The Crown Season 6 Has Finally Cast These Two Key Royals

Netflix's "The Crown" has put the British Royal Family on full display for four seasons now, with Season 5 expected to drop sometime in November, and Season 6 also in the works. While "The Crown" is ultimately a TV series about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II (played by Imelda Staunton in Season 5) and the drama surrounding it, viewers have also tuned in to catch realistic depictions of their favorite royals. And now, Netflix has reportedly cast actors to play two of the show's most important roles for the sixth and final season.

After Season 4 took viewers on a tour of the 1980s, the final two seasons are expected to cover the 1990s and early 2000s, which saw the royal family rocked by controversies surrounding, among other things, Princess Diana and Prince Charles. Diana and Charles' children — Prince William and Prince Harry — also became figures of public interest, especially as they grew older and began dating. While we previously learned that Harry's courtship and marriage to Meghan Markle won't be featured on the series, per The Hollywood Reporter, it's apparently full steam ahead for William and Kate Middleton. And Netflix has apparently found the actors who will play them.

According to Deadline, three different actors have been cast to play Prince William and Kate Middleton in Season 6 of "The Crown" — with one playing a teenage Duke of Cambridge and the others portraying William and Middleton as adults. Stage star Rufus Kampa is set to play the 15-year-old prince, while relative newcomers Ed McVey and Meg Bellamy will portray the royal couple in their older years. It'll be the first television project for all three actors, per Deadline. 

Thus far, each season has premiered in November or early December, with Season 5 of "The Crown" expected to launch two years after the release of Season 4. That likely means we'll be seeing these new stars take on William and Kate in late 2023 or 2024. However, don't expect the final season to bring the series too close to the current year. In 2020, series creator Peter Morgan spoke about the final two seasons. "As we started to discuss the storylines for Series 5, it soon became clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons," Deadline reports Morgan as saying. "To be clear, Series 6 will not bring us any closer to present-day – it will simply enable us to cover the same period in greater detail."