The Crown season 5 sees Queen Elizabeth struggling to keep up with the times while Charles thrives to bring a change amidst the number of scandals around him. The fifth season is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Charles immediately abandons his second honeymoon, which is meant to show the world how happy he is with Diana, to meet Prime Minister Major to talk about the poll featured in a newspaper that is criticizing the queen.
The country feels that Queen Elizabeth should abdicate in favor of Charles. The Prince of Wales agrees and tries to present his thoughts on bringing the change to the prime minister.
Meanwhile, the servants try to keep Queen Elizabeth away from the newspaper, but she eventually notices their odd behavior and questions.
Though the queen is called old with outdated beliefs, she takes the comparison with Queen Victoria as a compliment.
Later, at the Ghillies Ball, Prime Minister Major gets a chance to talk to a number of members of the royal family and realizes how they are not in touch with each other.
Charles and Diana’s marriage falls apart as the former is still in love with Camilla, leaving Diana to suffer alone.
Things go out of hand when Diana decides to talk to journalist Andrew Morton, who wants to write about her experience of being married into a royal family.
Diana goes all out on how the royal family hasn’t treated her with love and the utmost respect. Though Prince Philip warns Diana and stops her from going any further, the story does not end there.
The taping of phones results in a private conversation between Charles and Camilla being leaked, which leads the people to question whether the former is suitable to be king or not.
Charles and Diana soon get separated, and Charles sits for an interview to restore the people’s faith in him by connecting with them on a personal level.
The BBC Network looks forward to hearing from Diana’s side as well. Journalist Martin Bashir plots a plan and persuades Diana to give an interview that ends up exposing how the royal family has mistreated her over the years.
Amidst all of this, Mohamed Al-Fayed tries to get close to the royal family, while Prince Philip finds companionship in Penelope ‘Penny’ Knatchbull.
The future of the monarchy is questioned, and Tony Blair replaces John Major as prime minister after beating him in the elections.
The Crown season 5 ending explained in detail:
Do Diana and Charles get divorced?
After everything that the family has gone through, the queen writes to her son and Diana, stating that their divorce is inevitable and preferable to restore the family’s lost dignity.
Queen Elizabeth selects Prime Minister Major to be the mediator between the two. Diana asks for an initial large sum, and the prime minister feels that she is ensuring her future independence.
Charles, guided by Mark Bolland, a public relations expert, decides to finish the divorce formalities and focus on himself and Camilla to come out as a more mature party.
Where does Diana go?
Though Diana is now liberated, she finds herself alone, having no friends at all. The people she thought of as friends were the ones who worked for her.
Diana crosses paths with Mohamed Al-Fayed while attending a ballet. She had befriended him initially during a polo tournament sponsored by him.
She got along with him and his wife. He learns about Diana’s canceled plans and invites her to Saint-Tropez with them.
He assures her that she will be safe around her bodyguards and that her boys will have fun on jet skis and speedboats. Diana then smiles and agrees to join him on this vacation.
What is Charles’ plan for the monarchy?
Since the very beginning of the season, Charles has several times tried to offer the change the monarchy needs.
The newly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair visits both the queen and Charles. Queen Elizabeth makes a final move to save her royal yacht from being decommissioned but fails.
Charles, on the other hand, is intrigued by Blair’s new ideas for the country and meets him in Hong Kong. Even Blair is left impressed by the Prince of Wales as he looks to modernize the monarchy.
Charles and Queen Elizabeth continue to log heads on whether they should hold on to the Victorian Notions of how the monarchy should look or feel. Charles is especially worried that the world will move on and they will be left behind.
The queen stays true to her values and takes one last tour of her royal yacht “Britannia” before it gets decommissioned.
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