The Crown Season 6 Filming Locations: In Detail

Article by Jane

November 16th, 2023

Explore The Crown Season 6 filming locations including St Andrews, Southend, Somerley House, Villa Castillo in Mallorca, Wadhurst Castle, Knebworth, Discovery Park, Wellington College, Ardverikie, Peterborough, Winchester Cathedral, Halton House and North Mymms Park.

Look out for new locations in Season 6, joining well-established filming locations used for Balmoral, Bois de Boulogne and Highgrove. The final season of The Crown includes scenes of Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) and Dodi Al Fayed (Khalid Abdalla) at Castel St Therese in St Tropez and the Ritz Paris, in scenes filmed in Mallorca, Paris and London.

Flashing forward to the 2000s, Prince William (Ed McVey) and Kate Middleton (Meg Bellamy) were spotted on location around St Andrews for The Crown Season 6’s university scenes. Meanwhile, Winchester locals noted filming in progress in College Street in February 2023, while BBC South caught the cast in full costume at Winchester Cathedral.

Where Was the Crown Season 6 Filmed?

The Crown Season 6 was filmed at Andratx in Mallorca, Barcelona, the Titania superyacht, Ardverikie, Knebworth and North Mymms Park near London, Wadhurst Castle, Wellington College, Dartmouth House in London, Peterborough, Winchester Cathedral, Halton House and West Wycombe Park in Buckinghamshire, and more.

Drawing to the end of the series, and closer to the present day, was always going to be complicated. Aside from handling recent events with care, location shoots had to be put on hold for the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The Crown’s creator, Peter Morgan, shared that Season 6 filming was paused in September 2023 for the Queen’s funeral.

The Crown

“The Crown is a love letter to her and I’ve nothing to add for now, just silence and respect. I expect we will stop filming out of respect too.”
Peter Morgan, Writer

Season 6 itself covers a sombre era for the royal family. Princess Diana’s death forms part of the series as it arrives in the late 1990s, with shots of the late Princess of Wales’s last moments being filmed in London and Paris during 2022. Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, the show’s producers were quick to offer reassurance.

“The show might be big and noisy, but we’re not. We’re thoughtful people and we’re sensitive people. There were very careful, long conversations about how we were going to do it.”
Suzanne Mackie, Executive Producer

20 Filming Locations from The Crown Season 6

Pont de l’Alma

Place de la Concorde Place de la Concorde. DiscoA340, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
The Crown Season 6’s car chase scenes were filmed around the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The Parisian bridge location is just a short distance from the tunnel where Princess Diana, Dodi Al Fayed and their driver died.

Chequers

North Mymms North Mymms. IXIA at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
North Mymms Park is The Crown Chequers location seen in Season 6 Episode 1, ‘Persona Non Grata’. It appears near the start of the episode, with Tony Blair (Bertie Carvel) and Cherie (Lydia Leonard) hosting Princess Diana with Princes William and Harry.

The Chequers filming location is an events venue that can host up to 400 guests, with its own accommodation onsite. It dates back to the 16th Century.

While North Mymms Park is in Hertfordshire, the real Chequers is located in Buckinghamshire. But The Crown location makes a convincing substitute, sharing a similar appearance. North Mymms Park dates back to 1576, while Chequers was designed by William Hawtrey in 1565.

The property was linked to Queen Elizabeth I, who used the mansion to imprison the younger sister of her rival, Lady Jane Grey. Since then, successive owners have put their own stamp on the property including a neo-Gothic makeover and later restoration to its Tudor grandeur.

After carrying out their own works, the final private owners, the Lees, granted the house to the nation. Chequers has been the Prime Minister’s official residence since 1921, after a turn as a convalescent home during World War I. And it has been much appreciated by residents from every political party over the past century.

“I do not think anyone has stayed long at Chequers without falling in love with it.”
Margaret Thatcher, Former Prime Minister

Gulf of St Tropez

Mallorca’s Puerto Andratx, Palma, Formentor, San Telmo and Soller are The Crown Season 6’s St Tropez locations. In the S as Diana, William and Harry stay with the Al Fayeds. Locals were hired as extras for the shoot, and the cast and crew were spotted filming around the coastline and on the water.

The real Al Fayed yacht, Jonikal, is still sailing but a comparable superyacht was used for the scenes.

Mohamed Al Fayed’s St Tropez Villa

Mohamed Al Fayed’s (Salim Daw) St Tropez villa location in The Crown Season 6 is the Yellow Castle or Villa Castillo at Puerto de Andratx. In Season 6 Episode 1, ‘Persona Non Grata’, Dodi (Khalid Abdalla) and Princess Diana meet for the first time at Castle of St Theresa in St Tropez. It appears before and after the yacht scenes, and is located in the same area where they were filmed.

The Yellow Castle is perched on the rocks of Andratx, Mallorca. As shown in the Princess Diana scenes, the luxury property features steps that meander up the cliff, and an outdoor swimming pool overlooking the port.

The Crown’s Castle of St Theresa filming location is available to rent, though you will need a generous budget. Yellow Castle’s 6-bedroom luxury accommodation is just part of the attraction, with the price including the private use of the peninsula and yacht moorings.

Castel St Therese, or Castle of St Theresa, where Princess Diana, William and Harry stayed in 1997, was owned by Mohamed Al Fayed for decades. He eventually listed the St Tropez mansion for sale in 2015. It was linked to a £70 million asking price, but the buyer’s identity remains private.

Of course, its history goes back far further. Castel St Therese was built in 1853 by Vicomte Ferdinand de Lesseps, an engineer who is best known for constructing the Suez Canal.

The Al Fayeds’ Jonikal Yacht

Dodi Al Fayed’s Jonikal yacht in The Crown Season 6 is the Titania superyacht. According to Yacht Carter Fleet, The Crown’s superyacht is one of the most high-end yachts sailing today, and costs $735 000 a week to charter.

The real yacht that Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed were photographed on was called Jonikal. The yacht was commissioned by Mohamed Al Fayed himself, and was completed in 1990. Jonikal is still sailing, though it has changed hands and been refitted several times since the 1997 St Tropez trip.

After being renamed to Sokar and Bash, the 63.8m yacht currently sails as Isabell Princess of the Sea.

Al Fayed Offices

Gateway Building. Discovery Park Gateway Building. Discovery Park, Sandwich by Richard Rogerson, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
The Al Fayed office scenes were filmed at Discovery Park in Kent. Discovery Park appears for the first time in The Crown as a Season 6 filming location.

Though it’s used for scenes relating to Mohamed Al Fayed’s business interests, this complex is better known for its scientific connections. As well as office spaces, it’s one of the leading science hubs in Europe, with world-class laboratories.

This location is also set to appear in Netflix’s sci-fi adaptation, 3 Body Problem, due to be released in 2024.

Highgrove

Somerley House Somerley House. Somerley Ent., CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Somerley House in Hampshire is The Crown’s Highgrove location, returning for Season 6 after appearing in Seasons 4 and 5. In Season 6 Episode 1, ‘Persona Non Grata’, Prince Charles (Dominic West) hosts a birthday celebration for Camilla Parker-Bowles (Olivia Williams) at the country house.

Somerley House is in Ringwood, Hampshire, close to the Dorset border. Designed by Samuel Wyatt in the late 18th Century, this Highgrove filming location has been the family home of the Earl and Countess of Normanton for generations. Since successive residents have collected works of art, Somerley is home to a dazzling collection of art, including pieces from Versailles.

The Highgrove birthday party scene was filmed around the terrace and gardens, so we see more of the exterior. And of course, Camilla’s celebration dinner with Charles, Major Bowles and Princess Margaret takes place in a marquee. This Crown location is also a wedding venue, so you can hold your own celebration in the same spot, if you choose.

Bosnia

Princess Diana’s landmine charity scene was filmed near Barcelona. The Crown Season 6’s Bosnian scenes were under way in September 2022, and were paused for the Queen’s funeral.

Elizabeth Debicki was photographed during the shoot, wearing a replica of the outfit the late Princess of Wales wore for the much-documented moment. Meanwhile, Debicki’s body double was spotted filming scenes of Princess Diana meeting victims’ families in the Bosnian cemetery.

Bois de Boulogne

Halton House Halton House. David Hillas / Front Entrance of Halton House (2)
In The Crown the Bois de Bois de Boulogne filming locations are Halton House and West Wycombe Park in Buckinghamshire.

Bois de Boulogne was the Duke and Duchess of Windsor’s Parisian home, but was leased to the Al Fayed family. In Season 6 of The Crown, Dodi is encouraged to propose to Princess Diana at the house en route to Paris.

The car approaches the exterior of Halton House in Season 6 Episode 3, ‘Dis-Moi Oui’. Dodi and Diana are then seen inside the hall, surrounded by the property’s distinctive marble columns. You may well have recognised the locations, and their significance, because they have appeared many time before.

Halton and West Wycombe Park are among the longest-running locations in the show, returning at sometimes surprising moments. Bois de Boulogne made what could have been its final appearance in Season 3 Episode 8, for the last days of the exiled Duke of Windsor at his French property.

But the manor, and its two filming locations, returned in Season 5 when Mohamed Al Fayed (Salim Daw) leased it. Halton House’s interiors were also used for diplomatic scenes in the early seasons of the Netflix royal drama.

The Ritz Paris

The Ritz Paris scenes in The Crown were filmed at Dartmouth House in London. Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Princess Diana in the Netflix series, was spotted filming the Ritz scenes in November 2022.

The show’s Ritz Hotel location features in Episode 3, ‘Dis-Moi Oui’, after Diana and Dodi’s trip to Bois de Boulogne.

In reality, the Ritz Paris is located in Place Vendome – which recently appeared as a Lupin filming location. The prestigious neighbourhood features heavily in the first episode of Lupin Season 3.

Balmoral

Ardverikie Ardverikie. TimReynard at en.wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Knebworth and Ardverikie are The Crown’s Balmoral filming locations in Season 6, continuing a trend set in Season 1. Exterior shots of Balmoral are filmed in the Scottish Highlands at Ardverikie at Kinloch Laggan, Newtonmore - the same stately home used in Monarch of the Glen.

Balmoral Estate

Kinloch Laggan’s hills, forests and loch have been used for Balmoral Estate scenes over numerous past seasons of The Crown. The landscape is close to the Balmoral’s own, with both sitting on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park. But there are some geographical differences. While the real Balmoral sits on the eastern edge of the Cairngorms, towards Aberdeen, Ardverikie is found to the west.

You can walk around the wider lands of Ardverikie, or even stay onsite if you want to visit this Crown location. There are several holiday cottages and eco pods across the estate.

Balmoral Interiors

Knebworth House Knebworth House by Philip Jeffrey, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Interior shots of Balmoral’s rooms were filmed at Knebworth House in Hertfordshire. The Gothic mansion has appeared in countless movies and TV series over the years, including Paddington 2 and royal drama Victoria and Abdul.

Fans of The Crown can visit this Balmoral location easily - it’s open to the public on many dates throughout the year. Check in advance for dates, times and prices.

Ballater

The Crown’s Balmoral location may be in the Highlands, but the Ballater filming locations in The Crown Season 6 are in East Sussex and Peterborough. Look out for these locations in Season 6 Episode 2, ‘Two Photographs’, as the royal family contemplate their public image from Balmoral.

The real Ballater is the closest town to the Balmoral Estate, on the eastern edge of the Cairngorms National Park.

Ballater Royal Opening

The Highland castle location in The Crown Season 6 Episode 2, ‘Two Photographs’, is Wadhurst Castle. The castle where we first meet Duncan Muir isn’t in Ballater, but on the border of East Sussex and Kent - at the opposite end of the country. And the building where the Queen is photographed conducting a royal opening is not quite a castle either.

Wadhurst Castle is a Grade II-listed, castellated mansion that dates back to the 19th Century, designed in the popular style of the era. There are no royal connections here - though in fairness, it doesn’t have any in the episode either, bar the Queen’s official appearance.

It was built by a former army officer whose father founded the bank that became Natwest. Today, this Crown location is a wedding venue offering the grand setting seen in The Crown, against the backdrop of the local Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Duncan Muir’s Photography Studio

Duncan Muir’s Ballater photography studio location is on North Street in Peterborough. Look out for Muir’s studio in The Crown Season 6 Episode 2, ‘Two Photographs’, when he is summoned to the Balmoral estate. His car turns onto North Street, where the shop on the corner has been transformed into the photographer’s studio.

Princess Diana’s Funeral

Winchester Cathedral Winchester Cathedral. Peter Broster, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Princess Diana’s funeral scenes in The Crown Season 6 Episode 4 were filmed in Winchester. They include an appearance from The Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey (Richard Rycroft), along with Tony (Bertie Carvel) and Cherie Blair (Lydia Leonard).

Military Scenes

The Crown Season 6 army scenes were filmed in Southend’s Victoria Avenue in December 2022. Local press captured behind-the-scenes shots of extras alongside the burnt-out car and debris near the Civic Centre and Southend Council offices.

Eton

The Crown’s filming location for Eton is Cobham Hall, a historic school in Kent. The Netflix show’s Eton location was first used in Season 5, with the East Court, Gilt Hall and exterior appearing onscreen. It returns for more scenes in Season 6, following filming in 2022.

St Andrews

St Andrews Peter Gordon / St Andrews from Regulus tower
The Crown’s St Andrews University scenes were filmed on location in St Andrews in Fife. In Season 6 we see Prince William meeting Kate Middleton at university in Scotland, and spending time around the town. Locals were quick to spot Ed McVey and Meg Bellamy on location filming various scenes for Season 6 Part 2.