The Crown Season 5 filming locations: From Scotland to Spain - your complete guide to where the new season was filmed

Filming for Netflix’s big budget royal drama The Crown is based at Elstree Studios, north of London, with scenes featuring the Britannia, royal residences and Downing Street, all built on custom-made sets there. 

But the cast and crew of The Crown season 5 also venture to real life filming locations in order to recreate scenes from recent royal history.

For the new series, actors including Imelda Staunton, Jonathan Pryce, Elizabeth Debicki and Dominic West filmed across the UK and Europe.

From beaches in Spain to lavish locations in England and Scotland, discover your complete guide to The Crown season 5 filming locations, below.

Lossiemouth and Macduff, Scotland

Imelda Staunton was spotted filming at Covesea Lighthouse near Lossiemouth in the north of Scotland in August 2021, according to the Strathspey and Badenoch Herald.

The actress was pictured alongside Claudia Harrison, portraying Princess Anne, and Theo Fraser Steele, playing the Princess's husband Timothy Lawrence.

The local Scottish newspaper also reports that filming took place along the North-East coast in Macduff the same month.

Staunton was seen on a boat made to look like a royal barge in the harbour of the Scottish fishing village.

They were recreating scenes from when the Queen visited the town in 1961. Andrew Havill, who plays the Queen’s former Private Secretary Robert Fellowes, was also pictured.

Ardverikie House, Scotland 

Elizabeth Debicki (playing Princess Diana) was spotted filming outside Ardverikie House - standing in for Balmoral Castle - in the Scottish Highlands, in August 2021, according to The Northern Times. 

The Australian actress was accompanied by the young actors playing her sons, Prince Harry and Prince William.

The Scottish baronial house has played the part of Balmoral Castle, the Scottish home of the Royal Family, in previous seasons of The Crown, Elle Decor reports.

It's also famous as Glenbogle in Monarch of the Glen. 

The Crown has previously filmed at Scottish locations including Valley Glen Affric in the Cairngorms National Park, according to Metro.

Knebworth House, Hertfordshire, England

Interior shots for scenes at Balmoral have been filmed at Knebworth House in Hertfordshire, with the dramatic architecture making it a suitable substitute for Balmoral’s Scottish Baronial style, reports Find That Location.

It has also featured in previous seasons of The Crown on Netflix.

San Telmo, Mallorca, Spain

Venturing further afield for filming were Elizabeth Debecki and Dominic West (playing Prince Charles), who were spotted on the Spanish island of Mallorca in October 2021.

According to Country & Town House, the actors were spotted filming on a glamorous speedboat in the picturesque beachside town of Sant Elm (also known as San Telmo in Spanish) in the Andratx region.

It's thought the show will recreate scenes from Prince Charles and Diana's holidays with their children. According to Metro.co.uk, the scenes recreate Princess Diana’s last holiday with her two sons before her death - the family's trip to the South of France in July 1997.

Burghley House, Lincolnshire, England

Burghley House, near Stamford, Lincolnshire doubles up as Windsor Castle. Cast and crew descended on the location to film scenes for season 5.

As reported by Metro, filming took place in October 2021, with production recreating the famous blaze that tore through Windsor Castle in November 1992. 

Incredibly realistic ‘flames’ and smoke blazed from the building in the dramatic scenes.

Belvoir Castle was the stand-in for scenes in Windsor Castle for the first three seasons, before it was replaced by Burghley House for season 4 onwards. 

London Coliseum, England

In February 2022, Staunton was spotted filming a historic scene at the famous London Coliseum theatre in the West End.

As reported by the Express, The Coliseum is acting as the Dominion Theatre and was adorned in banners to recreate the 1995 Royal Variety Performance.

Staunton and Jonathan Pryce, who plays Prince Philip, were spotted exiting their Rolls-Royce to make their way inside the theatre. 

Taking to the stage for the Queen and Royal Family in 1995 were the likes of Des O’Connor, Allan Stewart, The Pendragons, Elaine Paige and Cliff Richard.

Lyceum Theatre, London, England

In Season 5, Episode 10, Mohamed Al-Fayed (played by Salim Dau) and Princess Diana (played by Elizabeth Debicki) watch a performance of Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall.

The scene was actually filmed at the Lyceum Theatre in London, according to Metro.co.uk.

It was the princess's last public appearance, two months before her death.

Chatham Historic Dockyard, Kent, England

The Britannia launch scenes in The Crown Season 5 were filmed at Chatham Historic Dockyard in Kent, according to Find That Location.

Both eras were filmed here - the scene in 1953 where Queen Elizabeth II (played by Claire Foy) gives her speech at the Britannia launch, as well as Imelda Staunton’s Queen as she boards the Britannia to sail to Balmoral.

The top deck of the Britannia was recreated at Elstree, but production designer Martin Childs confirmed to Elle Décor that the engine room of the real life Royal Yacht Britannia - which is now based in Leith, to the north of Edinburgh - was used as a filming location.

Wellington College, Berkshire, England

Wellington College substitutes for Kensington Palace - where Princess Diana (played by Elizabeth Debicki) lived - in The Crown Season 5, Episode 2, in the scene in which she waves goodbye to her sons, then greets journalist Andrew Morton. It later features in Season 5, Episode 4.

Cobham Hall School, Kent, England

Cobham Hall School doubles as Eton College in The Crown Season 5, with filming taking place in the courtyard, as well as in interior shots with a young Prince William.

According to Visit Kent, Cobham Hall is a beautiful 16th century house, surrounded by 150 acres of landscape garden.

Winchester College is also used as a location for Eton, and features in Season 5, Episode 7, No Woman’s Land, before the press call.

Lancaster House, London, England

Lancaster House in London has stood in for Buckingham Palace, the British monarch's official residence, in The Crown Season 5. Scenes filmed here in previous seasons include Princess Diana (Emma Corrin) roller skating through the corridors in Season 4. 

Lancaster House has also been used as a filming location, again substituting for Buckingham Palace, in Sherlock Holmes, The King’s Speech, and National Treasure, reports Elle Decor.

According to Find That Location, over the years, The Crown has filmed Buckingham Palace scenes at Wilton House in Salisbury, Goldsmiths Hall and Greenwich Old Royal Naval College in London.

Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire has been used as the Queen’s audience room since The Crown Season 1.

Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire, England

Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire, a National Trust location, doubles as The Ritz in Paris, as seen in The Crown Season 5, Episode 3.

Elle Decor reports that "the manor’s luxurious interiors are a fitting Ritz, built in a similar Neo-Renaissance style that is a treasure trove of grand art".

Dodi's Paradise Cove Home, Malibu, USA

According to Homes and Gardens, Dodi Al-Fayed's Paradise Cove home was one of the few filming locations for The Crown Season 5 that used the original setting.

The website reports that Dodi's Tuscan-style villa in Malibu, California, was re-opened to the show's cast and crew as the backdrop for filming.

Oundle, Northamptonshire, England

Filming for The Crown season 5 also took place in the Northamptonshire town of Oundle in September 2022, although none of the cast were pictured filming the scenes.

The Peterborough Telegraph reported that crew were spotted in North Street, with production focused on a building in one corner of North Street with the sign 'D Muir Photography' above the door.

The Crown filming locations - where have scenes in previous seasons been filmed?

• Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire has stood in for Kensington Palace, the former home of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
• Somerley House in the New Forest doubled up as Prince Charles' private country estate, Highgrove, in Gloucestershire. Filming for The Crown season 6 also took place here in October 2022, according to Find That Location. Somerley House has also been used as a filming location for Netflix period drama, Bridgerton.
• Somerleyton Hall in East Anglia was used to replicate Sandringham - the Queen’s much loved East Anglian estate, and Christmas favourite - at the end of season 4.
• Winchester Cathedral has stood in for St Paul's Cathedral in previous seasons.