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‘The Crown’ Extended Another Season: Will It Now Cover Meghan and Harry’s Exit?

More royal drama is coming — but maybe not what you were hoping for. On Thursday, July 9, Netflix announced that The Crown will now end after a sixth season, instead of the previously announced season 5.

“As we started to discuss the story lines 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,” creator Peter Morgan said in a statement on Thursday.

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However, the story line will still not catch up to what’s going on with Prince Harry or Meghan Markle, the executive producer confirmed.

Olivia Colman The Crown Queen Extended Another Season
Olivia Colman Courtesy of Sophie Mutevelian/Netflix

“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,” Morgan added.

Seasons 1 and 2 of the hit show featured Claire Foy portraying Queen Elizabeth beginning with her ascension to the throne in 1952 and ended in the mid-1960s. Olivia Coleman took over as Elizabeth in season 3, with Helena Bonham Carter as her younger sister Princess Margaret and Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip. Season 3 focused on the events happening in the mid-’60s into the late ’70s, when Princess Margaret’s marriage began to fall apart.

Related: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Life in L.A.: Everything We Know

Season 4, which wrapped shortly before production was shut down globally due to the coronavirus pandemic, will cover the 1980s and will introduce Princess Diana (Emma Corrin) and Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson). It is expected to debut later this year.

Harry Potter alum Imelda Staunton will step in as Elizabeth in season 5.

Prince Harry Meghan Markle
Tim Rooke/Shutterstock

Jared Harris, who portrays George VI, King of England on the series, revealed exclusively to Us Weekly in February that he asked if the show would catch up to the present-day drama.

“It’s not gonna go that far. No, I asked. Peter [Morgan] said he’s not going that far,” the British actor, 58, told Us. “It was never gonna go this far though.”

Related: Royal Family’s Most Touching Tributes to Princess Diana Through the Years

He also shed light on Harry, 35, and Markle, 38, stepping away from their royal duties. “You have to look at the decision in the context of what happened to his mother [Princess Diana],” he shared. “And if he thinks the same thing might be happening to his wife, he’s gotta protect her. He’s doing the right thing.”

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