Our The Crown season 4 recap is what you need if you need a refresher!
The fourth season of aired in 2020 on Netflix and for many of us that seems like a million years ago. So what happened at the time in the royal drama?
As The Crown progresses through time, it is slightly shifting its focus away from the Queen herself (Olivia Colman) and instead on the next generation. In season 4, Charles, the Prince of Wales (Josh O’Connor) is struggling to find a new match after his romance with Camilla (Emerald Fennell) was stopped. But following the death of Lord Mountbatten (Charles Dance), Charles starts to see that he needs to find someone who can be his future queen. Enter a young lady named Diana Spencer (Emma Corrin), who charms Charles with her innocence and sweetness.
But while Diana is hoping for a fairytale romance, Charles seems more interested in making the right match that will please the crown. After a successful visit to Balmoral where she manages to recruit the Duke of Edinburgh (Tobias Menzies) to her side, Diana gains the approval of the entire royal family who deems her a worthy match for Charles. The problem is that the Prince doesn’t so much act as a man in love but rather as someone who does what is expected of him.
Eventually, everyone is well-aware that Charles’ heart belongs to another. When the Prince of Wales proposes to Diana, she is over the moon and the family is relieved. But the joy doesn’t last and the young woman quickly comes to face the reality of the family she is joining. To make matters worse, Charles dismisses the strength of their love in front of a reporter and Diana becomes brutally aware that the Prince isn’t enamored with her as much as she is with him. The final blow comes after a meal with Camilla during which Diana realizes the marriage is bound to fail because Charles’s heart will never be in it.
The Crown season 4 recap — The Iron Lady v The Queen
When season 4 starts, we are in 1979 and England is not doing so well. Between turmoil in Northern Ireland and the struggling economy, the country needs a new leader. The Queen meets England's first female Prime Minister, the controversial Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson). The two women don’t exactly see eye to eye and have a bumpy relationship throughout the season. They butt heads on various subjects, from Thatcher’s decision to sack three of her cabinet ministers to her views on women being too emotional for leadership.
Background sisters
While Anne’s (Erin Doherty) own marriage falters, she tries to convince her brother Charles that he needs to move on from his romance with Camilla. She and Princess Margaret (Helena Bonham Carter), are well aware of the fact that Charles’ love for Camilla is a problem the crown seems to be disregarding too easily. Margaret tries to urge Philip and Elizabeth to put the union to an end before it does more damage than good but to no avail.
If Anne is not thrilled by how she is portrayed in unflattering terms in the press compared to Diana, she also confesses to her mother that the rumors about her having an affair are true. It keeps being obvious to the Queen that most of her children are leading rather unhappy lives. All in all, Princess Anne spends most of season 4 trying to get her brother Charles to understand that he needs to fix his marriage with Diana.
On her end, Princess Margaret faces health issues this season and also starts wanting to take her position more seriously. Willing to focus on the crown and her royal duty, Margaret asks her sister for more responsibilities, only to find out that she has to relinquish her title as Counsellor of State since Prince Edward is now a senior royal.
Spiraling into depression, Margaret finds solace in booze until Charles does the first sensible thing he has done all season and suggests she seeks the help of a therapist. This leads Princess Margaret to uncover a dirty secret of her family which is that many of its members are afflicted with mental illnesses and locked up in an asylum for it.
The Outsider Who Stole The Heart of Britain
From bulimic episodes to increased isolation, Diana leads a lonely existence in the royal palaces, and it doesn’t get much better after her wedding. While pregnant with William, Lady Di is depressed and only finds comfort in the love the public shows for her.
Confronted by The Queen about the difficulties she encounters in her marriage and the spotlight she steals from Charles, Diana tries to get HRH on her side and asks if Her Majesty could show her more love and approval so that the rest of the family would follow. But Her Majesty isn’t particularly known for being motherly at this point, and she dismisses her daughter-in-law.
After a brief moment during the couple’s royal trip to Australia, where it appears things could get better for Charles and Diana if only they communicated more openly with one another, things go south again when the Prince starts resenting Di for the love and attention she gets from the public.
This keeps being a problem for Charles, and as the years progress, the marriage shatters more and more. Despite the Queen’s numerous reminders about how their marriage cannot fail for the sake of the monarchy, Charles and Diana are growing ever more distant.
Later on, Diana tells The Queen she is willing to do whatever it takes to make her marriage to Charles work, but the latter doesn’t do much to help. By the end of the season, it is clear this union is heading for a dramatic ending.
The Crown season 5 is available on Netflix on November 9.
