The Crown is moving forward in time — from the late 1960s to the 1970s — in season 3 and that means new actors are taking on the royals. Josh O’Connor, 29, is playing a young Prince Charles and fans got a first look at Josh’s performance in the season 3 trailer that was released on Oct. 21. The casting is perfect. Josh looks like he could be the twin of a young Prince Charles. He has Prince Charles’s look down, complete with signature ears. He also sounds exactly like the future king. Josh will play Prince Charles in season 3 and season 4. When his casting was announced, Josh said: “I’m very aware it’s a formidably talented family to be joining, but reliably informed I have the ears for the part and will fit right in.” You got that right!
There’s a lot going on in the trailer and Prince Charles has major battles ahead. “If I may offer two pieces of advice. Never turn your back on true love,” Wallis Simpson tells Prince Charles in the trailer. “And the second?” Prince Charles asks. Wallis replies, “Watch out for your family.” Prince Charles tells her that his family means well. “No, they don’t,” she quips. Wallis had her own tumultuous experience with the royal family. Her marriage to King Edward VIII led to Edward’s abdication because Wallis was twice divorced.
Prince Charles’s relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles is explored in season 3 and we all know how that turned out. Camilla, who was Camilla Shand at the time, ended up marrying Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973. Charles would eventually marry Princess Diana in 1981. Prince Charles and Camilla’s love never truly flamed out and they married in 2005.
Queen Elizabeth II, played by Oscar-winner Olivia Colman, faces even more obstacles in season 3. “This country was still great when I came to the throne. All that’s happened on my watch is the place has fallen apart,” Elizabeth says. Princess Margaret, played by Helena Bonham Carter, makes a good point, “You cannot flinch. It’s only fallen apart if we say it has. That’s the thing about the monarchy. We paper over the cracks.” The Crown also stars Tobias Menzies as The Duke of Edinburgh, Erin Doherty as Princess Anne, Ben Daniels as Lord Snowdon, Jason Watkins as Prime Minister Harold Wilson, and Charles Dance as Lord Mountbatten. Season 3 will begin streaming on Nov. 17.
