'The Crown' Season 5: Imelda Staunton Cast as Queen Elizabeth

It’s official: The Crown is coming to an end. Netflix announced that Imelda Staunton — that’s right, Professor Umbridge from the Harry Potter movies — will be playing Queen Elizabeth for the series’ fifth and final season.

While creator Peter Morgan initially saw the show running through season 6, he had a change of heart. “Now that we have begun work on the stories for season 5 it has become clear to me that this is the perfect time and place to stop,” he said in a statement, explaining to fans why there won’t be a sixth season as initially planned.

“I have loved watching The Crown from the very start,” Imelda, 64, said in a statement. “As an actor it was a joy to see how both Claire Foy and Olivia Colman brought something special and unique to Peter Morgan’s scripts. I am genuinely honoured to be joining such an exceptional creative team and to be taking The Crown to its conclusion.”

Fans will also remember Imelda for recently appearing in the 2019 Downton Abbey movie as Lady Maud Bagshaw. In real life, she is happy to call Jim Carter — who plays Mr. Carson in the franchise — her husband for nearly 40 years. The longtime couple share one child together — their daughter Bessie, 26, who was born in 1993 and is also in acting.

Queen Elizabeth — Tim Rooke/Shutterstock

Thus far, The Crown has proven to be quite the awards magnet. The historical drama has won three Golden Globes, four SAG Awards and eight Emmys. Claire, 35, played the queen for seasons 1 and 2 while Olivia, 46, took on the part for season 3 and 4. Imelda, it seems, will only get the chance to embody the 93-year-old monarch once.

As for how Netflix feels about the show ending, vice president of original content Cindy Holland said they “fully” supports Peter and they’re “excited” to see how he will “bring this landmark series to a fitting and spectacular end.”

While we’re also thrilled to see another iteration of Queen Elizabeth, saying goodbye at this point does mean we won’t see any of today’s headlines — like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leaving the royal family — play out on TV.

The Crown is currently streaming on Netflix.