'The Crown' Season 5: The 10 Biggest Bombshells Inspired by the Royal Family's Turbulent '90s

Netflix Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana

The Crown's latest chapter may also be the most explosive yet.

After two years of waiting, Netflix viewers obsessed with the show inspired by the lives of the British royal family can stream season 5 starting Wednesday, Nov. 9. Much of the dialed-up drama comes straight from the history books, as the latest installment chronicles the 1990s, a turbulent time that would forever change the monarchy and its members.

Read on for the top 10 can't-miss moments from season 5 of The Crown.

Prince Philip Befriends Penelope Knatchbull

In the second episode, Prince Philip (Jonathan Pryce) grows close to Penny Knatchbull (played by Natascha McElhone), the wife of his godson Norton Knatchbull, Lord Romsey. The two connect following the death of the couple's daughter Leonora at age 5 from cancer. Prince Philip convinces Penny to pursue carriage driving with him as a hobby to lift her spirits and even restores an antique four-in-hand carriage uncovered at her home, Broadlands, in a sentimental gesture.

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While the two find camaraderie and a natural rapport, Queen Elizabeth (Imelda Staunton) is not immediately thrilled with her husband befriending an attractive woman 32 years his junior.

RELATED: Everything to Know About The Crown Season 5

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Princess Diana Cooperates with Andrew Morton's Book

Feeling lonely and anxious, Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) agrees to share insight for a new book by Andrew Morton about what it was really like for her to marry into the royal family, amid rumors that a text sympathetic to Prince Charles (Dominic West) was in the works. Her friend Dr. James Colthurst secretly shuttles questions and answers between the journalist and the princess to illuminate "the truth behind the fairytale." The bombshell book would become Diana: Her True Story, published in 1992.

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Princess Diana Meets the Al-Fayeds

Though the scene may have been fictional, Diana's onscreen meeting with Mohamed Al-Fayed in episode three foreshadows a turning point. When the Queen decides not to sit with the owner of Harrod's, the official sponsor of the Royal Windsor Horse Show, at the equestrian event, the Princess of Wales is sent in her stead.

Joking with Mohamed that she was "no substitute for the Big Chief," she playfully teases Dodi when he greets them in their box. Though initially taken aback by Diana's banter, the two would later fall in love — the last of their lifetimes.

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Windsor Castle Goes Up in Flames

Staunton superbly channels Queen Elizabeth's despair after a fire ripped through Windsor Castle in 1992 — one of a few devastating events that lead the sovereign to declare it an "annus horribilis" (Latin for "horrible year").

In real life, the blaze began on Nov. 20 when a faulty spotlight set fire to a curtain in Queen Victoria's chapel and quickly spread to the Brunswick Tower, St. George's Hall and the surrounding private apartments. Five staffers suffered from smoke inhalation or other minor injuries, The New York Times reported at the time.

Over 220 firemen worked for 15 hours to extinguish the flames, using 36 pumps to spray 1.5 million gallons of water. The blaze damaged 115 rooms in the castle, including nine official state rooms. It would take five years and $47.5 million to repair the damage.

In a bittersweet scene in season 5 of The Crown, a shocked Queen and Prince Philip hug within a charred St. George's Hall, the sky exposed above.

RELATED: 'The Crown' Films One of Princess Diana's Final Days, Though Fatal Car Accident Won't Be Shown

Netflix Dominic West as Prince Charles and Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana in season 5 of The Crown

Prince Charles and Princess Diana Separate

Portrayed on The Crown as a tense meeting with Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and Princess Diana confirm it's best if they separate after 11 years of marriage. The news was announced by Prime Minister John Major (played by Johnny Lee Miller) in the House of Commons on Dec. 10, 1992.

"This decision has been reached amicably and they will both continue to participate fully in the upbringing of their children," the premier said, according to The New York Times. Notably, Major added that their split would have "no constitutional implications" and that the senior royals had "no plans to divorce," per The Washington Post.

Charles and Camilla's Intimate Phone Call (now known as "Tampongate") Hits the Papers

In January 1993, the transcript of an intercepted phone call between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles (Olivia Williams) hit tabloids. During the intimate conversation, Charles tells Camilla that he wants to "live inside" her trousers and then jokes that he could be reincarnated as a tampon. The Crown recreates the sensitive memory, which West spoke about to Entertainment Weekly before the episode aired.

"I remember thinking it was something so sordid and deeply, deeply embarrassing [at the time]," the 53-year-old actor told the outlet of his perception of the conversation at the time. "Looking back on it and having to play it, what you're conscious of is that the blame was not with these two people, two lovers, who were having a private conversation. What's really [clear now] is how invasive and disgusting was the press's attention to it, that they printed it out verbatim and you could call a number and listen to the actual tape. I think it made me extremely sympathetic towards the two of them and what they'd gone through."

RELATED: Dominic West Reveals Queen Camilla's Cheeky Comment After He Was Cast as Prince Charles in 'The Crown'

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Charles Admits to Having an Affair

The strain between Prince Charles and Princess Diana hit a new high when the Prince of Wales confessed on national television that he had been unfaithful in the marriage. Episode five followed Charles' ITV documentary with Jonathan Dimbleby, a project which would become Charles: The Private Man, the Public Role. The special was released in 1994 to give the public an unprecedented glimpse of the modern man destined to be their king.

In an interview with the presenter, Charles said that he was faithful to Diana "until became clear that the marriage had irretrievably broken." He also confirmed the rekindling of his "friendship" with Camilla.

Getty The "Revenge Dress"

Princess Diana Wears the "Revenge Dress"

Without saying a word, the Princess of Wales made headlines of her own on the June night that Charles' bombshell interview aired. Diana stepped out at the Serpentine Gallery in a fitted, black, off-the-shoulder dress with an asymmetrical hemline and chiffon train that flowed in the wind — a true style surprise for a member of the typically buttoned-up royal family.

Immediately christened the "revenge dress" and celebrated as one of her most iconic looks, Diana wanted the world to know she was moving on.

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Princess Diana Sits for Panorama Interview

Princess Diana's relationship with the royal family would never be the same after she gave a searing sit-down with BBC1 Panorama in November 1995. Breaking away from the royal family's practice of keeping a "stiff upper lip," Diana spoke candidly with host Martin Bashir about the breakdown of her marriage, the pressures of marrying a future monarch and raising young sons Prince William and Prince Harry.

Episode 8 sees host Bashir and his crew sneak into Diana's apartment at Kensington Palace for the controversial conversation, where she famously stated that there were "three of us in this marriage" and that she naively "married into a system," not a family.

Prince Charles and Diana Finalize Their Divorce

In the penultimate episode of season 5, Prince Charles and Princess Diana finalize their divorce amid estrangement and embarrassment on both sides. In a fictionalized scene, Charles and Diana sit down together to conduct an "autopsy" of their marriage and identify what went wrong.

"I never stood a chance," Debicki said in character as Diana. "Neither did Camilla," West, as Charles, replied.

"All anybody wanted was the fairytale of us," he later mused.