The Crown's Last Queen Announced

The Crown, Netflix's hit drama series about the British royal family, will end earlier than expected and has revealed its next and last queen, the AP reports. Show creator and showrunner Peter Morgan had said he expected to create six seasons, but now thinks five is the “perfect time and place to stop.” Imelda Staunton has been tapped to be the last actress to play Queen Elizabeth II. She will take the crown in the fifth season from Olivia Colman, who, in turn, succeeded Claire Foy. “Imelda is an astonishing talent and will be a fantastic successor,” Morgan said in a statement Friday.

Staunton is an Olivier Award-winner whose films include Vera Drake and Nanny McPhee. She played Lady Maud Bagshaw in the Downton Abbey movie and Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The Crown has won a Golden Globe for best TV drama and both Foy and Colman have won best actress Globes in the royal role. Season three arrived on Netflix in December. A release date for season four has not yet been announced, but when it debuts, it will include the character of Princess Diana.

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