The personal eclipses the political in Season 5 of The Crown, over the course of which Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage falls apart — sometimes slowly, sometimes spectacularly — and Queen Elizabeth confronts a new decade in a fast-evolving world.  

That’s right, we’ve entered the ’90s! And the Prince of Wales (Dominic West) is pretty sure he’s the only person in his family who’s gotten the memo. While his parents (Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II and Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, respectively) are disturbed by reports of declining public approval for the monarchy, which poll respondents describe as irrelevant and expensive, Charles feels vindicated; he’s been saying so for years. He’ll tell anyone who asks (and even those who don’t) his many ideas for modernizing the outdated establishment.

Keith Bernstein/Netflix

It’s not just the times that Elizabeth can’t keep up with; she’s out of touch with her own family, too. The marriages of her three oldest children are all publicly breaking down — with Anne (Claudia Harrison) even seeking remarriage — despite their mother’s best efforts to preach the inviolability of the institution. And while her own union, now 40-plus years strong, is in no danger of being broken, the queen and her husband do find themselves out of alignment. While Elizabeth slows down, the ever-restless Philip develops a passion for carriage-riding and finds companionship in a “gang” of like-minded friends, especially Penny Knatchbull (Natascha McElhone), the wife of his godson. Elizabeth is hurt by the friendship but makes a show of accepting Penny to preempt gossip about the nature of his attachment.  

The dysfunction among the royals doesn’t go unnoticed. After a weekend at Balmoral, Conservative Prime Minister John Major (Jonny Lee Miller) observes that the family is on the brink of disaster. Elizabeth and Philip are clueless, and striving Charles fails to realize that his greatest asset in the role he covets is in fact his wife, whom he resents. 

The feeling is mutual. Feeling isolated and misunderstood, Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) is desperate to be heard. So when she’s approached by journalist Andrew Morton (Andrew Steele) about a tell-all book, she agrees, providing lengthy recorded recollections. The biography (her participation in which Morton faithfully denies) is a bestseller, and Charles is furious. He’s further humiliated after he and Diana officially separate, and a newspaper publishes the content of a highly personal intercepted phone call between himself and Camilla (Olivia Williams). To move forward, he gives an interview about his vision for the monarchy and devotes himself to philanthropic pursuits.    

Lonelier than ever — especially with Prince William (Senan West) now at Eton — Diana looks for companionship elsewhere. She has no trouble charming new acquaintances like the wealthy Egyptian tycoon Mohamed al-Fayed (Salim Daw), whom she meets, along with his son Dodi (Khalid Abdalla), at a horse show. She also finds connection with Dr. Hasnat Khan (Humayun Saeed), a kind surgeon with whom she has a quiet romance. That relationship ends, however, in the aftermath of her next move. 

As Diana fields interview offers from every major news network in the US, BBC journalist Martin Bashir (Prasanna Puwanarajah) throws his hat in the ring by falsifying documents that cast doubt on the people closest to her. After thus exploiting her paranoia, he manages to secure the interview, which is explosive. With the Wales marriage now seemingly beyond repair, the queen advises Charles and Diana to divorce.

It’s not pretty, but they do. And with that change comes others: Major is out, with Labour leader Tony Blair (Bertie Carvel) taking his place at Downing Street after a landslide election. Charles is sent to Hong Kong for its handover to China, an event that marks the end of the Empire, and then goes on holiday with Camilla.

But what’s an erstwhile HRH to do? Diana, who’s more hounded by the press than ever, isn’t sure what comes next. But one night, she runs into an old pal at the ballet — Mohamed al-Fayed (whose son, Dodi, is recently engaged to an American actor). He invites the princess to join him and his wife in Saint-Tropez that summer with her sons. She accepts and packs her bags for the Riviera.

QUEEN ELIZABETH RULES: When she shows rare vulnerability in a speech calling 1992 a personal “annus horribilis” — that’s “horrible year,” if you never studied Latin — due to her children’s failing relationships and a fire at Windsor Castle (Episode 4, “Annus Horribilis”)  

BEST ONE-LINER: “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded” — Princess Diana, in her Panorama interview with Martin Bashir (Episode 8, “Gunpowder”) 

PRIME PRIME-MINISTER MOMENT: Major’s careful turn as “umpire” of Charles and Diana’s divorce negotiations (Episode 9, “Couple 31”) 

QUEEN OF THE HIGH SEAS: Elizabeth relaxes on her beloved yacht Britannia, commissioned early in her reign, and later says goodbye to the vessel, the repairs of which Blair’s Labour government refuses to pay for. (Episode 1, “Queen Victoria Syndrome,” and Episode 10, “Decommissioned”)

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY: Margaret (Lesley Manville) reconnects with Peter Townsend (Timothy Dalton), and is reminded of what she was denied. (Episode 4, “Annus Horribilis”)

IT’S ALL RELATIVE: When Elizabeth asks Russian president Boris Yeltsin to give her relatives (on her father’s side), the murdered Romanovs, a proper burial, the identities of their remains are confirmed using the DNA of their other relative — Prince Philip (on his mother’s side). (Episode 6, “Ipatiev House”)  

POWER PLAYER OF THE SEASON: Mohamed al-Fayed, with his relentless ambition (Episode 3, “Mou Mou”)

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