Netflix is reportedly planning to release several spin-off shows and miniseries about the British royal family following the success of The Crown.
The Emmy-award-winning series premiered to critical acclaim in 2016 and followed the life and times of Queen Elizabeth from when she was 21 years old to 70 years old.
Across seven years and six seasons, 50 episodes were aired – each season depicting roughly a decade in Her Majesty’s life.
And now, insider sources have revealed that the show makers of the drama are in talks about returning to the writers’ room to bring to life stories from other members of the royal family.
According to The Sun, producers are considering making miniseries about Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s second child and eldest son, King Edward VII, who reigned from 1901 until his death in 1910.
“The consensus was that the royal drama seemed to wane the closer it came to modern day and retelling multiple stories that so many were familiar with,” they shared with the publication.
“But Scoop showed that rather than doing this in a drawn-out, ten-part series, focusing instead on one moment in time seemed to hook people.”
Scoop is a Netflix original film that was released in April 2024. It is based on the incredible true story of the BBC journalists who secured the now infamous interview with Prince Andrew about his association with convicted criminal Jeffrey Epstein in 2019.
The fallout was immediate, and the disgraced royal stepped down from his duties as a working royal shortly after.
“If they can repeat that pattern by delivering prequels in a shorter form, they believe they may have come up with a winning formula for a new incarnation of The Crown,” the source added.
Notably, King Edward VII was the only ruling royal of the 20th century who was not featured in the Netflix series.
His lineage was first featured with his son King Edward VVIII, who controversially abdicated to marry two-time American divorcee Wallis Simpson in 1936.
Edward’s second eldest child (and son) George was thus thrust into ruling, paving the way for his daughter Queen Elizabeth to rule for more than 70 years.
Much like his great-grandson, King Edward VII had a colourful life. In fact, the former monarch was suspected of having partaken in 55 affairs across the course of his 47 years of marriage to Queen Alexandra of Denmark
He was even linked to Queen Camilla’s great, great grandmother Alice Keppel!
Surrounded by scandal, the womaniser will surely serve to be interesting source material if Netflix does indeed choose to pursue the production of a The Crown spin-off.
