What's Happening With 'The Crown' Now That the Queen Has Died?

(Image credit: Netflix)

published 13 September 2022

After Queen Elizabeth II's passing, the first order of business definitely wasn't the fate of a certain Netflix drama.

But now that a few days have passed and while the world continues its mourning, fans of The Crown are starting to ask what will happen with the show's filming process and release schedule. (They've asked so many questions in fact that "The Crown" has been trending on Twitter.)

I have (some) answers for the curious among you. On Sept. 8, the series' writer, Peter Morgan, told Deadline, "The Crown is a love letter to [the Queen] and I’ve nothing to add for now, just silence and respect. I expect we will stop filming out of respect too."

On Sept. 9, a Netflix source told the publication, "As a mark of respect, filming on The Crown was suspended today. Filming will also be suspended on the day of Her Majesty The Queen’s funeral."

They are currently in the middle of filming season 6, while season 5 is scheduled to be released in November 2022. It's unclear whether this release date will be affected by the monarch's death.

Over its four previous seasons, The Crown ruffled many feathers, notably by deep-diving into then-Prince Charles' affair with his now-wife Camilla, while he was still married to Princess Diana.

And because it is partly fictionalized, The Crown doesn't always get things right—instead, it's meant to serve as a dramatization of the Royal Family's real life. Still, it has been known to influence public opinion about the royals, which is part of why said royals haven't always been delighted about its existence.

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.