It's Here, The First Look Of Imelda Staunton As Queen Elizabeth In 'The Crown'

Behold, our first look at Harry Potter‘s Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II

For The Crown‘s final two seasons, the show has cast its newest Queen Elizabeth II — and fans are already loving the early glimpse of the new Queen Elizabeth II. Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you Harry Potter star Imelda Staunton, who will next portray the queen.

On Friday, Netflix released the first image of Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II. Best known for her portrayal of Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter films, Staunton will take over as queen, following Olivia Colman and Claire Foy’s takes on the matriarch. And since Netflix’s reveal, fans of the show have taken to Twitter to applaud the spot-on casting choice.

According to Buzzfeed, the final season of the Netflix hit will cover Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ divorce, as well as the deaths of Diana, the Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret, the queen’s sister.

Staunton, who also starred in the Downton Abbey movie as Maud, was announced as Season 5 queen back in January 2020.

“Imelda is an astonishing talent and will be a fantastic successor to Claire Foy [from Seasons 1 and 2] and Olivia Colman,” show creator Peter Morgan 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,” Staunton said. “I am genuinely honored to be joining such an exceptional creative team and to be taking The Crown to its conclusion.”

Netflix vice president of original content Cindy Holland added that she “fully support[s] Peter Morgan’s creative decision” and is “excited to see how he, Imelda Staunton and the cast and crew of Season 5, bring this landmark series to a fitting and spectacular end.”

Staunton isn’t the only new cast member to join The Crown. Game of Thrones actor Jonathan Pryce will portray Prince Philip, taking over from Tobias Menzies; Australian actor Elizabeth Debicki will take over from Corrin as Diana; and Lesley Manville will take over from Helena Bonham Carter as Margaret.

We don’t have a Season 5 premiere date yet, so keep an eye on The Crown‘s Twitter account for updates.