

Then there's The Durrells star Josh O'Connor, who is starring as a young Prince Charles. This is what he had to say to Radio Times about his first day on set.

"There were more physically demanding scenes or emotionally demanding scenes, but the first day on set was the hardest because I walked into an unbelievable powerhouse of a series with incredible actors like Olivia and Helena and Tobias," he said.

"There's an endless list of brilliant actors," he explained. "Walking in and feeling the weight of it, it was so difficult."

But it didn't take him long to get into the swing of things.

"I opened my mouth and looked around and realised it's just like The Durrells," he continued. "A supportive team of creatives which makes such a difference and you get the best performances out of each other by supporting each other. That made the rest of the series a dream for that very reason."

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Princess Anne will be played by Call the Midwife's Erin Doherty, Marion Bailey is the new Queen Mother, and Jason Watkins is joining the cast as former prime minister Harold Wilson.

Downton Abbey's Matthew Goode will be replaced by House of Cards and The Exorcist star Ben Daniels as Princess Margaret's husband Antony Armstrong-Jones, AKA Lord Snowdon.

And in more exciting news, Game of Thrones' Charles Dance has also been pictured on set.

Digital Spy understands he'll be stepping into the shoes of Prince Charles' favourite great-uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten, although nothing has been confirmed yet.

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Related: Matthew Goode wishes he could have starred in The Crown season 3 – but says his replacement will be "terrific'

The Queen's first Prime Minister died in 1965, so Churchill (John Lithgow) is unlikely to return, though he will probably get a mention.

Likewise, Dexter's Michael C Hall, who plays US President John F Kennedy in season two, won't be expected to return – JFK was assassinated in 1963.

One character we do know who is making an appearance is Camilla Parker Bowles, as revealed earlier this year by The Crown producer, Suzanne Mackie. During a Q&A at the BFI & Radio Times Festival in London, she said: "Peter is already talking about the most wonderful things. We start meeting Camilla Parker Bowles in season three."

Camilla will be portrayed by Call the Midwife actress Emerald Fennell, who was also the showrunner on Killing Eve's second season.

Related: The Crown season 3 offers first look at a young Camilla Parker Bowles in new set pictures

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"What's really great about it, though, is that there's absolutely nothing about young Camilla," Fennell told The New York Times.

"There's two pictures. She was very private, and what we're dealing with in the new season is her relationship with Charles that predated her marriage, and predated his marriage by decades, I think.

"So I felt I was coming at her from who I think she is now, and Peter Morgan does so much diligent research that really it's all on the page.

"You get to turn off the analytical, angsty part of your brain about playing someone real."

The show will also cover the 1969 Moon landing, when man first landed on the Moon.

Primeval star Andrew Lee Potts will also play Apollo 11 pilot Michael Collins, alongside Felix Scott as Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin and Henry Pettigrew as Neil Armstrong.

The Crown season 3 filming: When will the cameras roll?

Thanks to Olivia Colman, we knew that filming would start on the new season in July 2018 and has already given us first looks at Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret.

Previously, filming on a season has taken just over five months.

German director Christian Schwochow will be behind the camera for at least two episodes.



The Crown season 3 plot: What will it be about?

According to creator Peter Morgan, the third season will take place between the years 1964 and 1976.

This means it will potentially cover the likes of Harold Wilson's two terms as prime minister, the rise of Margaret Thatcher, Princess Margaret's affair with British baronet and landscape gardener Roddy Llewellyn, England winning the World Cup, the National Union of Mineworkers strike of 1972, and the moon landing.

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If you don't mind some real-life spoilers, we've rounded up the major events for you right here.



The Crown season 3: Will it feature Princess Diana?

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

Diana Spencer will instead become a main feature of later seasons as the show approaches the '80s and '90s.

And in exciting news, the role has been cast. Emma Corrin, a complete unknown who only recently graduated from Cambridge, will play Prince Charles' first wife.

"I have been glued to the show and to think I'm now joining this incredibly talented acting family is surreal," Emma said in a statement on Twitter.

"Princess Diana was an icon and her effect on the world remains profound and inspiring. To explore her through Peter Morgan's writing is the most exceptional opportunity and I will strive to do her justice."

We're sure she will.

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