13 Film Locations From The Crown (That Yes, You Can Visit IRL)

13 Film Locations From The Crown (That Yes, You Can Visit IRL)

With political rivalries and (not so) regal romps set in
the world’s most famous addresses, The Crown is among the brightest
gems in the Netflix tiara. Thought you had to be a Windsor to visit
the hit series’ fantastical locations? You’re royally mistaken.
Here are 13 of the best to scout out.



Whether
the birth of Archie Mountbatten-Windsor made you feel as

British
as a bulldog in a bowler hat, or you’re a drama queen
itching to see Olivia Colman assume the throne, there are few of us
who haven’t fallen head over glass slipper for The Crown.

Yet if you thought the Netflix series was really filmed inside
Buckingham Palace, think again. We’ve got the lowdown on the
fairy-tale castles, opulent homes and haunting ruins featured so
far. Best of all, you don’t even have to be on the Honours List to
visit. Yes ma’am.

Fairy-tale castles and haunting ruins: these are the Netflix
series’ most famous addresses


Lancaster House

Westminster, London

Among the stately homes used to imitate Buckingham Palace, Pall
Mall’s palatial Lancaster House took on most State Room scenes. It
was the 18th-century home of the Duke of York (yes, the Grand Old
one) and once the epicentre of high society. Today it’s owned by
the Foreign Office. Recognise it? Lancaster House has featured in
other regal films such as The King’s Speech. There’s no regular
public access, but it’s possible to book a tour.


Woodchester Mansion

Nympsfield, Gloucestershire

The facade of this gothic revival mansion was cast as
Gordonstoun, the
Scottish
public school where the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince
of Wales were educated (and which Charles famously hated). Filming
couldn’t take place inside, however, as construction was abandoned
in the mid-19th century when owner William Leigh ran out of cash.
Hauntingly majestic, Woodchester Mansion is open to the public
between April
and November.


Eltham Palace

Eltham, London

While this South
London
house dates back to the 13th century, much of it was
built in the 30s – its art-deco curved furniture and veneered
surfaces made it the ideal stand-in for Bermuda’s Government House
and the Queen’s quarters in Royal Yacht Britannia. Elizabeth’s
meeting with fashion designer Norman Hartnell was filmed in the
Scandi-style, glass-domed entrance hall. Check the English Heritage
website for opening times.


Ardverikie Estate

Inverness-shire, Scotland

Two hours’ drive from the real Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire,
this grand 19th-century hunting lodge doubles as the Queen’s
favourite Scottish retreat. You may recognise Ardverikie’s stone
towers from the 1997 film Mrs Brown (though the real Queen Victoria
beat Dame Judi to the estate when she stayed here in 1847). Spend
the night in one of the on-site cottages and enjoy castle tours and
wildlife activities.


Old Royal Naval College

Greenwich, London

With the aid of a specially constructed portico, the Old Royal
Naval College was a dupe for Buckingham Palace’s courtyard. The
location has a colourful history: Henry VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth
I were born at Greenwich Palace (its original incarnation), Anne
Boleyn was arrested here and Shakespeare performed. Visit today and
the (recently restored) buildings you see were designed by Sir
Christopher Wren in the 18th century as a hospital for naval
veterans. Open daily.

This image is on holiday

Goldsmiths’ Hall

Central London

Remember King George’s operation in that makeshift theatre at
Buckingham Palace? It was shot near St Paul’s Cathedral in the
Grade I-listed Goldsmiths’ Hall (extras included real surgeons from
Guys Hospital). Despite devastation by bombing in 1941, the hall
has served as headquarters for one of London‘s
Great Twelve Livery Companies since the early 14th century. Open
days are held throughout the year.


Waddesdon Manor

Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

This 19th-century neo-renaissance manor was the site of Baron
Ferdinand de Rothschild’s raucous Saturday-to-Monday house parties.
Thankfully, since the manor was bequeathed to the National Trust in
1957, you no longer have to be a blue blood to visit. While its
magnificent facade echoed Buckingham Palace in The Crown, Waddesdon
also backdropped the less salubrious 1966 Carry On Don’t Lose Your
Head film set during the French Revolution.


Shoreham Airport

Lancing, West Sussex

Founded in 1910, this art-deco airport is the UK’s oldest of its
kind. It backdropped several scenes in The Crown, including when
the newly appointed Queen arrives back from South Africa in the
wake of her father’s death. The terminal is now part of Brighton
City Airport, so you’ll likely visit only if you’re attending
flying school or own a light aircraft. How very regal.


Slains Castle

Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Slains Castle appeared as the Castle of Mey, a Caithness
property bought by the Queen Mother in 1952 and used as her holiday
home for the next half century. The castle’s ruined state meant it
only afforded exterior shots. Dramatically perched on a cliff
overlooking the North Sea, it was once ruled by the powerful Clan
Hay and is said to have inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Walk from
the nearby village of Cruden Bay for frightfully spiffing
vistas.

This image is on holiday

Wrotham Park

Potters Bar, Hertfordshire

Her Majesty’s audiences with the PMs were shot at this
neo-palladian estate. Surrounded by 300 acres, the secluded Wrotham
Park hasn’t changed much since it was designed in 1754 – it remains
in the care of the same Byng family for whom it was constructed.
While it isn’t open to the public, those with deep pockets can hire
the house for events; Cheryl and Ashley Cole had their wedding
blessed here in 2006 and Simon Cowell held his £1million 50th
birthday bash on the grounds three years later.


Ely Cathedral

Ely, Cambridgeshire

Ely Cathedral stands in for Westminster Abbey where the Queen is
married, crowned and subject to Philip’s brutal line: “Are you my
Queen or my wife?” Though the Anglican temple dates back to 1083,
when there was a spate of building following the Norman Conquest,
its origins can be traced to 627 when St Ethelreda built an
Anglo-Saxon abbey on the site. The cathedral is open to visitors
daily – climb the Octagon Tower, a marvel of the medieval
world.


South Africa

Outside Blighty, this is The Crown’s go-to foreign location. In
Season 1 it served as Kenya during the then Princess’s Commonwealth
tour, and in Season 2 it set the scene for Philip’s world tour:
Melbourne was shot in Cape Town, the Keurbooms River covered for
the Amazon, and Hermanus was Bermuda. In fact, Antarctica was the
Duke of Edinburgh’s only pitstop not filmed in South Africa – that
was shot in a quarry near London.


Hatfield House

Hatfield, Hertfordshire

Originally owned by Henry VIII, this Jacobean mansion is where
the infamous king raised his children and told his daughter
Elizabeth I of her succession to the crown. Now it’s home to the
seventh Marquess and Marchioness of Salisbury. In The Crown,
Hatfield House is used as the home of Queen Mary, Elizabeth’s
widowed grandmother. It’s only an hour’s drive from London, so
visit to marvel at the golden ceiling of the Long Gallery, the
tapestry-draped walls of the drawing room and a library that would
make any book lover gasp.

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