The Crown: All The Filming Locations To Know

Somerleyton Hall

A.K.A. Sandringham

Sandringham – the Queen’s much loved East Anglian estate – is the Royals’ favourite place to spend Christmas, and where we left the cast of The Crown at the end of season four. Fellow East Anglian manor house Somerleyton Hall was chosen to recreate Sandringham’s opulent interiors on screen. The Jacobean Manor house features John Thomas architecture, Prince Albert’s favourite sculptor who worked on the houses of Parliament. Somerleyton Hall is a family home with portraits of the Crossley family through the generations and is currently run by Hugh Crossley, the 4th Baron Somerleyton.

VISIT: Want to check it out for yourself? The gardens have just reopened to visitors, so you can spend a day picnicking and exploring in right royal style, somerleyton.co.uk. Better yet, the real Sandringham Royal Park is also open to visitors. sandringhamestate.co.uk

Burghley House

A.K.A. Windsor Castle

The Crown‘s most heated moments tend to come in the form of shock revelations or snarky quips. But this season, fans can look forward to something even more fiery – a literal fire at Windsor Castle. The 1992 blaze is one of the most hotly anticipated events of season five. Taking centre stage is likely to be Burghley House, the magnificent Tudor mansion which doubled up as Windsor Castle in season four, and also had starring roles in the 2005 adaption of Pride & Prejudice. 

VISIT: You can visit this stately home (minus the flames) and wander around it’s Capability Brown landscaped gardens anytime. There’s also a range of accommodation options on offer. burghley.co.uk

Hedsor House

A.K.A. Downing Street

Gillian Anderson’s Margaret Thatcher was one of the stand outs of season four, and season five will see her passing the torch to Jonny Lee Miller’s John Major. With a new PM on the scene, and a turbulent political decade ahead, we can expect to see much more of Number 10. The stately interiors of Hedsor House stood in for Downing Street in previous seasons. Just 15 miles from London, this magnificent country home has been visited by Kings and Queens since 1106. More recently it’s become a favourite of a different kind of royalty, with George Clooney, the Beckhams, Brad Pitt and Elton John all enjoying stays.

VISIT: If you fancy sleeping, dining and partying in the corridors of power, then you’re in luck – the whole house is available for private hire. hedsor.com

Dodi Fayed’s Malibu House

One of the few filming locations in the original setting, the late Dodi Fayed’s Tuscan-style Malibu villa was opened to The Crown‘s cast and crew for filming purposes. Situated in Paradise Cove with 7,500 sqft set across five acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean, before Fayed, the home was owned by Julie Andrews.

VISIT: Today, the Paradise Cove home is owned by American billionaire Stan Kroenke, who has a vast portfolio of properties and is also owner of Arsenal Football Club. As it is a private property, it is not open to the public – but sunny Malibu makes for a lovely winter sun spot.

Image: The Pacific Coast, California (c) Getty.

Brocket Hall

A.K.A. Kensington Palace

The breakdown of Charles and Diana’s marriage is one of the most hotly anticipated storylines of season five. Diana’s official residence throughout the separation was Apartments 8 and 9 at Kensington Palace. This west London royal residence (which is the current home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) has been portrayed by a handful of stately homes. For the neo-classical façade, producers chose the filming location of Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire. Built in 1760, this country estate has been home to two British Prime Ministers and was a favourite of Queen Victoria.

VISIT: You can live like royalty by booking in to Melbourne Lodge, Brocket Hall’s Grade I listed coach house which has been converted to offer visitors 16 ensuite bedrooms. brocket-hall.co.uk

Waddesdon Manor

A.K.A. The Ritz, Paris

The third episode of The Crown‘s fifth season takes an unexpected turn toward the Al-Fayed family – specifically Mohamed Al-Fayed (Dodi’s father). Among other notable life moments, the episode features Al-Fayed’s famous purchase of The Ritz hotel in Paris – which is played in the series by none other than the British Waddesdon Manor. (Also keep your eyes peeled in the episode for a cameo from one of our favourite Parisians, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, of Emily in Paris fame.)

VISIT: For the authentic experience, The Ritz Paris is still going strong today – or there’s also The Ritz London for something a little closer to home. But if you’re enamored with The Crown‘s dupe, you need only head to Buckinghamshire, where the National Trust property is open everyday Wednesday–Sunday. waddesdon.org.uk

(c) DeFacto via Wikimedia Commons

Ardverikie Castle

A.K.A. Balmoral

One of the most momentous events season five will cover is Diana’s tragic death. Young Princes Harry and William were at Balmoral Castle with their father when they heard the news – so we’re expecting to spend a lot of time there. The Queen’s beloved Scottish bolthole features in every season of the show and – unlike it’s ever-changing cast – is portrayed throughout by Ardverikie Castle. And if our first look at Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana – spotted outside the castle with young actors playing Harry and William – is anything to go off, it will be a mainstay of season five too. This 19th century Gothic home near Inverness has the same brooding turrets and gloomy air as the real Balmoral.

VISIT: To see it up close rent one of the cosy guest cottages on the grounds, and take a tour of the main castle. ardverikie.com

Somerley House

A.K.A. Highgrove

While Diana was living in Kensington Palace, Charles was holed up in the family’s Gloucestershire country estate Highgrove. This elegant Georgian house with its beautifully tended gardens is still inhabited by the Prince of Wales today (along with the Duchess of Cornwall). Grade II listed Somerley House in the New Forest was chosen by producers to double up as Highgrove in season four, and it has returned in every season since. In season five, this is where Charles and Camilla are living, and where the latter has her 50th birthday bash. Designed in the 1790s, Somerley’s classical Georgian façade, walled gardens and ancient woodland made it a natural choice for the Prince of Wales’s home (as well as one of the star filming locations in Bridgerton).

VISIT: Today it is still the official seat of the Earl of Normanton – but you can reign over it for a weekend, as the house in its entirety is available to book for holidays, weddings or private events. somerley.com

San Telmo, Mallorca

Spotted filming for season five on a glamorous speedboat, Elizabeth Deblecki (playing Diana), and Dominic West (Prince Charles) were papped on the picturesque beachside town of Andratx. Situated on the North West coast of the country, this location covers the ‘second honeymoon’ when Prince Charles and Diana take their children on holiday.

VISIT: You’re more than welcome to travel to San Telmo when on your next holiday to Mallorca, although we recommend booking the speedboat in advance.

Lancaster House

A.K.A. Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace has been the British monarch’s official residence since 1837 and the setting for some of The Crown’s most iconic scenes (who can forget Diana roller skating through the corridors in season four?). Lancaster House – a lavish neoclassical townhouse just a few doors down on Pall Mall – returns once again in season six. Built in the 1820s, the mansion has it’s own royal history and was a favourite of Queen Victoria, who once remarked to the resident Duchess of Sunderland ‘I come from my house to your palace.’

VISIT: Though it’s not usually open to the public, you can enquire about booked tours here, or take a guided virtual tour. The real Buckingham Palace is also open to the public between July and October, though – spoiler alert – the reasons why it was opened are expected to be covered in the new series… royal.uk

Barcelona

A bit of movie magic for you here: while some scenes in the leadup were filmed in Paris itself, most of the filming to reenact Diana and Dodi’s tragic and untimely death actually took place in Barcelona.

‘Filming parts of the episode in Paris added a very special atmosphere to the shooting crew, to us, to the actors,’ Christian Schwochow – who directed episodes two, three, four and six of season six – told Netflix. ‘When you go to Paris and then you film those final hours of Dodi and Diana, you feel more responsible and try to be as truthful as possible, to be as dignified and sensitive as possible.’

However, because the series is set in 1997 and Paris has changed considerably since then, filming had to move. ‘We are filming a period piece, so sometimes you go to the actual place, but then it looks very different [from] the period that you’re making a film about,’ says Schwochow. ‘Of course, the magic of filmmaking is that you can turn Barcelona into Paris.’

Likewise, filming was reportedly not allowed to take place at The Ritz. So the scenes at The Ritz before the crash were actually filmed on a set.

St Andrews, Scotland

With Prince William growing up in season six of The Crown from a young teen to a uni student, it’s obvious that one setting enters the picture: St Andrews. This small city is the site of a very famous meeting: that fateful first meeting of Wills and Kate. In reality, they met while both students at the prestigious University of St Andrews, and lived together at 13A Hope Street. For The Crown season six, filming took place very nearby, at flat 9B.

Puerto d’Andratz, Mallorca

While Diana and the boys are holidaying with Mou Mou and his son Dodi on his yacht in the waters off Saint-Tropez, filming to recreate these iconic scenes actually took place in a number of sun-soaked locations, namely Mallorca.

Meanwhile, the grand property that serves as Dodi Al Fayed’s St Tropez villa is also located in Mallorca. Known as the Yellow Castle, this sprawling home boasts seven bedrooms, ten bathrooms and an all-important swimming pool, not to mention a gym, sauna, hot tub and even a private cave.

VISIT: If you want to check out the Yellow Castle for yourself, it’s now available to rent on AirBnB for an eye-watering £7,440 per night. airbnb.co.uk