IT'S time for the return of the regal drama, The Crown, as series three is set to hit Netflix this weekend.

But even Oscar-winner Olivia Colman can't blag her way into Buckingham Palace - despite being a dead ringer for Queen Elizabeth II - so the producers have to get clever about where they shot the series.

From grand palaces to international iconic buildings, there's a range of unusual places used to double up for the real thing across the UK.

And some of the scenes in the new series were filmed in Sussex.

Hollywood actress Helena Bonham Carter, who is playing Princess Margaret, was pictured in Rye back in January of this year.

The town stepped back in time to the 1970s with authentic 70s vehicles and shopfronts in place for the film-shoot.

The old Woolworths became Veitch’s fashion store and an open fronted greengrocers was created with fresh produce on display.

The Crown is a biographical story about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, created and principally written by Peter Morgan and produced by Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Television for Netflix.