'The Crown's Next Queen Elizabeth Is Coming Straight From Hogwarts

Long live the queen — but the Netflix series all about the royal family will bow out a little earlier than expected. On Friday, Jan. 31, Netflix announced that Imelda Staunton will play Queen Elizabeth in the final season of The Crown, via a post on Twitter. Though the Emmy-winning drama was originally slated to run for six seasons — with three different actors playing the Queen for two seasons each — The Crown's creator, Peter Morgan, explained in a statement obtained by Bustle that he felt that it made sense to end the story a little early.

"At the outset I had imagined The Crown running for six seasons," Morgan said in his statement, before revealing that as pre-production began on Season 5. "It has become clear to me that this is the perfect time and place to stop." The creator and producer also praised Staunton as "a fantastic successor" to Claire Foy and Olivia Colman, who each played the queen at different points in her life.

In a statement of her own, Staunton also referenced taking over the throne from Foy and Colman, explaining that she has been a fan of The Crown since its premiere in 2016. "As an actor it was a joy to see how both Claire Foy and Olivia Colman brought something special and unique to Peter Morgan’s scripts," Staunton said. "I am genuinely honored ... to be taking The Crown to its conclusion."