Netflix’s Fan-Favorite 7-Season Show Gets Prequel Series — But It’s Changing the Rules Fans Loved
Netflix has greenlit a prequel to ‘The Crown’, one of its most decorated series ever. The deal was confirmed as of April 30, 2026, and is reportedly worth around $676 million. Original creator Peter Morgan is returning to lead the project, with a script already in development and casting expected to begin next year.
The new show will cover roughly 50 years of British royal history, starting with the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 and ending just before where the original series began, at the 1947 wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten.
That means viewers will see several monarchs come and go across the run of the show, including Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, and George VI.
There is a lot of ground to cover. The story will include both World Wars, the royal family’s decision to rename themselves the House of Windsor in 1917, and arguably one of the most dramatic moments in modern royal history, the 1936 abdication of Edward VIII, who gave up the throne to marry American divorcée Wallis Simpson. A young Elizabeth Windsor, before she ever became queen, is also expected to appear in the later part of the story.
Morgan previously said in a 2024 interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he was not done with the subject, even after the original series wrapped in 2023. He also explained why he tends to focus on events from the more distant past rather than recent headlines, saying, “I sort of have in my head a 20-year rule. That is enough time and enough distance to really understand something, to understand its role, to understand its position, to understand its relevance.”
The original ‘The Crown’ ran for six seasons and won 24 Emmys and eight Golden Globes during its run, making it one of the most awarded drama series in Netflix history. While some viewers questioned its historical accuracy at times, it consistently drew massive audiences and became a defining prestige drama for the platform.
Fans hoping for a series about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will have to keep waiting. Morgan has made clear that he applies a deliberate time filter to the stories he chooses to tell, and recent events do not yet meet that bar.
A prequel covering this period has enormous storytelling potential. Two world wars, multiple monarchs, global upheaval, and a constitutional crisis all packed into one era makes for compelling drama on its own. If Morgan can bring the same depth and craft he applied to ‘The Crown’, this could be just as compelling as the original.
What do you think? Are you excited to see this era of the British monarchy brought to life on screen, or would you have preferred a different direction? Let us know in the comments.
