The First Look at 'The Crown's' Final Episodes Puts Will and Kate Front and Center

The end of an era is nigh: The final episodes of The Crown will debut on Netflix this December, bringing the streamer's lavish, incredibly expensive, and occasionally controversial drama about the reign of England's Queen Elizabeth II to an end. How exactly the series plans to wrap things up remains a mystery --- particularly given the fact that the queen passed away in September of 2022 --- but if the first batch of images from the final installments are anything to go by, it appears that creator Peter Morgan is gearing up to stay goodbye by looking to the future.

While the first five episodes of Season 6 were almost exclusively centered on the weeks surrounding Princess Diana's death in 1997, the remaining episodes of the series will see the story of the House of Windsor move into the early 2000s and shift its focus (at least somewhat) to the family's younger generation. Princes William and Harry have both been aged up --- and will now be played by Ed McVey and Luther Ford respectively --- and newcomer Meg Bellamy will debut as Kate Middleton. The story will follow William's attempt to reintegrate into public life at Eton in the wake of his mother's death, even as debate about the future of monarchy continues to swirl in the court of public opinion. (And on the pages of the tabloids.)

William and Kate met in 2001 while they were both students at the Univerisity of St. Andrew in Scotland -- Will took a gap year prior to undertaking his studies there -- though their relationship did not become a public one until three years later. The future king was reportedly won over after seeing Kate modeling at a student fashion show for charity. (Rumor has it he paid £200 for a front row seat.)