Netflix · 2016–2023Six seasonsThree Queens
Every royal room was somewhere else. Most of them are open.
Claire Foy at a premiere in Washington, 2018. Aubrey Gemignani (NASA) · Public domain. Olivia Colman at the BFI London Film Festival, 2022. Raph_PH · CC BY 2.0. Imelda Staunton in 2019. Lega Nerd · CC BY 3.0. Frank a stamp to see her in colour.
Locked. For the viewer’s eyes only.
Claire Foy played Queen Elizabeth II in seasons 1 and 2, Olivia Colman in seasons 3 and 4, and Imelda Staunton in seasons 5 and 6 of Peter Morgan’s series.
Looper: Who plays the Queen in The Crown? (Nina Starner, updated 25 September 2026)
The album · royal residences, stand-ins hinged
Each stamp is a royal room as the series showed it. Underneath is the building that actually played it. The production designer, Martin Childs, built his palace from real houses because no sound stage could give it the length of the real thing.
Buckingham Palace · the staircase was played by
Stable Yard Road, St James’s, by Green Park
Lancaster House plays the inside of Buckingham Palace, from the first season to the sixth.
Lancaster House, a Grade I listed house in St James’s, stood in for Buckingham Palace interiors, and came back for the palace scenes of season six.
A government house, not usually open. See it from the edge of Green Park; booked tours can be requested.
Eight stamps, all hinged. Lift one.
Buckingham Palace, as filmed
To play Buckingham Palace, the production designer Martin Childs went to Lancaster House, Wilton House and Goldsmiths’ Hall. A sound stage cannot give you the palace’s length of rooms, he said, but several real houses can. Walk it the way the camera did.
Room 1 of 5: The staircase hall, filmed at Lancaster House.
Stable Yard Road, St James’s, by Green Park
Lancaster House plays the inside of Buckingham Palace, from the first season to the sixth.
Lancaster House, a Grade I listed house in St James’s, stood in for Buckingham Palace interiors, and came back for the palace scenes of season six. It is not usually open to the public, but booked tours can be requested.
A government house, not usually open. See it from the edge of Green Park; booked tours can be requested.
London
Live marketplace results for royal London and The Crown location tours. Check each itinerary for the stops it covers.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursThe crown passes
Season 1: Claire Foy as the Queen; Windsor is Belvoir Castle.
Windsor Castle, played by
Belvoir Castle stood in for Windsor Castle in seasons one to three. It returned as Windsor for season six. It is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Rutland.
Decorated for Christmas, 14 November to 30 December 2026. Stays in Vale House and estate cottages.
Claire Foy played Queen Elizabeth II in seasons 1 and 2, Olivia Colman in seasons 3 and 4, and Imelda Staunton in seasons 5 and 6 of Peter Morgan’s series.
Looper: Who plays the Queen in The Crown? (Nina Starner, updated 25 September 2026)
Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s, as filmed
The royal wedding scenes were filmed at Ely Cathedral in place of Westminster Abbey, re-enacting Elizabeth and Philip’s wedding. The Crown was the sixth major production to film at the cathedral in nine years.
Visitor entry Monday to Saturday 9.30am–4.30pm, Sunday noon–3pm. Services are open to everyone.
Ely, Cambridgeshire · Mon–Sat 9.30am–4.30pm · Sun noon–3pm
The cathedral that played Westminster Abbey for the wedding. Ground-floor and Octagon Tower tours can be booked.
Tickets and toursOrder of service, as filmed
The wedding. Elizabeth and Philip’s wedding is re-enacted in Ely Cathedral, standing in for Westminster Abbey.
St Paul’s. Winchester Cathedral plays St Paul’s Cathedral.
Ely to Winchester: 184 km
A folded card, cream, with a gilt edge.
Winchester Cathedral played St Paul’s Cathedral. It opens Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm and on Sunday from 12.30pm to 3pm. Adult entry is £14.90, or £13.90 booked online; entry for worship is always free.
Winchester, Hampshire · Adults £14.90 · £13.90 online
The nave that played St Paul’s. Worship is always free.
Plan a visitThe Highland test
Ardverikie in the Highlands stood in for Balmoral, including in season four’s “The Balmoral Test”, when Diana and Margaret Thatcher are each weighed up by the Queen.
Pick the real one.
It played Balmoral’s exteriors again in season six. The estate lets eight dog-friendly holiday cottages, from the two-person Eco Pod to Rudh na Magach and Inverpattack Lodge, which each sleep eight. Cottage guests can book, subject to availability, tours of the castle’s main reception rooms.
A private estate with holiday cottages. Stay in one and you can ask, subject to availability, for a tour of the castle’s reception rooms.
Kinloch Laggan, Inverness-shire
The estate that played Balmoral lets eight dog-friendly cottages on Loch Laggan, from the two-person Eco Pod to lodges for eight. Guests can ask for a tour of the castle’s reception rooms, subject to availability.
See the cottagesThe grounds, gardens, Castle Ballroom, restaurant and gift shop are open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm. Interior guided tours of the castle, and Land Rover expeditions with a ranger, can be booked.
Grounds, gardens, Castle Ballroom and restaurant open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am–4pm. Christmas Artisan Markets 6–8 November 2026.
Borehamwood, Hertfordshire
Work on The Crown began at Elstree Studios in late 2014, and the studio soon became the production’s permanent home. The backlot held the outside of the Palace and of Downing Street. Those sets had to be dressed and struck each time they were filmed.
Dressed: the palace front, ready to shoot.
From the camera, it is Buckingham Palace.
Permanent stage space held Downing Street’s cabinet rooms and the Palace’s living quarters, upstairs and down. Other stages took Britannia’s interior, newspaper offices and aircraft cabins.
A working studio behind its gates. See the entrance from Shenley Road.
Childs built the royal yacht on a stage for season two: a ship, he said, is impossible to find on location. The real Britannia is permanently berthed at Ocean Terminal in Leith, about two miles from the centre of Edinburgh, and opens 363 days a year.
Open 363 days a year. November and December 10am–5pm, last entry 3pm; closed 25 December and 1 January.
Ocean Terminal, Leith · Open 363 days · Nov–Dec 10am–5pm, last entry 3pm
The real yacht, which the series rebuilt on a stage. Timed tickets include the audio guide and a year’s free return.
Book a time
Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms, 19 of them State Rooms, which open to visitors every summer. The first recorded royal balcony appearance was in 1851, when Queen Victoria stepped out during celebrations for the Great Exhibition.
The State Rooms open every summer, with a limited number of tours in December, January and at Easter. Book with the Royal Collection Trust.
The Mall, London · Summer opening and winter tours · book ahead
Nineteen State Rooms open every summer, with a limited number of tours in December, January and at Easter.
Dates and ticketsThe jewels
One jewel for every place on this page. Pick one to read it; set it when you have been.
Jewel 1 · London
Lancaster House, a Grade I listed house in St James’s, stood in for Buckingham Palace interiors, and came back for the palace scenes of season six.
A government house, not usually open. See it from the edge of Green Park; booked tours can be requested.
No jewels set yet.
The box closes
13 places you can visit in London, England and Scotland. Lancaster House, Elstree Studios and Ardverikie are seen from outside unless you book. Wrotham Park is a private home, so it is named but not on the map.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A government house, not usually open. See it from the edge of Green Park; booked tours can be requested.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Open on tour days and for talks. The next guided tour day is Monday 7 December 2026; book on the Company’s site.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Grounds open daily 8am–11pm. Painted Hall, Chapel and Visitor Centre daily 10am–5pm; Painted Hall ticket £19, children free.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. The State Rooms open every summer, with a limited number of tours in December, January and at Easter. Book with the Royal Collection Trust.
Stable Yard Road, St James’s, by Green Park
Lancaster House, a Grade I listed house in St James’s, stood in for Buckingham Palace interiors, and came back for the palace scenes of season six.
A government house, not usually open. See it from the edge of Green Park; booked tours can be requested.
Foster Lane, City of London, behind St Paul’s
Goldsmiths’ Hall was the third house Childs used for the palace: the room where the king’s operation is filmed.
Open on tour days and for talks. The next guided tour day is Monday 7 December 2026; book on the Company’s site.
King William Walk, Greenwich, on the Thames
The Old Royal Naval College stood in for the outside of Buckingham Palace.
Grounds open daily 8am–11pm. Painted Hall, Chapel and Visitor Centre daily 10am–5pm; Painted Hall ticket £19, children free.
The Mall, Westminster
Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms, 19 of them State Rooms, which open to visitors every summer.
The State Rooms open every summer, with a limited number of tours in December, January and at Easter. Book with the Royal Collection Trust.
Stay
Ardverikie’s cottages on Loch Laggan and the Belvoir estate’s houses.
Kinloch Laggan, Inverness-shire
The estate that played Balmoral lets eight dog-friendly cottages on Loch Laggan, from the two-person Eco Pod to lodges for eight. Guests can ask for a tour of the castle’s reception rooms, subject to availability.
See the cottagesBelvoir, Leicestershire
Self-catering in Vale House and in cottages and houses on the estate below the castle that played Windsor.
See the staysGo there
The State Rooms, Britannia, Balmoral, the Painted Hall and two cathedrals.
The Mall, London · Summer opening and winter tours · book ahead
Nineteen State Rooms open every summer, with a limited number of tours in December, January and at Easter.
Dates and ticketsOcean Terminal, Leith · Open 363 days · Nov–Dec 10am–5pm, last entry 3pm
The real yacht, which the series rebuilt on a stage. Timed tickets include the audio guide and a year’s free return.
Book a timeRoyal Deeside · Tuesday–Saturday, 10am–4pm
Interior guided tours of the castle and Land Rover expeditions with a ranger, as well as the grounds and gardens.
See the toursGreenwich, London · £19 · children free · daily 10am–5pm
The college that played the palace front. The grounds are open late; a film walking tour runs on Sundays.
Plan a visitWinchester, Hampshire · Adults £14.90 · £13.90 online
The nave that played St Paul’s. Worship is always free.
Plan a visitEly, Cambridgeshire · Mon–Sat 9.30am–4.30pm · Sun noon–3pm
The cathedral that played Westminster Abbey for the wedding. Ground-floor and Octagon Tower tours can be booked.
Tickets and toursLondon
Live marketplace results for royal London and The Crown location tours. Check each itinerary for the stops it covers.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursWhat’s on
Markets at Balmoral, Christmas at Belvoir and Burghley, and a tour day at Goldsmiths’ Hall.
Checking current event dates…
Take it home
Robert Lacey’s two companions and the music of seasons one and three.
Robert Lacey
Robert Lacey’s companion to the first seasons, published by Blink in 2017.
Find the bookRobert Lacey
The second volume of Robert Lacey’s companion to the series.
Find the bookHans Zimmer and Rupert Gregson-Williams · CD, 2016
The music of the first season, released on 4 November 2016.
Live marketplace search · listings and condition change
Find a copyMartin Phipps · Digital album, 2019
Martin Phipps’s score for the season Olivia Colman took the crown, released on 22 November 2019.
Live marketplace search · listings and condition change
Find a copyDates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.
The Crown: The Official Book of the Hit Netflix Series, Robert Lacey, Blink, 2017.
Open Library: The Crown, the official book of the hit Netflix series, Robert Lacey (Blink, 2017)
The Crown: Season One Soundtrack, released 4 November 2016.
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
14 of 14 places · 15 of 15 Moments
Stable Yard Road, St James’s, by Green Park
Lancaster House plays the inside of Buckingham Palace, from the first season to the sixth.
Foster Lane, City of London, behind St Paul’s
A palace room for the king’s operation is played by Goldsmiths’ Hall.
King William Walk, Greenwich, on the Thames
The Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich stands in for the outside of Buckingham Palace.
The Mall, Westminster
Queen Victoria steps out on the balcony during celebrations for the Great Exhibition, the first recorded royal balcony appearance.
Near Barnet, Hertfordshire
The Queen’s audience room, a private room of the palace, is played by Wrotham Park.
Wilton, near Salisbury, Wiltshire
Wilton House’s Double Cube Room plays a palace interior in almost every episode.
Grantham, Leicestershire, NG32 1PE
Belvoir Castle plays Windsor Castle for the first three seasons, and again in the sixth.
Stamford, Lincolnshire
For seasons four and five Windsor Castle is filmed at Burghley House.
The College, Ely, Cambridgeshire
Elizabeth and Philip’s wedding is re-enacted in Ely Cathedral, standing in for Westminster Abbey.
Cathedral Close, Winchester, Hampshire
Winchester Cathedral plays St Paul’s Cathedral.
Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire
The outside of the Palace and Downing Street are built on the Elstree backlot, and dressed and struck each time they are filmed.
The Palace’s living quarters, upstairs and down, are permanent sets on an Elstree stage.
Kinloch Laggan, Inverness-shire, on Loch Laggan
Ardverikie plays Balmoral when Diana and Margaret Thatcher each spend a Highland weekend under the Queen’s eye.
Crathie, Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire
The real castle holds Christmas Artisan Markets over three November days.
Ocean Terminal, Ocean Drive, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6JJ
Britannia’s rooms are built on a studio stage, because a ship cannot be found on location; the real yacht stays in Leith.
