Netflix has already released a sizzle reel to whet subscribers’ appetite for The Crown, the biographical series that will follow Queen Elizabeth II’s (played here by Claire Foy) ascension to the throne of England. But this latest preview delves into the monarch’s quiet life before she moved into Buckingham Palace, when she hadn’t even prepared her regnal name, let alone considered she’d ever rule the country. But Edward VIII’s abdication sets off the chain of events that will leave her head uneasy under the weight of the crown. She struggles to get her husband Philip (Matt Smith) to fall in line—or rather, kneel—and she must also contend with the English lords and officials who don’t think she’s cut out for the job, including John Lithgow’s Winston Churchill.
Netflix has already invested considerable money in The Crown—a reported $150 million in total. But if the series does hit its six planned seasons, that should make it all worth it.
The Crown premieres November 4 on Netflix.