Which Royal Will Be The Focal Point Of Season 5 Of The Crown?

In the fourth season of "The Crown," the drama was amped up by the introduction of Diana, Princess of Wales. Expertly played by Emma Corrin with an uncanny resemblance to the late royal, season four charted her relationship with King Charles III, the births of Prince William and Prince Harry, and Charles's affair with Queen consort Camilla spanning from 1979 to 1990 (via Vogue).

It was Josh O'Connor's last season as Charles, Olivia Colman's as Queen Elizabeth II, and Tobias Menzies's as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Dominic West will pick up the mantle for "The Crown" season five, alongside Elizabeth Debicki as Diana, Imelda Staunton as the queen, and Jonathan Pryce as the Duke of Edinburgh (via Forbes).

Despite the praise Corrin received for her portrayal of Diana (via The Guardian), the season was criticized for being the least historically accurate of the bunch. Writing for The Sunday Times, royal biographer Hugo Vickers said the season was "yet more subtly divisive than earlier seasons" and that "pretty much every character is dislikeable," even the queen.

So what can you expect from "The Crown" season 5, and which royal will be the focal point?

Premiering in November 2022 on Netflix (via Forbes), season five of "The Crown" will focus on the early-to-mid 1990s, according to Digital Spy. The series is expected to start in 1992, a year Queen Elizabeth II deemed "annus horribilis," Latin for a disastrous year (via Merriam-Webster). There were two divorces for the monarch to contend with, courtesy of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson alongside Princess Magaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones (via Cosmopolitan). In addition, King Charles III and Princess Diana announced their separation. However, they wouldn't get divorced until 1996 (via History Channel), a year before Diana was killed in a car accident.

If that wasn't enough, Windsor Castle suffered a catastrophic fire in 1992, which destroyed over 100 rooms (via Royal Collection Trust).

Despite Princess Diana not being the focal point of the drama during this time, the tumultuous separation, divorce, and infamous interview for BBC's "Panorama" (via Vogue) throw the spotlight on Elizabeth Debicki's portrayal of Diana during seasons five and six of "The Crown."

"The Crown" season 5 will cover the entire decade of the 1990s. But its show creator Peter Morgan decided to split the decade into two seasons, having previously said that the fifth season would be the last (via The Hollywood Reporter). "As we started to discuss the storylines for season five, 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," Morgan explained (via Vogue).

Instead, the sixth season will focus on the late 90s, particularly the death of Princess Diana in 1997. "To be clear, series 6 will not bring us any closer to the present day," Morgan told Deadline. "It will simply enable us to cover the same period in greater detail."

Season six will now be the last of "The Crown," but it paused production to respect the passing of Queen Elizabeth II (via Variety). "The Crown is a love letter to her and I've nothing to add for now, just silence and respect," Morgan said in an email (via Deadline). "I expect we will stop filming out of respect too."