The Crown Season 4 EXCLUSIVE: First look at Charles and Diana actors Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin

The Crown’s fourth season has begun production, with actors Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin seen playing Charles and Diana for the first time.

Spotted on location in Almeria, Spain over the weekend, the stars recreated the royal couple’s 1983 visit to Australia – which was their first with baby Prince William.

Filming began on Friday and continued during the weekend.

Meanwhile Olivia Colman has revealed the rigorous preparations she underwent to perfect her new regal role in a dazzling new feature with Harper’s Bazaar UK.

The Oscar-winner, 45,  stunned in a regal-inspired shoot, as she admitted that one of the drama’s directors had to ‘teach her how to walk’ to nail the role of the monarch.   

The star, who has taken over the role from Claire Foy, said: ‘I don’t really enjoy research. But for this, I have to accept it. I can’t just sit like me, I have to sit like her, and look like pictures of her.

‘They have been teaching me how to walk – I’m really terrible at that, I have no physical awareness. I walk a bit like a farmer, one of the directors said.’ 

Royal tour: The stars recreated the royal couple’s 1983 visit to Australia – which was their first with baby Prince William

Art imitating life: The actors portrayed the royals while on location in Spain [L, on Friday] but the scenes are in fact set in Australia [R, in 1983, at Ayers Rock]

Baby’s first tour: The Australian tour was Charles and Diana’s first with baby Prince William [pictured at Alice Springs airport on 20 March 1983]

On mastering the Queen’s accent, she said:’I thought that general “posh” would do it, but apparently not. Really unusual vowel sounds. If you’re saying “yes”, you say “ears”. It’s fun to do, isn’t it? Very hard to stop. Ears.’

On being paid as much as her co-star Tobias Menzies, who takes over the role of Prince Philip from Matt Smith, she said: ‘I bloody well hope so! It’s not called Philip, it’s called The Crown!’

The Hot Fuzz actress has seen her star dramatically rise this year thanks to her Oscar-winning role as Queen Anne in The Favourite.

Olivia admitted that she never expected to win, and that her Academy Award takes pride of place in her home.          

Acclaimed: The Oscar-winner, 45, stunned in a regal-inspired shoot, as she admitted that one of the drama’s directors had to ‘teach her how to walk’ to nail the role of the monarch

She said: ‘I can’t register that it’s happened! It’s bonkers! It’s in our sitting-room, on the sideboard, and we keep laughing at it. It looks fake, it’s so shiny. And it’s really heavy! I could do some amazing weight-lifts.’ 

Olivia added that she believed Glenn Close would win the award for The Wife, saying: ‘She was sitting right in the middle, wearing gold, so I thought she must know something.’

The star also discussed how her life has changed since being catapulted into the Hollywood A-list, saying: ‘I’m very shy and private. I find it very, very difficult to be stared at. I don’t go out! I find that fixes it. 

Uncanny: She said: ‘They have been teaching me how to walk – I’m really terrible at that, I have no physical awareness. I walk a bit like a farmer, one of the directors said’

Wow: The Hot Fuzz actress has seen her star dramatically rise this year thanks to her Oscar-winning role as Queen Anne in The Favourite

‘I was talking to a friend of mine who’s a therapist, and I said, “It’s fine, I just don’t leave the house any more.” As soon as I said it out loud, I realised it sounded quite weird. It’s not what you expect, the other side of it.’

The star also gave her thoughts on the Me Too and Time’s Up movements against sexual harassment and sexual asault.

She said: ‘I am thrilled that it’s happening, and I hope that it doesn’t lose momentum, and people don’t get bored of it. 

‘People are so used to the norm, and they don’t want to rock the boat – if you put your head above the parapet, you can be seen as difficult. And if a woman’s seen as difficult, then people don’t employ them. Deeply unfair…’ 

Iconic: Olivia admitted that she never expected to win, and that her Academy Award takes pride of place in her home (pictured February 2019)

Olivia wowed in a regal inspired shoot for the magazine, posing on a gilded throne in a striking gold gown with statement sleeves and a dramatic train.

She also commanded attention in a billowing floral brocade gown with a scarlet tulle hem as she worked the camera.

Her raven pixie crop was styled in soft waves while a radiant palette of make-up enhanced her pretty features.     

The third season of The Crown sees a new guard sweep into Downing Street, as Queen Elizabeth and her family struggle to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing Britain.

From cold-war paranoia, through to the jet-set and the space age – the exuberance of the 1960s and the long hangover of the 1970s – Elizabeth and the Royals must adapt to a new, more liberated, but also more turbulent world.

Written by Peter Morgan, The Crown also stars Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret, Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles, Erin Doherty as Princess Anne, Ben Daniels as Lord Snowdon, Jason Watkins as Prime Minister Harold Wilson and Charles Dance as Lord Mountbatten.

The Crown Season 3 launches globally on Sunday, November 17.