The Crown: Netflix adds final sixth season to cover 1990s royal drama

Imelda Staunton (left) will take over from Olivia Colman as the Queen

Netflix has said its epic royal drama The Crown will continue for a sixth season after all - although it still won't catch up with more recent events.

The show was originally expected to run for six seasons, but in January Netflix said it would only have five.

The show will still end in the early 2000s, with Imelda Staunton as Queen.

Writer Peter Morgan said: "Series six will not bring us any closer to present day - it will simply enable us to cover the same period in greater detail."

That means viewers still won't see the drama surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepping back from royal duties, for example, or the family life of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Nor will either of the royal weddings be portrayed on screen.

Lesley Manville will portray Princess Margaret from series five

But seasons five and six, which are expected to encompass the 1990s, will have no shortage of action.

The decade included the break-up of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, the collapse of Prince Andrew's marriage to Sarah Ferguson, the devastating fire at Windsor Castle, and the death of Diana, Princess of Wales - which plunged the Royal Family into crisis.

The TV drama may also incorporate the deaths of Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother, seven weeks apart, in 2002.

Morgan said: "As we started to discuss the storylines for series five, 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."

Netflix also recently revealed that Oscar-nominated actress Lesley Manville will join series five as Princess Margaret - a role previously played by Helena Bonham Carter and Vanessa Kirby.

The fourth series is currently in production and will see the introduction of Diana, played by Emma Corrin, and Margaret Thatcher, played by Gillian Anderson.