Entertainment

Everything we know about the fifth and sixth series of The Crown

Imelda Staunton and Lesley Manville will lead the cast.
Imelda Staunton and Lesley Manville will lead the cast. Imelda Staunton and Lesley Manville will lead the cast.

Olivia Colman, Helena Bonham Carter and Tobias Menzies will all reprise their roles for the fourth series of hit Netflix drama The Crown.

But more details are already emerging about the fifth and sixth instalments of the lavish royal drama, which will bring it into the 21st century.

Here is everything we know so far.

Who will it star?

In January Netflix announced that Imelda Staunton would take over the role of the Queen from Colman in the fifth series.

Colman took over from Claire Foy and made her debut as the monarch in the third series, which launched on the platform in November 2019.

Phantom Thread star Lesley Manville will play Princess Margaret in the fifth series.

She follows in the footsteps of Vanessa Kirby and Helena Bonham Carter in the role of the Queen’s sister.

Meanwhile Game Of Thrones actor Jonathan Pryce will replace Tobias Menzies as the Duke Of Edinburgh.

How long will it be?

The drama was due to end after the fifth series, but the show’s creator and writer, Peter Morgan, has confirmed it will be extended.

Morgan said: “As we started to discuss the storylines for series five, 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.

“To be clear, series six will not bring us any closer to present day – it will simply enable us to cover the same period in greater detail.”

When will it be set?

The sixth and final season will go into the early 2000s, but the number of episodes is not yet known.

What events will it include?

Details are not known but the fourth series is expected to cover the 1980s.

The fifth and sixth series could include events such as the death of Diana, Princess of Wales (played in the fourth series by Emma Corrin), Princess Anne’s divorce from Captain Mark Phillips and the Queen’s “Annus Horribilis” in 1992, which included the Windsor Castle fire and the Duke of York’s separation from Sarah Ferguson.