The Crown Season 5 release date announced: It's Elizabeth Debicki's Princess Diana vs Dominic West's Prince Charles

The Crown Season 5's debut date was disclosed by Netflix on Saturday at its online Tudum fan event. On November 9, a brand-new cast will take the stage for the return of the dramatised series about the British Royal Family.

In place of Olivia Colman, Imelda Staunton will play Queen Elizabeth II, while Jonathan Pryce will play her husband, Prince Philip. Prince Charles will be portrayed by Dominic West; Princess Diana by Elizabeth Debicki; Princess Margaret by Lesley Manville; and Prime Minister John Major by Jonny Lee Miller.

The 1990s are thought to have been covered by Season 5 for the family. The casting has offered viewers some hints to pore over, despite the writers, producers, and showrunner Peter Morgan remaining as mum as ever about which real-life incidents from the royals' lives they aim to adapt for the screen.

Salim Daw has been roped in as millionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, the owner of a department store, while Amir El-Masry has been cast as a younger version of Al-Fayed, indicating that the viewer will see some flashback scenes. Khalid Abdalla will portray Dodi Al-Fayed, who sadly perished in the same Parisian vehicle accident in 1997 that claimed Princess Diana's life. At the time, they were romantically involved. Dr. Hasnat Khan, a British-Pakistani heart surgeon with whom Diana had a covert two-year relationship, will be played by Humayun Saeed, who will join the ensemble cast.

Senan, the son of Dominic West, who will play Prince William, and Teddy Hawley and Will Powell, who will represent Prince Harry at various ages, will give viewers a look at the young princes.

The Crown has always made creative decisions over the scenes it really recreates, despite the casting suggesting that Season 5 will cover the time leading up to and including Diana's death. The camera follows Josh O'Connor (playing Prince Charles) and Emma Corrin (playing an 18-year-old Diana) as they prepare for their wedding in Season 4, giving viewers glimpses of the couple dressed to the nines but not following them down the aisle.

For the royal family, the 1990s were a difficult decade. After Princess Anne, her only child, filed for divorce and her sons, Prince Charles and Prince Andrew, followed suit after a series of tabloid articles, the Queen famously referred to 1992 as her "annus horribilis." In that same year, Windsor Castle also experienced a devastating fire.

Even though the series was already incredibly well-liked by reviewers and audiences alike, the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8 has reignited interest in it. The UK audience for the show jumped more than 800% after the Queen's death in comparison to the prior Friday–Sunday period, according to data analytics company Whip Media.