The Crown: Where is season 4 filmed?

How ‘The Crown’ recreates the Queen’s royal residences

Isobel Lewis
Monday 30 November 2020 12:03 EST
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Margaret Thatcher interrupts the Royal Family at Balmoral on The Crown

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The Crown returned for its fourth series on Sunday (15 November), allowing fans to delve back into the world of the British royal family.

Over the years, The Crown has become well known for its use of some of Britain’s finest stately homes to recreate the Queen’s royal residences.

With series four introducing new characters Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson) and Lady Diana Spencer (Emma Corrin), the new set of episodes have also brought with them new filming locations.

Here is where The Crown series four was filmed...

Buckingham Palace

As the Queen’s (Olivia Colman) primary residence, it takes a lot of different locations to perfectly recreate Buckingham Palace on The Crown.

The interiors were predominantly filmed at Wilton House in Salisbury, which has also featured in period dramas such as Emma and The Young Victoria.

Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire is used as the Queen’s private audience room where she meets prime minister Margaret Thatcher, while the Foreign Office-owned Lancaster House and Goldsmiths Hall in London are also used.

For filming outside shots, The Crown crew used Greenwich Naval College in south-east London. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren, the building’s arches and green are used in place of Buckingham Palace’s courtyard, where guests are often greeted.

Balmoral

Hedsor House in Buckinghamshire is used for some interior scenes at Balmoral, the Queen’s Scottish residence.

Other inside scenes were filmed at Knebworth House, a Tudor manor in Hertfordshire.

For the outside of Balmoral, Ardverikie Castle near Loch Laggan in Scotland is used, which bears a close resemblance to the royal residence.

Kensington Palace

Prince Charles’s (Josh O’Connor) home of Kensington Palace is shot at Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire.

The building has previously been used in The Queen starring Helen Mirren, as well as the BBC’s adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

Clarence House

While the real Clarence House is situated near to Buckingham Palace, The Crown’s version was actually filmed at country manor High Canons House in Borehamwood, near to Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire.

Downing Street

With series four seeing Thatcher come into power, much of the action takes place at Downing Street.

As well as being used for Balmoral, Hedsor House is also used as the setting of the prime minister’s home, including for the scene in which Thatcher sits for her cabinet photo.

Sandringham

Sandringham, the Norfolk home where the royal family spend Christmas every year, is filmed at Somerleyton Hall in East Anglia.

Highgrove

Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, which is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, is filmed at Somerley House in Hampshire. It’s also the location of the 1983 TV adaptation of Mansfield Park.

Gatcombe Park

Princess Anne’s Gloucestershire residence of Gatcombe Park is also filmed at Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire, a venue that doubles up for some interior scenes in Buckingham Palace.

New York

A number of scenes in series four of The Crown take place in New York, but rather than head across the pond, the scenes were in fact shot in Manchester.

The majority of scenes were filmed in the city’s Northern Quarter, while the John Rylands Library, Back Piccadilly and The University of Manchester’s Renold Building were also used.

The Crown series four is available to stream on Netflix.

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