Hear ye, hear ye: We have reached that point in the regular Crown news cycle when we get to compare the actors to the likenesses of the royals they are playing. In advance of the final two seasons of the series, Netflix has revealed a first look at Elizabeth Debicki, who will be playing Princess Diana, and Dominic West, who’s your new Charles. As you may expect from The Crown, both of them are wearing some pretty good wigs, so they look pretty much like the people they’re playing. Though really, West looks a lot more strapping than Charles ever did, and will poor six-foot-three Elizabeth Debicki have to lie down for the whole season so they can pretend she’s five-foot-ten? (Sorry, that’s 1.90 meters and 1.78 meters for the Brits.)
The Crown’s fourth season ended at the start of the 1990s, with Diana and Charles’s marriage in the midst of falling apart as Diana’s celebrity rockets upward. Debicki and West are replacing Emma Corrin and Josh O’Connor, and the show will carry on for two more seasons with its new cast. Netflix hasn’t revealed what territory each will cover, though it’s reasonable to assume the fifth will primarily focus on Charles and Diana’s bitter divorce. Also among the cast are Imelda Staunton taking over as QEII (we’ve already had a first look at her) and Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret. The Crown won’t return until 2022 because of COVID-related delays, so until then, spend your time pondering the effort that went into giving West very specifically rendered little hair flips.