The Crown creator’s surprising comments about the monarchy are going viral

Imelda Staunton in The Crown
(Image credit: Alex Bailey / The Crown / Netflix)

Netflix's The Crown aired its sixth and final season last year, bringing the award-winning show to a fitting close. 

The critically acclaimed (and star-studded) series follows the royal family and Queen Elizabeth II in particular, from her accession to the throne in 1952, to the early 2000s.  

And due to show creator Peter Morgan’s 20 year rule, that’s how the show will remain, with it unlikely that a seventh season will ever be made.

“You need time to stop something from being journalistic,” Morgan explained to the Hollywood Reporter back in 2020, later adding: “I just think you get so much more interesting [with time].

“I'm much more comfortable writing about things that happened at least 20 years ago. 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."

It was Morgan’s surprising words about the royal family that made headlines this week, as the show creator revealed that he’s not actually interested in monarchy. 

“This is going to sound mad, but I’m not really that interested in the monarchy,” he explained. “Mothers, sons, wives, husbands, that’s really what it’s about. And, of course, at the heart of it is this woman, this rather extraordinary woman. And for me the minute she died, I suppose, from that moment on, I didn’t really want to do it anymore, because it’s really about her, as well.”

While a seventh season does seem out of the question, it’s not all bad news, with reports that a “new prequel series” is on the cards

"If they can repeat that pattern by delivering prequels in a shorter form, they believe they may have come up with a winning formula for a new incarnation of The Crown", sources told Tatler. 

We will continue to update this story. 

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.