Netflix recently wrapped up the sixth season of its historical drama series titled The Crown, a show that followed the life events of the Queen of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II. Written by Peter Morgan, the show has taken heavy inspiration from Morgan’s film, The Queen, and his play, The Audience, both of which are also based on similar topics.
The show’s story spans over sixty years, starting the first season right after young Princess Elizabeth had married Philip Mountbatten sometime in 1947. Over its six seasons, the series has shown the characters grow, not just in terms of their character but also quite literally, because of which new actors had to be cast to play the same roles every two seasons.
The show has been beautifully crafted and received much appreciation for its writing, acting, and cinematography, though the makers seemed to have taken some creative liberty in the show, considering it was not that accurate historically at some points, an aspect which was criticized by many.
We opened the first season with the gorgeous Claire Foy playing the leading role of Elizabeth for the first two seasons. She was replaced by the talented Olivia Colman for the third and the fourth seasons, and finally, for the final two seasons, the role was played by Imelda Staunton.
The sixth season of the series was released in two parts, and its last episode finally aired on December 14th, 2023, thus bringing an end to the show. This season was filmed right after the passing of the Queen in late 2022, and it included significant events that took place between the years 1997 and 2005.
The main events in this season included the death of Princess Diana, the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II, the death of Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth, the mother, the developing relationship between Prince William and his present wife, Kate Middleton, the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles to name a few.
The Crown Season 6 Ending Explained
The season opened with the news of Princess Diana’s passing and took to exploring the way the world with her death and what happened after. Over the episodes of the season, the show takes time to dive fully into the major historical events, including Prince Charles and his loving future with Camilla, the Queen dealing with the loss of her mother, and other things.
The producers of the show have, at times, glorified and even justified the royalty to an extent that many feel was going overboard. At certain points in the show, the characters seem too larger than life and fictional for the audience to even comprehend.
This season, she has faced a lot of criticism for how it handled certain events, one of them being Princess Diana, a beloved member of the royalty, death. Overall, the show feels more like an homage to the Queen than a historical piece made carefully on factual information.
We focus a lot on the main royalty and the ones on the periphery, finally coming to the leading character at the end of the series. With her mother dead, Queen Elizabeth not only mourns but also seems to be forced into thinking about what the future would hold.
The Finale
In the final episode of the season titled ‘Sleep, Dearie Sleep,’ the focus is on the Queen’s legacy, all the years she has spent working, and her inner turmoil regarding the future of her kingdom. Diana’s death had the nation in shock, and there was much hatred towards the royal family at the time as the people blamed them for her passing.
Prince Charles wanted to remarry Camilla Parker, the woman he originally loved but could not marry, and the public was completely outraged, even managing to bring conflict within the family. His kids, Prince Harry and Prince William, were also not a fan of the news.
Charles’ controversial relationship with Camilla needed much approval and acceptance both from the general public and the family itself. Elizabeth had to take time to think of the consequences of their marriage, consulting the members of the Church of England for their thoughts on the matter.
It was eventually decided that the two should get married, though the ceremony was not as extravagant or liked by the public. It was done keeping the best interests of the nation, the throne, and Charles’ happiness in mind. It does not take Charles long to get the public support back and become the face of a new possible leadership, and we see the Queen having the same thought.
While Charles’ reputation skyrockets and recovers just fine, Elizabeth questions her authority and crown, feeling that she is not all that connected with the masses anymore. She wonders about giving up on the throne early. Wanting to put Charles in charge after officially retiring from her position, Elizabeth gets thrown back in time to meet her past self.
A Tough Decision
We see young Elizabeth from the early seasons of the show helping her with her decision of whether or not she should step down. While the middle-aged Elizabeth thinks she has done enough and Charles seems to be ready to take on the role and fulfill it responsibly, the younger Elizabeth thinks that she is still in her prime and could very well carry out the duties herself.
Present-day Elizabeth realizes she has not done a bad job of being a leader and she has been better than her predecessors. She also thinks back to all that she has lost while she was busy being a great leader. Fifty years of her life are long gone, along with her youth.
It is a fight with herself, and she realizes what has been lost but also what needs to be done. Generations have changed, and a lot has happened around them, yet she stood fiercely in the face of it all. Finally, she decides that she is not done yet and that she is destined to devote her life to the throne and be a leader.
The final episode has the wedding ceremony of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, which the Queen attends, even giving a perfect speech addressed to the couple. She ignored the part of the speech where she had mentioned her giving up on the throne for Charles to take over, and the ceremony ended without any hiccups.
The Ending Explained
In the final moments of the episode, we see Elizabeth standing alone in her chambers, looking over her life’s work, after which she walks off, and her funeral song, Sleep, Dearie Sleep, starts playing in the background with the scene transitioning to the Queen’s real-life funeral and we spot young Elizabeth looking back at the casket, finally saluting to it.
Finally, the middle-aged Elizabeth also appears, standing tall and proud over how well she had done, knowing she lived a life devoted to her country. Right before the series ends, we see the monarch walking towards a door that opens to let in bright white light, and the monarch walks into it, indicating the end of the series and hinting at the Queen’s passing last year.
The show wraps up after giving the monarch a befitting send-off, beautifully depicting the end of an era and her legacy. While the entire episode was done with such great effort, some did feel that the producers seemed to be celebrating the royalty a little too much, almost trying to deliberately flatter them with their grand, larger-than-life depiction in the show.
The series is glamourous and is shot in a way that begs for your attention. There is no doubt that the cinematography and the writing are nothing short of almost perfect, but it is also very apparent that the makers have tried their best to make them seem as dignified as possible, almost with flaws.
In an attempt to keep the royalty magnificent so as not to scratch the characters, the makers ended up with a sloppy ending that seemed to be made solely to feed the unrealistic notion of a perfect leader.
