How to live like you’re in The Crown

Now with added Colman

The Crown returns to Netflix this week – and Stylist contributor Hannah-Rose has had a sneak preview. Here’s everything you need to know about the new series, plus four ways to weave some royal opulence into your home

It’s baaaack!

The third season of everyone’s favourite history lesson/posh soap opera drops on Netflix this Sunday. Olivia Colman is stepping into Claire Foy’s court shoes to play Queen Elizabeth II, with Helena Bonham-Carter taking on the role of Princess Margaret – and the 10 new episodes are as dedicated to showing the royal family warts-and-all as before.

We see the breakdown of Princess Margaret’s marriage, and learn more about Prince Philip’s fraught family history. We also meet the next generation of royals for the first time, notably headstrong Princess Anne and a struggling Prince Charles.

But season three is also more refined than its predecessors, with less sex and scandal and more of a focus on 1960s politics and the psychological pressures of royal life. It makes for a fascinating change of pace – don’t miss it. Read Hannah-Rose’s full review of The Crown series three

Read this

This season, The Crown pays much more attention to Princess Margaret’s romantic trials and tribulations than to the Queen’s relationship with Prince Philip. Can’t get enough of the rebel princess? Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown (Hodder & Stoughton) is a deliciously juicy new memoir by Margaret’s former aide Anne Glenconner, played in The Crown by Nancy Carroll. £16.99, Waterstones

Buy this

The Crown is now set in the Swinging Sixties, but don’t expect Buckingham Palace to get a pop-art makeover: it’s business as usual as far as royal interiors are concerned. (Think damask fabrics, Persian rugs and lots of gold.) This demure sage green cushion cover by ethical brand Safomasi is busy enough to look right at home on a royal sofa – but it’s actually covered in turtles and palm trees. We love. £55, Omi Na Na

Light these

A royal banquet needs proper candles to set the mood – and to be perfectly honest, your next dinner party could do with them too. Danish brand Ester & Erik makes beautiful hand-dipped, slow-burning candles in a mind-blowing range of shapes (cylinders, cones, pillars) and colours. The classic beige tapered candles would blend in at any state dinner, but we like Old Rose – a soft pink. £2.35 each, Cloudberry Living

Make this

Over the years, details about the Queen’s favourite foods have leaked out of Buckingham Palace. According to her former chefs, she prefers classic French and British dishes like steak with mushroom and whisky sauce and Dundee cake (aka perfect autumnal stodge). Your kind of thing? Try this comforting vegan mushroom and leek pie, or serve potato dauphinoise with a tangy fennel and rocket salad on the side.

The dishes bringing Stylist’s food editor Jenny comfort and joy in the kitchen

I find myself lingering longer in the kitchen at this time of year: maybe it’s because having the oven on means it’s the warmest spot in the flat, or maybe it’s because comfort food is the most fun to prepare. Out this Thursday is Five Ingredient Vegan (£20, Quadrille), a new cookbook from Katy Beskow packed with soothing dinner ideas.

OK, vegan food might not scream ‘comfort’, but Katy has a knack for creating recipes that are simple, achievable and the sort of food I’m craving right now (see: twice-baked pumpkin and sage macaroni or hearty lentil bolognese). Other favourites to warm the cockles are Jamie Oliver’s veggie chilli and Nigel Slater’s smoked haddock pie. Hibernation starts here.

In partnership with VisitScotland

Win a trip for two to Scotland

Struggling for minibreak inspo? Then treat yourself to a little trip down an Instagram rabbit hole courtesy of VisitScotland. Yes, all those locations are just a short hop across the border, and yes, we’ve fallen in love too.

Only in Scotland can you experience it for yourself, which is why we’re offering one reader the chance to win a two-night trip for two packed full of unique offerings – from staying aboard Fingal, a luxury floating hotel in Edinburgh, to experiencing a Timberbush Tour to the Scottish Borders and Midlothian. You’ll even have first class return train travel taken care of by LNER. To be in with a chance of winning, just hit the button below. Good luck.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

This new online shop is like the coolest garden centre ever – minus the plants

Are your beloved houseplants getting the star treatment they deserve? Possibly not. So check out Graen, a new online shop selling a beautifully curated selection of horticultural products – from sculptural ceramic vases and chic garden tools to how-to-grow books and floral art prints. The vibe is muted and mimimalist (perfect for Scandi design lovers), and their Instagram feed is equally full of plant-based interiors inspiration. Soul-soothing stuff.

Why Nigel Farage’s ‘Leave alliance’ may fail to deliver a Tory election win

HuffPost UK

Antisocial screaming penguin crowned New Zealand’s Bird of the Year

The Telegraph

Terrible at coping with stress? Your biology could be to blame

Stylist

“I asked ‘love experts’ to help me get back with my ex”

Vice

The most delicious foods that no longer exist

The Atlantic