Netflix’s hit historical drama The Crown is moving into modern times. After spending the past four seasons documenting the early decades of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, and as it prepares to cover the ’90s in the upcoming Season 5, the original series has found its Prince William and Kate Middleton for The Crown Season 6, its final season.
Although details for the final season have yet to be released, it will cover the ’00s, a decade that saw the brewing romance between William and Middleton, the future king and queen consort, who initially met while they were both studying Art History at the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland in 2001. Taking on the role of the heir to the throne will be two different actors, with Rufus Kampa portraying a teenage prince, according to Deadline. As William ages into a young adult, actor Ed McVey will portray the prince’s later teen and early adult years, covering his courtship with Middleton, who will be portrayed by newcomer Meg Bellamy. The Crown Season 6 marks the professional screen debuts for all three. Kampa’s episodes, meanwhile, will chart how the British Royal Family coped with the death of William and younger brother Prince Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, who died in August 1997. That storyline will begin in the upcoming fifth season.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Set to premiere this November, The Crown Season 5 Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth, Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret, Dominic West as Prince Charles, Senan West as Prince William, and Johnny Lee Miller as John Major, who served as prime minister and leader of the UK’s Conservative party from 1990 to 1997. The season will cover the ’90s, a tumultuous decade for the royal family that included the death of Diana. The Princess of Wales in a car crash in Paris. At the time, William was just 15 and Harry was just 12. The Kite Runner star Khalid Abdalla will portray Dodi Fayed, the Egyptian billionaire scion who was romantically involved with the princess. Salim Daw has been cast as Dodi’s father, Mohamed Al-Fayed.
The ’90s also included the Queen’s self-proclaimed “annus horribilis” in 1992, the year during which three of her four children separated from or divorced their partners, including Charles and Diana’s divorce. It was during that same year that the royal family became shrouded in controversy with the scandal that was Charles’ affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles. The decade also included a fire at Windsor Castle, the Queen’s golden wedding anniversary, and the deaths of Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother.
The Crown Season 5 is set to premiere on Netflix in November, though an exact release date has not been announced. Season 6, the final season, is slated to begin filming later this year. The first four seasons of the award-winning series are available to stream.