The Crown season 4 ending explained

How did The Crown season 4 come to an end?

If you’re anything like me, you spent the whole of your Sunday binge-watching The Crown season 4. Now it’s time to breakdown and explain that ending.

The season focused on two iconic women between 1979 and 1990. The first was Margaret Thatcher, the first female Prime Minister of the UK. She is also the most divisive Prime Minister of her time due to her policies.

For her, the season ended the only way it could. After losing support from her party, she stepped down as Prime Minister and left Number 10. John Major will take over from her as Prime Minister, who we got a glimpse of next to her in the House of Commons toward the end of the season.

The Crown season 4 ending was all about Diana, Princess of Wales

The other iconic woman was Lady Diana Spencer, who would become Diana, Princess of Wales. A young girl looking for a fairytale when she first married her Prince Charming soon realized that wasn’t the way life was. She was isolated from so many, and as her marriage to Charles fell apart, both of them had affairs.

The show attempted to offer an honest look at this failing marriage—something that was all because of the Royal Family’s reluctance to let Charles follow his heart in the first place. Duty over happiness, something that Princess Margaret kept calling them out on. Would Queen Elizabeth ever learn from this same mistake?

Sadly, not in time to save a young girl. Charles kept pushing Diana away. In the end, she didn’t even feel part of the family; she wasn’t welcome.

The Crown season 4 ended with Christmas at Balmoral. Nobody offered a friendly gesture to Diana, choosing Charles. And with this family, that’s not all too surprising. However, Elizabeth made it clear to Charles that a separation was not allowed. They would not discuss that.

Prince Philip offered a poor attempt at an olive branch to Diana at the end. He told her that they were all outsiders in the family. The only person that mattered was Elizabeth, something that he also had to learn a long time ago. It wasn’t an easy lesson for him to learn, but he had at least gone into the family with some sort of idea of what to expect.

Diana had a naive view of what it meant to be a princess. She wanted the fairytale that would never happen.

And so, Philip urges her to make it work. If she doesn’t, there would be serious consequences. Was it a threat? We know how history plays out, but in the end, the people of the UK (and the world) would continue to love her. She never lost support the way that Philip warned she would. We’ll see that play out in The Crown season 5.

The Crown season 4 ends with a photo. The family is happy, laughing together as they get ready. Diana arrives and remains on the outskirts of the photo, making it clear that she is and always will be an outsider. There is no place for her in this family.

What did you think of the ending to The Crown season 4? Share your thoughts in the comments below.