The Crown Season 5: First Look at Imelda Staunton’s Queen Elizabeth II

Netflix has released its first look at Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II for Season 5 of The Crown.

Production on the fifth series of The Crown, which follows the political and personal nuances of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign across the 20th century, began last month. Now, The Crown’s official Twitter account has shared an “early glimpse” of Imelda Staunton’s depiction of her Royal Highness.

An early glimpse of our new Queen Elizabeth II, Imelda Staunton. pic.twitter.com/ZeMSA1hDnv

— The Crown (@TheCrownNetflix) July 30, 2021

The Crown first debuted on Netflix in 2016. In its now-signature style, the show opts to renew its cast every two seasons. Over the years, The Crown has used this to its advantage – switching out its cast allows the show to clearly mark definitive points in Queen Elizabeth II’s reign whilst also feeling fresh and relevant five seasons into production.

The first two seasons of The Crown saw Claire Foy portray the UK monarch as the show attempted to navigate difficult subjects in her lifetime including the passing of George VI and wider worldwide events such as the assassination of JFK. Foy’s successor, Olivia Colman is the most recent actress to play the role of Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown. The actress assumed the role throughout the show’s third and fourth seasons during which she won the Golden Globe for best actress in a drama series.

Season 4, Colman’s final season with The Crown, ended with scenes from the Queen’s life dating back to late 1990. The show is likely to pick up somewhere within the same decade with Staunton at the helm. Netflix confirmed in a tweet last year that the show will end after its sixth season.

News from the palace: we can confirm there will be a sixth (and final) season of @TheCrownNetflix, in addition to the previously announced five!

— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) July 9, 2020

If you’ve just finished catching up with the latest season of The Crown, then why not read our official Season 4 review here. Alternatively, for more Netflix news, check out this article surrounding Netflix’s decision to implement mandatory vaccinations across all of its American productions.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.