Netflix’s The Crown has come to an end with its sixth season, but some fans are wondering why the acclaimed show won’t continue. After all, the series has been a huge hit for Netflix, and viewers have delighted in watching the royal family’s story being brought to life on screen.
However, for creator and writer Peter Morgan, season 6 of The Crown marks the end of a very long chapter, meaning that a seventh season is extremely unlikely. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Morgan said of the show’s final season, “It’s the end of a long journey, fantastic journey… and I just hope you all enjoy it.”
Here, we break down everything Peter Morgan has said about season 7 of The Crown so far.
The Crown was always envisaged as six seasons.
In January 2020, Netflix announced that the fifth season of The Crown would be its last, via Deadline. The publication noted it was previously thought the show would run for five seasons in total, with creator Peter Morgan explaining, “[It] became clear… that this is the perfect time and place to stop. I’m grateful to Netflix and Sony for supporting me in this decision.”
However, in July 2020, The Crown’s sixth season was confirmed by Netflix, proving that Morgan’s plans had changed once again. The streamer shared a statement from creator Peter Morgan on X (formerly Twitter), which explained, “As we started to discuss the storylines for [season] 5, it soon became clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons.”
Peter Morgan has spent 10 years working on The Crown.
The first season of The Crown hit Netflix on November 4, 2016, and quickly became a firm favorite with viewers. As a result, creator Peter Morgan’s life has revolved around the series since then, not to mention the time he spent developing the show.
“I’ve worked on the show every single day, including bank holidays and Christmases for ten years,” Morgan told Tudum in December 2023. “I’m proud of having got to the end and having done what I said I would do. The queen was both a very ordinary person, and a completely unique and remarkable person.”
The creator doesn’t want to explore Meghan and Harry’s story.
While viewers were delighted to watch Kate Middleton and Prince William’s romance recreated for the screen, creator Peter Morgan has zero interest in telling Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s love story. During an interview with Town & Country, Morgan explained, “The Meghan and Harry story is nowhere near over yet.” He continued, “And I’m happy that I’m never going to write it.”
Explaining why he didn’t want to include the Sussexes in the story, Morgan told Tudum, “So over the six seasons, we’ve explored around 60 years, and it was always my feeling that I didn’t want to come right out to the present. I always wanted to remain a careful distance from where we are now.”
He also revealed that he didn’t read Prince Harry’s memoir Spare, as he didn’t want the book to influence The Crown in any way. “I didn’t want his voice to inhabit my thinking too much,” the creator told Variety. “I’ve got a lot of sympathy with him, a lot of sympathy. But I didn’t want to read his book.”
Peter Morgan wanted the show to remain ‘historical.’
During an interview with Entertainment Tonight in 2023, creator Peter Morgan revealed that he never intended for the show to cover the present-day royal family.
“Normally my rule would be to never come closer than 10 years to [fictionalized] events, but with family like this where people’s feelings are so strong—particularly in this country—I wanted to give 20 years,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “I wanted to make sure that, effectively there was a generation between us where we are now and where the show ends… so it is still a show which is historical, even though it ends in the 21st century.”
He echoed this sentiment in an interview with Variety, saying that the show ends with events that took place in 2005: “It was the cutoff to keep it historical, not journalistic.” He continued, “I think by stopping almost 20 years before the present day, it’s dignified.”
And he might need a break from the royal family.
Peter Morgan has had a dextrous career, which has included writing films such as 2008’s The Other Boleyn Girl and 2013’s Rush. However, the writer and producer has also found himself working on multiple projects focused on the British royal family. For instance, he wrote 2006 movie The Queen, which starred Helen Mirren in the titular role. He also wrote the 2013 play The Audience, which focused on the queen’s private meetings with British prime ministers, and in which Mirren reprised her role as the monarch. After six seasons of The Crown, it’s entirely unsurprising that Morgan might need a short reprieve from writing about the royal family.
“In the short term, I will not be writing anything set in a palace anywhere,” he told Entertainment Tonight in 2023. “I expect to miss it.” However, he did suggest that he might return to writing about the royals at some point in the future, but that he had no plans to do so imminently. “You never rule anything out, but in the short term—absolutely not,” he explained.
A prequel to The Crown isn’t out of the question.
While Peter Morgan has sworn off writing about the British royal family for the time being, he did admit that he’d consider developing a prequel to The Crown at some point in the future. “I do have an idea,” he told Variety. “But first, I need to do some other things. Second, it would need a unique set of circumstances to come together.”
Variety also noted that Morgan’s idea would take place before Queen Elizabeth’s reign. “If I were to go back into The Crown, it would definitely be to go back in time.” However, it doesn’t seem as though Morgan will be ready to tell royal stories any time soon. Speaking to The New York Times regarding the show’s final season, he explained, “People keep saying, you must be so happy and proud, but I’m not yet. I’m still a bit traumatized.”
Amy Mackelden is a freelance writer, editor, and disability activist. Her bylines include Harper’s BAZAAR, Nicki Swift, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, ELLE, The Independent, Bustle, Healthline, and HelloGiggles. She co-edited The Emma Press Anthology of Illness, and previously spent all of her money on Kylie Cosmetics.