Which stars have played the Royal family in The Crown this series

From Queen Elizabeth II’s ascent to monarchy to Kings Charles III and Princess Diana’s first encounter, The Crown has covered pivotal moments in royal history.

Season 5 of the much-anticipated Netflix drama will focus on the 1990s and will portray, among other events, Prince Harry and Prince William’s childhood.

The Crown star Elizabeth Debicki doesn’t “have any big opinions about the royal family”, because she doesn’t want to get involved in all the comebacks.

While the Peter Morgan series has yet to land, it has already created quite a stir of controversial scenes including the ‘tampon-gate affair’ which happened in 1989.

A phone conversation was leaked between the now-King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla where he allegedly told her he wanted to be reincarnated as a tampon so he could ‘live inside’ her.

Meanwhile, Princess Diana actor Elizabeth Debicki has defended the show over ‘sensationalism’ claims after it faced a backlash for recreating the late Royal’s infamous Panorama interview.

Following scrutiny, including from the likes of Judi Dench, The Crown’s team have added a disclaimer for The Crown stating the show is fiction.

As we wait for the first episode of season 5 to drop on the global streamer, we look back on the actors who have played members of the royal family in the series so far.

Queen Elizabeth II

Claire Foy was the first actor to play the Queen, in seasons one and two of the historical drama, covering her marriage to Prince Phillip, the breakdown of sister Princess Margaret’s engagement, the Suez Crisis and the birth of Prince Edward.

Next to portray Her Majesty was Olivia Colman, who previously spoke about the difficulties of the role owing to no one knowing what she was really like ‘behind closed doors’.

Imelda Staunton makes her debut as the late monarch in season 5, taking over the reins from The Favourite actor.

Prince Philip

House of the Dragon actor Matt Smith played a young Prince Philip, while Game of Thrones’ Tobias Menzies portrayed the Duke in seasons 3 and 4.

In a recent interview, Matt was asked whether he knew if any members of the royal family watched The Crown and revealed the Queen was a fan, although her husband ‘definitely’ didn’t join her.

Sir Jonathan Pryce is set to step into the shoes of the Duke Edinburgh, who died in April 2021, in season 5.

Princess Diana

Princess Diana first appeared in The Crown season 4 where she was portrayed by then-unknown actor Emma Corrin.

Emma’s performance as a bashful young Princess of Wales, who is then struggling with an eating disorder, left viewers stunned by her uncanny portrayal.

Elizabeth Debicki takes over from Emma and has already spoken about her nerves about wearing Princess Diana’s ‘revenge dress’ for a scene.

King Charles III

Josh O’ Connor played King Charles III as he began his romance with Princess Diana in season 3 and 4 of The Crown.

The actor said they made the decision to play the young lovers as ‘two lost children who both need mothering.’

Meanwhile, his season 5 successor Dominic West, who starred in The Wire, said he’s keen to portray the new King as a good dad to Prince Harry and Prince William.

Camilla, Queen Consort

Killing Eve and Promising Young Women writer Emerald Fennell played Camilla Parker Bowles and even met her real-life counterpart in a smiley encounter.

The Call The Midwife actor had previously said she was thrilled to be playing ‘a chain-smoking serial snogger’, saying she ‘absolutely loves’ the Queen consort.

Olivia Williams plays Camilla in the new chapter of The Crown revealed that Buckingham Palace shouldn’t be ‘frightened’ about how Princess Diana and King Charles’ divorce plays out.

The Crown series five premieres on Netflix on November 9.