Series 5

As Season 5 begins, the Queen is approaching the 40th anniversary of her accession. Setting off on Britannia for her annual tour of Scotland’s Western Isles, she reflects on a reign that began at the age of 25 and has encompassed nine Prime Ministers, the advent of mass television and the twilight of the British Empire. However, as a new decade enters its stride, the old certainties are no longer guaranteed. The collapse of the Soviet Union signals a seismic shift in the international order. The Commonwealth, with South Africa’s readmission pending, is no longer divided – but must renew its relevance in a changing world. Set between 1991 and 1997, season 5 takes THE CROWN to new and exciting places as these momentous developments present the monarchy with both challenges and opportunities – from the Queen’s historic visit to post-Communist Russia to the Crown’s transfer of sovereignty in Hong Kong. 

Observing events is John Major, Margaret Thatcher’s successor as Prime Minister. The son of a one-time trapeze artist, the Prime Minister has his own balancing act to perform: he must master relations with the Palace while at the same time dealing with a global recession and a warring Cabinet. For the first time, the Queen has a Prime Minister who is younger than her; a novice on the global stage, he has much to learn from her guiding hand. Soon, Major faces the constitutional challenge of his life: the separation and divorce of the Prince and Princess of Wales. As the season progresses, an unlikely friendship develops between ‘the boy from Brixton’ and the long-serving sovereign.