Elizabeth Debicki confirmed to play Princess Diana in seasons five and six of 'The Crown'

Princess Diana will be played by Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki for seasons five and six of hit Netflix series The Crown, it's been confirmed.

She will take over from Emma Corrin, who will play the younger Diana Spencer in season four of the show, which is still yet to air.

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“Princess Diana's spirit, her words and her actions live in the hearts of so many,” Debicki said about taking on the role.

“It is my true privilege and honour to be joining this masterful series, which has had me absolutely hooked from episode one.”

The show will end with the fifth and sixth seasons, which will culminate with the drama reaching the early 2000s.

Though not officially confirmed, it means that Debicki will almost certainly be playing Princess Diana up to the time of her divorce from Prince Charles and then her tragic death in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

Debicki has snared a number of high profile roles in recent years, notably in Steve McQueen's remake of Widows and Christopher Nolan's upcoming Tenet.

Meanwhile, Corrin will be playing Diana opposite Josh O'Connor as Prince Charles in the upcoming season four, with Emerald Fennell being introduced as the young Camilla Shand, later to become the Duchess of Cornwall.

Making up the final seasons' cast will be Imelda Staunton as the Queen, taking over from Olivia Colman, Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret and Jonathan Pryce as the Duke of Edinburgh.

The series extending to a sixth season was confirmed by the show's creator Peter Morgan in July.

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“As we started to discuss the storylines for [Season 5], it soon became clear that in order to do justice to the richness and complexity of the story, we should go back to the original plan and do six seasons,” he said.

“To be clear, [Season 6] will not bring us any closer to present day — it will simply enable us to cover the same period in greater detail.”

A release date for season four is yet to be confirmed, but is likely to be in the coming months, with previous series having aired in November or December.