The Crown Showrunner Says the Queen's Death Changed Series' Ending

Showrunner Peter Morgan says The Crown will address Queen Elizabeth's death.

By Nicole Drum

After six seasons, The Crown is coming to an end while the Netflix series will conclude its timeline around 2005, it turns out that the real-life death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 impacted the series' end. Series creator Peter Morgan told Variety that the Queen's death was something that he had to address in the finale — though he didn't explain quite how the series would accomplish that.

"We'd all been through the experience of the funeral," Morgan said. "So, because of how deeply everybody will have felt that, I had to try and find a way in which the final episode dealt with the character's death, even though she hadn't died yet."

Morgan also explained that he did at one point consider making the Queen's death the end of the series but decided to conclude the series in 2005 to keep things "historical".

"It was the cutoff to keep it historical, not journalistic," he said. "I think by stopping almost 20 years before the present day, it's dignified."

Did The Queen Watch The Crown?

Last year, Matt Smith, who played Prince Philip during The Crown's first two seasons, was interviewed by Today and revealed he believes Queen Elizabeth watched The Crown before her death. 

"I heard the queen had watched it," Smith revealed. "And she used to watch it on a projector on a Sunday night, apparently." He added, "I know that Philip definitely didn't. A friend of mine sat next to him at a dinner once, and he asked him ... My friend couldn't resist. By the end of the meal, he was like, 'Philip, I have to ask. Have you watched The Crown?' And [he] apparently turned 'round to him and went, 'Don't be ridiculous.'"

Smith also had a fun interaction with Prince Harry when playing Prince Philip. "He walked up to me, and he went, 'Grandad,'" Smith shared. "He'd watched the show!" Smith said he "can't claim to know if he watches it currently," but Prince Harry had "watched a bit of it then." In 2019, the third season of The Crown jumped ahead in time, and Smith was replaced by Game of Thrones alum Tobias Menzies. 

What Is The Crown Season 6 About?

The final season of The Crown, which will be divided into two parts, is set to cover the time period between 1997 and some major events, including the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the premiership of Tony Blaire, and the early relationship of Prince William and Kate Middleton. "The final chapter begins November 16th. Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatisation tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign. Seasons 1-5 now streaming, only on Netflix," the streaming site shared with the release of the trailer last week.

The Final Season of The Crown Will Cover Princess Diana's Death

Earlier this summer, The Crown producers Suzanne Mackie and Andy Harries spoke about how Season 6 handles Diana's passing, which occurred in 1997 as a result of injuries she sustained in a car accident. According to the producers, the priority will be to portray the story tactfully.

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"The show might be big and noisy, but we're not," Mackie said. "We're thoughtful people and we're sensitive people. There were very careful, long conversations about how we were going to do it... The audience will judge it in the end, but I think it's been delicately, thoughtfully recreated. Elizabeth Debicki is an extraordinary actress and she was so thoughtful and considerate. She loved Diana. There's a huge amount of respect from us all, I hope that's evident."

The Crown returns to Netflix on November 16th. 

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