Imelda Staunton Will Play Queen Elizabeth In Final Season Of 'The Crown'

On Friday, creator and writer Peter Morgan revealed the news in a statement to The Guardian : “I’m absolutely thrilled to confirm Imelda Staunton as Her Majesty the Queen for the fifth and final season, taking The Crown into the 21st century. Imelda is an astonishing talent and will be a fantastic successor to Claire Foy and Olivia Colman.” 

Morgan said that he’d imagined the show “running for six seasons but now that we have begun work on the stories for season five it has become clear to me that this is the perfect time and place to stop.”

Ending after the fifth season likely means “The Crown” will not unpack more current royal happenings such as Prince Andrew’s involvement with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Harry and Meaghan Markle’s stepping down from their royal duties.

Staunton has been critically acclaimed for roles on stage and screen, not to mention her turn in the Harry Potter films. Her appearance as Queen Elizabeth will follow Olivia Colman’s performance , which began in season three late last year. Colman will continue on in season four. Before Colman, the queen was played by Claire Foy.