CONVENT OF STO. DOMINGO (Jerez de la Frontera): Hospital & Princess Alice of Battenberg's residence.
The Convent of Santo Domingo in Jerez de la Frontera turned into the convent the Princess Alice lived in Greece in 1967.
In reality, the convent we see on screen, together with its church, was the first temple to be built outside the walls of Jerez de la Frontera. A city located only 30 kilometres north from Cádiz.
In the show, it is told how Princess Alice of Battengerg’s (Prince Philip’s mother) lived in a Greek convent during the 60’s as a nun. And this Spanish convent was the place where these interior scenes where filmed.
Do you too want to visit this Jerez de la Frontera monument full of stories and history? Click on the ‘Activities’ button to know more about a tour around the city!
THE STATE OF LA PAÑUELA (Jerez de la Frontera): A ranch in Arizona in The Crown.
The state of La Pañuela, a place with over 4 centuries of history, was the filming spot chosen to recreate a 19th ranch in the middle of the Arizona desert.
Princess Margaret and her husband are invited by the Douglas family to spend a couple of days with them in their ranch. But this visit comes to a sudden end when Margaret receives an invitation from the U.S President to come to meet him at the White House. An invitation not even a Princess can refuse.
Back in the day, La Pañuela was really a Cartuja Order monastery. But nowadays its whitewashed walls and paved courtyard are a dreamy scenery to celebrate weddings and other events.
LIBRARY OF CÁDIZ UNIVERSITY (Puerto Real): Queen Elizabeth II at the Commonweath Meeting.
Cadiz University library is built upon the Bay of Cádiz natural park, in Puerto Real. Surrounded by high palm trees and green lands.
Such exotic views along with the university’s unusual architecture were key factors to turn this library into the building we see on the show when Queen Elizabeth II arrives Nassau (The Bahamas) to attend the Commonwealth Meeting celebrated in 1985.
LA CARRACA NAVAL STATION (San Fernando): Margaret Thatcher visit Queen Elizabeth's ship.
Only 13 kilometres outside Cádiz, in a town called San Fernando it is built the gigantic Naval Station of La Carraca. A naval shipyard dedicated to the construction and repair of ships and to store ammunition.
This was the first military establishment of its kind to be created in Spain back in the 18th century. And in the TV series, the complex was used as the streets of Athens and as the Port of the city of Nassau in The Bahamas.
The first time we see La Carraca on the screen is in season three. Princess Alice of Battenberg walks along the streets of Athens taken by military forces with an objective in mind:to sell some jewelry to collect money for the convent she lives in.
It is not until season four that we see once again this filming location. This time it doubles as the Port of Nassau, the capital of The Bahamas where Queen Elizabeth’s ship is docked due to the Commonwealth Meeting it is being held in the city.
Margaret Thatcher, in her official car, visits the Queen’s ship to discuss the troubling apartheid regime in South Africa at the time.
If you want to walk around the same streets of La Carraca that Thatcher drove through in the TV series go to our ‘Activities’ section. There, you’ll find more information about how to visit this huge naval shipyard in the south of Spain!
ATLANTERRA ESTATE (Tarifa): Princess Margaret at the Caribbean.
Do you imagine a better place to escape from everything and everyone than a private isle in the Lesser Antilles? Neither did Princess Margaret when she decided to travel to Mustique in season four.
However, the The Crown actors and crew did not really fly to the Caribbean Sea. Instead, they found a similar paradise near the white sand beaches of Cádiz.
The scenes of Princess Margaret in Mustique were really filmed in one of the houses at the Atlanterrra luxury estate, located an hour away driving from Cádiz in a municipality called Tarifa.
IRON BRIDGE OVER THE GUADIARO RIVER (San Roque): Australian landscape from Carlos and Diana tour.
There is a rather peculiar iron bridge over the Guadiaro river in the area of San Roque (near Cádiz) that The Crown used to portray an Australian landscape.
The bridge was built in 1929 by the engineer Torroja, and it was a great achievement for the time. Its construction ended with transports of goods and people by boat in the area.
In the show, the bridge and its surrounding greenery are seen in an establishing shot during the official tour of Carlos and Diana around Australia in season four. Specifically, this Andalusian scenery became an Australian forest near the city of Darwin.
SANTA MARÍA POLO CLUB SOTOGRANDE (San Roque): Polo match in Austraila.
A five-minute drive is the distance between the Iron Bridge in San Roque and the polo fields where the sequence of Charles playing polo in Australia was filmed.
Santa María Polo Club in Sotogrande is a luxury sports facility on the side of the river Guadiano where many tournaments and events take place.
Since this was the shooting spot for the scene where he falls down a horse, maybe Prince Charles (in the show) doesn’t remember fondly this polo club surrounded by orange trees.
An episode that did really happen to Charles while her wife attended another official event in the country.
AVENUE IN SOTOGRANDE (San Roque): Princes Margaret and her husband in LA.
But Sotogrande was not only used in The Crown to set scenes that happened in Australia. This luxury residential development in Andalusia also served to set the visit of Princess Margaret and her husband to the U.S in season three.
The actors playing Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones didn’t travel to Los Angeles to recreate the American tour. Instead they were filmed in a convertible driving through Paseo del Parque Avenue in Sotogrande. With similar palm trees on either side of the road the glamour of the scene was guaranteed.
BAELO CLAUDIA ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE (Bolonia): The Crown season 5.
The Crown has once again travelled to Cádiz to film parts of its newly released season 5. One of the new filming locations being Baelo Claudia Archeological Site in Bolonia, the ruins of an ancient Roman city only 20 kilometres away from Tarifa.
Among its ruins, The Crown team recreated Diana’s visit to another archeological site in Italy.
Do you too want to discover this filming location? Click on the ‘Activities’ section to get more information about tours and experiences in the area!
And learn more about the Roman history as did Elizabeth Debicky (the actress playing Diana) in the series!
