“The Crown” has, once again, changed heads.
Netflix released photos of its new Season 5 cast of the British royal family TV series on Friday. This ensemble of actresses will continue through Season 6, the show’s last.
Imelda Staunton becomes the third and final actress to play Queen Elizabeth II on the series — this time during the tumultuous 1990s, in which a fire ravaged Windsor Castle,Princess Diana and Prince Charles had a messy divorce and Diana died in a Paris car crash in 1997.
Imelda Staunton takes on the role of Queen Elizabeth II on “The Crown,” while Jonathan Pryce is Prince Philip. Netflix
Elizabeth Debicki plays Princess Diana in the 1990s with husband Prince Charles (Dominic West), and her sons Prince William (Timothee Sambor) and Prince Harry (Teddy Hawley). Keith BernsteinOne still shows Staunton, 66, as the queen, looking smaller and grayer than her predecessor Olivia Colman, who won an Emmy for playing the part, next to Jonathan Pryce, 75, as Prince Philip.
Another sees a sunglasses-and-swimsuit-clad Diana — Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki, 32, takes over from Emma Corrin — on a boat with Charles (Dominic West, 52), and young princes William (Timothee Sambor) and Harry (Teddy Hawley).
Elizabeth Debicki is a distraught Diana on “The Crown.” Keith Bernstein
Camilla Parker Bowles (Olivia Williams) and Prince Charles (Dominic West). NetflixBut her happiness will be revealed as a facade. A different photo shows a depressed, solitary Diana looking miserable at a social event, while another features a happy Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles (Olivia Williams), now the King and Queen Consort of Great Britain after Queen Elizabeth II’s death in September.
Princess Anne (Claudia Harrison) is smitten at a party. Keith Bernstein
John Major (Jonny Lee Miller) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1990 to 1997. Netflix
Lesley Manville plays Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth II’s younger sister. Keith BernsteinAs usual, many smaller threads of the royal family and British politics will be explored. Netflix also released images of Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret, Claudia Harrison as Princess Anne and Jonny Lee Miller as Conservative Prime Minister John Major.
Season 5 of “The Crown” drops on Netflix Nov. 9.
