‘The Crown’ Season 5: What We Know So Far

The Crown will last much longer than we previously thought. Despite earlier announcements saying the show's fifth season would be its last, Netflix has confirmed that the series will continue past Season 5. The biggest issue, however, is that because of coronavirus-related delays, fans will have to wait longer than usual for it to return.

Yet, even with the postponements, Netflix has already begun announcing members of the new royal cast. (Like Claire Foy and Matt Smith of Seasons 1 and 2, Olivia Colman and co. will be replaced by new actors for Seasons 5 and 6 to reflect the passage of time.) Here's what we know about the next instalment of The Crown, who'll be in it, and when to expect it.

The Crown Season 5 will premiere in November 2022.

Netflix has released a dispatch from the set of The Crown, along with a tentative premiere month. In the clip from the streamer's fan event, Tudum, Imelda Staunton introduces herself as the show's new Queen Elizabeth, while paying tribute to previous queens Olivia Colman and Claire Foy.

"On behalf of the cast and crew, we look forward to bringing you the next season of The Crown in November 2022," she says.

Netflix releases the first official images of Elizabeth Debicki and Dominic West as Diana and Charles.

Elizabeth Debicki and Dominic West portray Princess Diana and Prince Charles in the new season. And now, we finally get a look at them in character.

In two new official stills from the fifth season of The Crown, Debicki can be seen lying on a sofa with a subtle smirk on her face, while West is clad in a signature Prince Charles–esque brown suit and a concerned disposition.

Claudia Harrison embodies Princess Anne on set.

A new Princess Anne is officially in the picture. Actress Claudia Harrison was photographed on set in costume as Princess Anne while filming a scene with her costar and onscreen mother, Imelda Staunton. In the new images, Harrison is seen wearing a classic Anne uniform including a casual navy parka, oversized sunglasses, a hair scarf, and her signature bouffant hairstyle.

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Imelda Staunton has a striking resemblance to Queen Elizabeth.

Netflix has released a first look of Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II and we had to do a double take. In the new still from the upcoming fifth season, Staunton is dressed as the reigning monarch in a pale yellow dress and sporting the royal's signature coiffed curls.

Days later, photos surfaced of Staunton filming on set, further revealing her striking transformation into the queen. Below, she is seen on a boat in a green-and-turquoise look and matching hat, channeling the monarch's signature style.

The Crown Season 5 starts filming in July, but won't premiere until 2022.

Production for the fifth season will kick off in July, Variety confirmed with The Crown's producers. Filming will take place at the usual Elstree Studios, just north of London, and is expected to abide by strict COVID-19 protocols, even as lockdown measures in the United Kingdom begin to ease up.

With production beginning this summer, Season 5 likely won't arrive to Netflix until 2022, Deadline previously reported. The delay wasn't caused by the coronavirus pandemic, however. Apparently, the break was planned all along.

After Season 4 debuted last fall, fans will have to wait more than a year for the next instalment. Of course, this isn't the first time The Crown has taken a long break; there was a two-year wait between Seasons 2 and 3 too.

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This won't be the final season after all.

Although Netflix announced in January 2020 that The Crown's fifth season would be its last, months later, the streamer confirmed that the series would in fact get one more chapter.

"As we started to discuss the storylines for Series 5, it soon became clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons," Peter Morgan said in a statement.

And with Season 6 slated to bring the story into the early 2000s, per Variety, that means Season 5 could cover the late '90s; but that's yet to be confirmed.

The Crown was meant to last for six seasons from the start. After the show first debuted, Netflix's head of content, Ted Sarandos, said in 2016, "The idea is to do this over six decades, in six seasons presumably, and make the whole show over eight to 10 years."

Sarandos's plan seemed to be further solidified in October 2019, when show creator Peter Morgan signed a massive overall deal with Netflix. Sources had told Deadline that the agreement would include two more seasons of The Crown following Season 4. After all the back and forth, we're back to Plan A.

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Imelda Staunton will portray the queen.

Just as the cast was updated after the first two seasons, the show is doing the same by the time it arrives to Season 5. Netflix confirmed that, after Olivia Colman's tenure as Queen Elizabeth II, Harry Potter alum Imelda Staunton will take over.

Though the streaming company first shut down the rumors in November 2019, it later confirmed the news two months later. Staunton said in a statement, "I am genuinely honoured to be joining such an exceptional creative team and to be taking The Crown to its conclusion."

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Lesley Manville will play Princess Margaret.

Taking over for Helena Bonham Carter, who earned a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of Princess Margaret, Lesley Manville will transform into the queen's younger sister for The Crown's final season. An Oscar nominee for her supporting role in 2017's Phantom Thread, the British actress has credits that include Love Life, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, The Queen, and Another Year.

"I could not be happier to be playing Princess Margaret," Manville said of the regal role. "The baton is being passed on from two formidable actresses and I really don't want to let the side down. Furthermore, to play siblings with my dear friend Imelda Staunton will be nothing short of a complete joy."

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Jonathan Pryce will portray Prince Philip.

Pryce will carry on the role of the Duke of Edinburgh after Tobias Menzies, joining Staunton and Manville in a powerhouse lead trio for The Crown's final two seasons. While viewers may most recently recognise the actor for his Oscar-nominated performance in The Two Popes, fans of Game of Thrones (remember the High Sparrow?), The Wife, Tomorrow Never Dies, Evita, and The Pirates of the Caribbean may are also familiar with the seasoned Welsh star.

Elizabeth Debicki will play Princess Diana.

It's been announced that Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki will be taking over the role of Princess Diana from Emma Corrin. Debicki will play the Princess of Wales in the final two seasons of The Crown.

While Corrin was a relative unknown when she was hired to play the iconic princess, Debicki has already been making a name for herself in Hollywood with roles in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Great Gatsby, Widows, The Night Manager, and both Peter Rabbit movies. She was most recently seen in Christopher Nolan's Tenet.

"Princess Diana's spirit, her words and her actions live in the hearts of so many," Debicki said of her casting in a statement. "It is my true privilege and honour to be joining this masterful series, which had me absolutely hooked from episode one."

Dominic West is reportedly in talks to play Prince Charles.

West, known for his roles in The Wire and The Affair, is in "late-stage discussions" to star as the Prince of Wales, but the deal isn't official yet, sources have told Variety and Deadline. If the deal goes through, West would play Charles for The Crown's final two seasons, starring opposite Debicki as Princess Diana. He'll follow Josh O'Connor in the role.

Jonny Lee Miller will play Prime Minister John Major.

Following Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher in Season 4, Jonny Lee Miller will play the prime minister role in Season 5 as John Major, who led the United Kingdom from 1990 to 1997. Previously, the actor starred in series like Elementary (as Sherlock Holmes) and Dexter, and films like Trainspotting and Æon Flux.

The storyline reportedly includes Princess Diana's famous interview.

Deadline reported that Season 5 will cover Princess Diana's bombshell interview with the BBC program Panorama, where she discussed the fallout of her marriage to Prince Charles, his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, and her feeling unsupported by the royal institution. "There were three of us in this marriage" is her famous line from the sit-down.

In recent months, the 1997 interview, conducted by BBC journalist Martin Bashir, has come under fire as an investigation confirmed that unethical practices were used to secure Diana's participation.

The show has filmed Princess Diana's "revenge dress" moment.

New images from the set show that Season 5 will cover Princess Diana's June 1994 appearance at a Serpentine Gallery event in London, where she wore the famous "revenge dress." The pics show Debicki emerging from a car and greeting guests.

The Princess of Wales wore the black off-the-shoulder dress by Christina Stambolian on the same night Prince Charles publicly admitted in a TV documentary that he had been unfaithful in their marriage. The outfit, which went against royal dress codes, made headlines all over the country, thus receiving the "revenge dress" nickname.

The series recreated vacation scenes depicting Princess Diana, Prince Charles, Prince William, and Prince Harry together.

In mid-October, paparazzi photos captured Elizabeth Debicki playing Princess Diana during a Mediterranean holiday with her sons Prince William and Prince Harry, portrayed by child actors Timothee Sambor and Teddy Hawley. The family, joined by Dominic West as Prince Charles, were snapped sitting in a yacht in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The scene appears to recreate a 1991 trip that the royal family took to Italy, just a year before the Prince and Princess of Wales officially separated.

Season five will include Princess Diana's final public appearance.

New paparazzi photos show Elizabeth Debicki recreating one of Princess Diana's last public appearances for The Crown's fifth season.

On June 3 1997, just two months before her death, Princess Diana, who was a patron of of the English National Ballet, saw a performance of Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall. At the time, she memorably wore a dazzling baby blue dress designed by Jacques Azagury, along with matching satin shoes by Jimmy Choo.

The photo shows Debicki depicting the late royal in a similarly sparkling blue ensemble, though the dress isn't an exact replica.

Instead, Debicki's version of the outfit seems to more closely resemble another outfit that the Princess of Wales wore to Hyde Park's Serpentine Gallery in June 1995. Then, the embellished halter-top dress was designed by Catherine Walker.

Watch this space for updates.

This article originally appeared on Harper’s BAZAAR US