Across 10 episodes, the season balances grand geopolitics with intimate domestic drama: The Crown Season 2 recap: Everything you need to know

A high-stakes diplomatic meeting with John and Jackie Kennedy reveals Elizabeth’s private insecurities and her competitive drive to prove her worth on the world stage. The "Complete Pack" Episode Guide

Lord Altrincham’s scathing public criticism of the Queen's "tone-deaf" speaking style forces the monarchy to adapt to a more egalitarian society.

The finale centers on the "scandal of the century," a government sex scandal involving Secretary of State for War John Profumo that eventually topples the Macmillan government.

The season is masterfully "book-ended" by two major political crises that test the Queen’s leadership and the nation’s stability:

The season opens with a humiliated Britain retreating from Egypt, a move that signals the beginning of the end for the British Empire and leads to the downfall of Prime Minister Anthony Eden.