10 Filming Locations for 'The Crown' You Can Visit in Real Life

Get a taste of royal life for yourself with these filming locations for 'The Crown.'

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may be the faces we most often see on front page news, but our fascination with the royal family goes back decades. Nowhere is that more apparent than with The Crown, Netflix’s addictive series that attempts to gives us a behind-the-scenes glance at the late Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

The series has an abundance of riches—an A-list cast, stellar acting, and engrossing storylines based on historical events (though often with significant creative liberties taken). The scenery and production value are also stunning, thanks to a reported production of $13 million per episode, with filming taking place all across Britain. Despite the hefty budget, no filming was actually done inside Buckingham Palace, and instead, a number of stately homes played the role of the royal residence. Ahead are 10 notable filming locations used in The Crown, and no doubt, they are all fitting for a queen.

Related: Meet The Crown's Real-Life Royal Fans and Foes

10 The Crown Filming Locations to Visit In Real Life

1. Lancaster House, London

Lancaster House was commissioned by the Duke of York in 1825, and many of the lavish rooms stood in for the interiors of Buckingham Palace, which in real life is located nearby. The Crown is not the first production to use Lancaster House in place of the Palace — The King’s Speech, Downton Abbey’s 2013 Christmas special and The Young Victoria have all filmed there. The House is now managed and run by The Foreign & Commonwealth Office and not open to the public, but it can be rented for private events.

2. Wilton House, Wilton, Salisbury

Another Buckingham Palace double is Wilton House, which has been the home to the Earls of Pembroke for over 450 years. The House, which is open to the public, has 17th-century interiors, an impressive art collection, and 22 acres of parkland and gardens. Unsurprisingly, it has also been a popular filming location for numerous TV shows and movies, including Tomb Raider, Pride and Prejudice (the 2004 version) and Outlander.

The equally grand Wrotham Park, an 18th-century mansion in Hertfordshire, and Waddesdon Manor, a French Renaissance-style château in Buckinghamshire, were also used for scenes at Buckingham Palace.

3. Hatfield House, Hertfordshire

This Jacobian House is now home to the Marquess and Marchioness of Salisbury, but the Old Palace on the estate was once the childhood home of Elizabeth I, who learned of her accession to the throne there. In The Crown, Hatfield House was used in place of Marlborough House, the residence of Elizabeth’s grandmother, Queen Mary. Fun fact: The Jonas brothers shot their 2019 music video for “Sucker” on the grounds.

Related: Keep Calm and Binge on With 16 Shows Like The Crown

4. Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire

The Crown was not able to film inside Westminster Abbey, which has a long history tied to the royal family. Thus, on screen, Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s wedding and Elizabeth’s coronation at the Abbey were both recreated inside Ely Cathedral. The impressive Romanesque-Gothic cathedral was built in the 11th century, has undergone three restorations, and has previously appeared as Westminster Abbey in The King’s Speech and as the Palace of Whitehall (the main residence of English monarchs from 1530-1698) in Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

5. Old Royal Naval College, London

Buckingham Palace’s courtyard scenes—where important figures would arrive and depart—were filmed at the Old Royal Naval College, which sits on the south bank of the Thames in Greenwich. Lying beneath the site of the Old Royal Naval College are the old foundations of Greenwich Palace, where Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and Mary I all held their courts.

6. Eltham Palace, Greenwich, London

Eltham Palace was once a royal palace and then remodeled in the 1930s into Art Deco mansion by millionaires Stephen and Virginia Courtauld. This stylish house was used in a variety of scenes in season 1, including as the Queen’s Quarters on the Royal Yacht, the Bermuda Government House, and the HMSS Queen Mary. The Palace's glass-domed entrance hall was where Elizabeth meets the fashion designer Norman Hartnell in his London studio.

Related: The Crown Author Robert Lacey on Why We Loved Queen Elizabeth II

7. Audley End House, Essex

Audley End House was once one of the largest and most extravagant mansion houses in Jacobean England. The Great Hall and library were used as the setting for flashback scenes with Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, and the interiors of the house were also used as interiors for Eton College, Windsor Castle and Balmoral.

8. Ardverikie, Inverness-shire, Scotland

Balmoral Castle has been the beloved Scottish home of the royal family since 1852, and the late Queen spent her annual summer holiday there. In The Crown, Balmoral is portrayed by Ardverikie, a private estate in the Scottish Highlands. In addition to filming, the House is also available for cottage stays, weddings, and outdoor activities.

9. Slains Castle, Aberdeen, Scotland

In Season 1, the Queen Mother goes horseback riding in Scotland and spots the run-down Castle Mey, which she later purchases as a holiday home. The ruins of Slains Castle, along the coast of Cruden Bay in Aberdeen, were used for exterior shots of Castle Mey. Many also believe that Slains Castle provided inspiration for the setting of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

10. South Africa

The country of South Africa has provided the backdrop for many of the show’s international locations. In season 1, it served as Kenya, where Elizabeth found out about her father’s death. In season 2, South Africa was impressively used for a variety of locations during Prince Philip's world tour: Cape Town served as Melbourne, the Western Cape was Tonga, the Keurbooms River became the Amazon, and Hermanus doubled for Bermuda. The Castle of Good Hope, a 17th-century fort, was also used for scenes during the Queen’s 1961 visit to Ghana.

Next, find out how accurate The Crown is compared to real royal life.