Imelda Staunton's announcement that she will play Queen Elizabeth II (opens in new tab) after Olivia Colman finishes playing Queen Elizabeth in season 4, along with the news that "The Crown" (opens in new tab) will end after five seasons ( (opens in new tab). One of the immediate questions following this announcement is: which era will the final season cover? And perhaps equally important, will it cover the drama of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down from senior royalty? Harry and Meghan are ...... Will they really ...... Will they actually be on the show?" Here is what we know at this point.

This is actually a change from previous reports on the subject. Originally, this award-winning and hugely popular show was scheduled to have six seasons. However, according to creator Peter Morgan, "Now that we have started on the S5 storyline, it is clear that now is the perfect time and place to stop." Whether this has anything to do with the recent Royal Family developments or is purely a creative choice is anyone's guess.

If you're curious, here's a tweet with more details: [Now that Harry and Meghan are actively working to earn a living, are they now potentially interested in appearing on an outstanding royal TV show?

Netflix's chief content officer said he is open to the idea of having royalty on the show (opens in new tab). 'At the Producers Guild Awards he said. 'And he said at the Producers Guild Awards. And Harry and Meghan have pitched themselves (half-jokingly, it sounds like) for voice acting work at the 2019 premiere of The Lion King. And Meghan is reportedly looking for an agent (opens in new tab). So at least a guest appearance on the show was not out of the realm of possibility.

According to royal biographer Angela Levin (open in new tab), here's what happened." When I went to interview him at the palace, the first thing he said when I shook his hand was that he was watching 'The Crown'."

"I had not seen it then. I was very embarrassed, and when he shook my hand, he said, "I'll make sure I stop them before they get you."

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Perhaps the couple did not attend the show after all! In any case, the fact that the series will be cancelled after a fifth season probably means that it will not touch on contemporary events anyway. (If there are only five seasons, surely the creators can avoid that, but of course they haven't discussed it, so who knows!)

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