With The Crown season 4 now streaming on Netflix, anticipation is already ramping up for the upcoming next two seasons of the Emmy-winning historical drama about the royal family. Over the past year, the streaming platform announced some of the new stars taking over for the current cast in season 5 — prepare to say goodbye to Olivia Colman and hello to Imelda Staunton — and confirmed that season 6 will be its last. From the cast, including the addition of Khalid Abdalla as Dodi Fayed, to the timeline, here is everything ET knows about the final two seasons of creator Peter Morgan’s series:
New Cast Members
Per tradition of the series, The Crown recasts the lead roles every two seasons, meaning that following seasons 3 and 4 audiences will get a whole new cast. So far, Netflix has announced several key roles, including Staunton taking over for Colman as Queen Elizabeth II, Jonathan Pryce following Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, Lesley Manville stepping in for Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret, Elizabeth Debicki playing Princess Diana after Emma Corrin originated the role in season 4, and Dominic West replacing Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles.
Other major roles still to be announced include Princess Anne, who was originated on screen by Erin Doherty in season 3, and her younger siblings, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, who seem likely to appear in smaller roles after making their debuts in season 4, with the former going through his own martial problems with Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, around the same time as Charles and Diana.
And given that a young Prince William and Prince Harry briefly appeared in season 4, they may get more screen time — and possibly speaking roles — in 5 or 6.
Meanwhile, the most coveted non-royal parts are the new prime ministers — John Major and Tony Blair — to immediately follow Margaret Thatcher (played by Gillian Anderson in season 4). Blair was notably played by Michael Sheen twice in Morgan’s other films, The Deal and The Queen, which starred Helen Mirren in the titular role in the aftermath of Diana’s death.
Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II
The Crown is the latest major franchise for the Oscar-nominated actress, who has previously appeared in the Harry Potter movies as Dolores Umbridge and as Lady Bagshaw in the 2019 Downton Abbey film. “I have loved watching The Crown from the very start. As an actor, it was a joy to see how both Claire Foy and Olivia Colman brought something special and unique to Peter Morgan’s scripts. I am genuinely honored to be joining such an exceptional creative team and to be taking The Crown to its conclusion,” Staunton said when cast.
Later, while speaking with, Staunton added, “I don’t want to let the air go out of the balloon and I really have to bring it home. I would love to do that for all the people who have gone before me.”
In July 2021, Netflix shared the first official look at Staunton in the role, showing a much older portrayal of the Queen.
