The Crown season 4: who stars in the cast alongside Emma Corrin - and when the fourth series is on Netflix

Season 3 of The Crown was released on Netflix at the tail end of 2019, and fans are looking forward to the next instalment of the royal melodrama.

The third series saw Olivia Colman take over the reins as Queen Elizabeth II from Claire Foy, to represent the monarch’s older years.

But who has been cast for season 4 - and when will we be able to watch it?

Here's everything you need to know.

What's in store for the fourth series?

Season 4 will be the penultimate edition of Netflix's prestige drama.

The show was due to run for six seasons, but series creator Peter Morgan has said Season 5 would be "the perfect time and place to stop."

Quite handy then that The Crown is unlikely to broach Prince Andrew's humiliation following revelations of his scandalous relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

The fourth season is expected to cover the years between 1977 and 1990, though an exact time span is yet to be confirmed.

There are plenty of important events that could be covered by the show in that time frame: the Queen and Margaret Thatcher’s disagreements over Apartheid in South Africa, the 1984-5 miners’ strike and the 1982 Falklands War.

US President Ronald Reagan's relationship with the Queen could also be explored, and of course Prince Charles' marriage to Diana in 1981 - and the arrivals of Princes William and Harry – will almost certainly get a look in.

Who's in the cast?

The series, which has been in production at Elstree Studios and locations across the UK, will see the introduction of Diana, Princess of Wales and Margaret Thatcher.

They'll be played by Emma Corrin and Gillian Anderson respectively.