The new queen has arrived.
English actress Olivia Colman has taken up the mantle of Queen Elizabeth II for season three of The Crown, and Netflix on Monday shared the first glimpse of her as the maturing monarch.
Colman is seen in profile, sitting for a cup of tea while clad in the British sovereign’s signature pearls and monochromatic suit.
Netflix captioned the photo on social media with only the word “Patience” and shared no other details about the coming season.
Colman is best known to American audiences for her work in AMC’s The Night Manager and BBC America’s Broadchurch. She takes over the role from Emmy-nominated Claire Foy, who played a younger incarnation of the monarch in the first two seasons of Peter Morgan’s royal-family drama.
Colman, 44, will play Elizabeth in season three, which is currently in production, and season four. The role will likely be recast beyond that.
Season three, expected to debut in 2019, will cover the late 1960s to the early 1970s.
The new cast includes Tobias Menzies as Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip, and Helena Bonham Carter as her sister, Princess Margaret. Those actors inherit the roles from the freshly Emmy-nominated actors Matt Smith and Vanessa Kirby. Also, Ben Daniels is set to play Margaret’s husband, Antony Armstrong-Jones.
Season two of the period drama was nominated last week for 13 Emmy Awards, receiving a nod for best drama and an additional acting nomination for Foy. It has previously won Emmys for production design and costumes. John Lithgow, who played Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the first season, won an Emmy for supporting actor in a drama.
