The Crown is (nearly) dead; long live The Crown. The final trailer for Netflix’s hit series, which follows the reign of Queen Elizabeth II from her first days on the throne all the way up to, uh, the early 2000s for some reason, debuted on Friday, and it’s a nostalgic ride. The latest Elizabeth (Imelda Staunton) is having her Barbie moment—i.e., wondering “What was I made for?” and also, maybe, “What was this whole institution made for?”
These are good questions for a fictional show about a monarchy to ask, but that’s not what brings us here today. No, what brings us here is Prince William’s brief but beautiful heartthrob era, with the spot-on casting of Ed McVey as the young future monarch. In the new trailer, Will is a little overwhelmed by the glare of the spotlight and the looming obligation to someday assume the crown himself. But he’s also falling in love, and isn’t that cute? It’s like The Prince And Me!
“Still coming to terms with his mother’s death, Prince William heads back to Eton amidst an increase in attention from young female fans touched by his plight. The struggle to re-adjust leads to tensions with his family, as they try to support another young heir to find his way in the system and the world,” reads a synopsis from Netflix. “Later, as Prince William takes up his place at St Andrew’s University, the omnipresent conflict of life as a public servant continues as he tries to balance the traditional undergraduate rites of passage with the constraints of his position and constant presence of personal protection officers. His perseverance is tested when he develops a crush on one of the most desired students on campus: a woman by the name of Kate Middleton.”
Part two of the sixth season will see the Queen looking back on her own legacy, though it’ll come up short around her Golden Jubilee. As we all know, she continued ruling for another 20 years after that, and there was some real drama in those 20 years. (We all want to see the fictionalized version of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Oprah interview!) But according to creator Peter Morgan on The Crown podcast (via The Telegraph), he always wanted to end the show “as close to 20 years away from present day” as he could, so that there would be “distance and so that it would feel historical rather than journalistic.” And so the series will conclude with nostalgic Elizabeth, hot William, and a second marriage for Prince Charles (Dominic West). For the rest, you’ll just have to hit the history books.