The Crown Season 5: Release Date, Cast, Diana, Prince Philip and Latest News

The Crown. Photo: What's on Netflix

Here comes another changing of the guard in The Crown season 5. The Netflix royal drama is returning for two more seasons and once again is changing its entire cast. So, say goodbye to Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II and Emma Corrin as Princess Diana; say hello to Imelda Staunton and Elizabeth Debicki. And the show is getting a new actor to play the recently deceased Prince Philip.

The Crown season 5 will move forward in time, just as previous installments have. It will cover the tumultuous 1990s, including the divorces of Prince Charles and Diana, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson and Princess Anne and Mark Phillips.

The fourth season of The Crown debuted in November 2020 to glowing reviews for its portrayal of the courtship, marriage and growing conflict between Prince Charles (Josh O'Connor) and Diana Spencer (Corrin). The two actors went on to win multiple awards for their performances.

And The Crown fans will be happy to know that season 5 won't be the last. Creator Peter Morgan has gone back and forth about when he wanted to end the show, but in July 2020, he announced that The Crown season 6 will be the final chapter, according to Tom's Guide.

The Crown Season 5: Release date

Netflix has not announced The Crown season 5's release date, but it is set to begin filming in July.

Filming on previous seasons lasted around seven months and then post-production took at least eight months. All four completed seasons of The Crown premiered in either November or December.

So, our best guess on when The Crown season 5 will debut is November 2022.

The Crown Season 5: Who's playing the Queen, Diana and Prince Philip?

Like Claire Foy before her, Olivia Colman’s time as Queen Elizabeth in The Crown is over. Colman and all of the cast members from the third and fourth seasons of The Crown will be replaced by a new cast that will portray the aging members of the Royal Family, respectively, What's on Netflix cited

Imelda Staunton – Queen Elizabeth II

Imelda Staunton (top right) will be the third lead actress to portray Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown.

Replacing Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II is Imelda Staunton. She will be portraying the oldest version of Queen Elizabeth II we’ve seen in The Crown thus far. Like Foy and Colman before her, Staunton will portray Queen Elizabeth II for two seasons.

Imelda Staunton is famous for her portrayal of the villain Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter series.

Jonathan Pryce – Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Jonathan Pryce (top right) will be the third lead actor to portray Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in The Crown.

Replacing Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh is Jonathan Pryce. Coincidentally both actors are largely well known for acting in HBO’s Game of Thrones, but Pryce is most well known for being Bond villain Elliot Carver in Tomorrow Never Dies. Most recently, Pryce portrayed his real-life look-a-like, Pope Francis, in the Netflix Original movie The Two Popes.

Lesley Manville – Princess Margaret

Lesley Manville (top right) will be the third lead actress to portray Princess William in The Crown.

Replacing Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon is Lesley Manville. Both, Vanessa Kirby and Helena Bonham Carter have done excellent jobs in their portrayals of Princess Margaret, and we expect Manville to follow in their footsteps. Manville is known for her portrayal of the fairy Flittle in Disney’s live-action of Maleficent, and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, respectively.

Dominic West – Prince Charles

Dominic West (top right) will be the third actor to portray Prince Charles in The Crown.

Replacing Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles is Dominic West. The casting of West has been a major surprise, and we’re more than intrigued to see how the actor will look in his portrayal of Prince Charles. Arguably any casting of Prince Charles will be under scrutiny as the heir to the throne certainly has a unique look that not many could duplicate. West is most well known for his role on The Wire as Detective James McNulty.

Elizabeth Debicki – Princess Diana

Elizabeth Debecki will be the second actress to take on the role of Princess Diana.

Replacing Emma Corrin as Princess Diana is Elizabeth Debicki. Despite only starring as Princess Diana for one season, Emma Corrin gave a very memorable performance. There are only five years between Corrin and Debecki, but no one can argue that the latter will certainly give an excellent portrayal of Princess Diana in the final years of her life.

Eagle-eyed Marvel fans will recognize Debicki for her portrayal of Ayesha, the Golden High Priestess of the Sovereign in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

We’re still waiting to learn which cast members will take on the roles of Princess Anne, and Princes Edwards and Andrew, respectively. There’s also the interest in which young actors will play the roles of Prince William and Harry.

We’ll be certain to keep you up to date with all of the latest cast news.

The Crown Season 5: Latest news

Production status of The Crown Season 5

Official Production Status: Filming Scheduled (Last Updated: 15/11/2020)

It was previously reported that filming was scheduled to begin in June 2021, but it has been recently reported by Variety that filming for season 5 will now begin in July 2021.

Executive producer Suzanna Mackie may not be involved in the upcoming season as she recently signed an exclusive output deal with Netflix under Orchid Pictures.

What is the episode count for The Crown season 5?

A further ten episodes will be available to stream when The Crown returns for season 5.

Which historical events will we see in The Crown season 5?

The 1990s was arguably one of the most challenging years of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. In particular, the Queen has lamented that 1992 was her “annus horribilis” (horrible year), which was rocked by royal scandals and political discord.

In 1992, three of the four children of Queen Elizabeth separated or divorced from their partners. Most famously was the separation of Princess Diana and Prince Charles.

Public opinion towards the royal family took a huge hit in the decade, paving the way for a rise in republicanism amongst some of the population. Much of the discord between Queen Elizabeth and her subjects were not aimed at her directly, and more towards the behaviors of extended members of the family.

In 1997, one of the most controversial events in British history took place in Paris, when Diana was killed in a car crash. In response, the Queen and Duke shielded Princes William and Harry from the onslaught of the press, which in turn caused public opinion to waver, when in the eyes of the public, the Queen had not addressed her former Daughter-in-Law’s death.

Historical events we’re likely to see in season 5 of The Crown:

• Prince Andrew’s divorce

• Princess Anne’s divorce

• Windsor Castle fire

• The separation/divorce of Prince Charles and Lady Diana

• The Queen sues The Sun newspaper

• The death of Princess Diana

• Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister