The Crown season 3 and 4: Olivia Colman to replace Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth

Creator Peter Morgan always intended to replace cast members as characters aged

The Crown star Claire Foy will be replaced in the role of Queen Elizabeth by Olivia Colman for seasons 3 and 4 of the Netflix drama.

Despite Foy, who played the Queen in the first season as well as ther forthcoming second, scoring a Golden Globe win and Emmy nomination for her portrayal, creator Peter Morgan has made no secret of his intentions to replace main cast members as the show went on and the characters aged.

“What’s so beautiful about Claire is her youth,” he told Variety ahead of season 1 in 2016. “You can’t ask someone to act middle-aged. Someone has to bring their own fatigue to it. The feelings we all have as 50-year-olds are different than the feelings we all have as 30-year-olds.“

While a third and fourth season are yet to receive the official greenlight, early production is reportedly underway.

Colman's impressive television credentials include Broadchurch and The Night Manager for which she - like Foy - won a Golden Globe and earned an Emmy nomination. Her film credits includes Yorgos Lanthimos' The Lobster.

The Crown charts the reign of Queen Elizabeth II with season 2 - which begins on Netflix in December - entering the revolutionary era of the 1960s with the focus shifted to Prince Philip (Matt Smith). Joining the cast in season two are Matthew Goode, Antony Armstrong-Jones and Michael C. Hall who will play John F. Kennedy.

For the series, Morgan reunited with Abi Morgan and Stephen Daldry, the writer and director of award-winning stage play The Audience.

The Crown season 2 is available to watch on Netflix from 8 December.