Sneak Peek: See Olivia Colman As Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown Season 3

For fans of the hit Netflix series The Crown, waiting two long years for the third season has proven, for lack of a better term, a royal pain.

But this week, Netflix threw fans a bone with a teaser trailer for season three of the award-winning series as well as a glimpse of the new queen — who’s really the old queen, but with a new actress taking the throne.

Season three of The Crown, which chronicles the lives of the British royal family from 1964-1977, sees Olivia Colman, 45, fresh off her Best Actress Oscar for playing Queen Anne in The Favourite, make the leap from the 18th century to the 20th to star as Queen Elizabeth II (Queen Anne’s second cousin, eight times removed). Colman, of course, fills the royal shoes of Claire Foy, who won a Golden Globe and an Emmy, among other honours, for her portrayal of the queen in seasons one and two.

The teaser trailer released today (see above) offers viewers a peek through a crack in a door, which is soon filled by Colman, a spitting image of the Queen complete with dress and crown.

Along with the trailer came the announcement that the long-awaited third season debuts on Netflix on Nov. 17, much to the delight of fans who’ve waited patiently for the new season since 2017. The delay in the release date occurred because the show was completely recast with actors who better reflect the ages of the characters at that time period.

“You can’t ask someone to act middle-aged,” showrunner Peter Morgan once explained. “Someone has to bring their own fatigue to it. The feelings we all have as 50-year-olds are different than the feelings we all have as 30-year-olds.”

In addition to the recasting, the third and fourth seasons were filmed back to back.

Aside from Colman replacing Foy as Queen Elizabeth II, Outlander star Tobias Menzies takes over the character of Prince Philip from Matt Smith, Helena Bonham Carter replaces Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret, Josh O’Connor plays Prince Charles and Erin Doherty is pegged as Princess Anne. It’s been reported X-Files star Gillian Anderson, 51, will portray British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher while actress Emma Corrin is slated to play Princess Diana, who is most likely to appear in the fourth season.

As well, Marion Bailey plays the Queen Mother, Ben Daniels plays Tony Armstrong-Jones and Jason Watkins portrays Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

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