Meghan Markle and Prince Harry shocked the world—apparently, even their family—when they announced plans to step back from royal family duties and move to North America. The announcement, made via their Instagram, prompted many viewers (us included) to speculate about how this would play out on Netflix's The Crown, the Emmy-winning historical drama series that follows Queen Elizabeth II's reign.
How and when will The Crown tackle the latest royal drama? Well, it likely won't.
While not confirmed, the Netflix drama created by Peter Morgan intended the series to be six seasons. Two seasons starred Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth, two will star Olivia Colman as the monarch and two other seasons will reportedly star Imelda Staunton. The cast changes as the show moves through time. The Crown season one was set between 1947-1955, season two traced the royal family's lives from 1956-1964 and season three, which dropped in 2019, covered 1964-1977.
Colman, Helena Bonham-Carter, Tobias Menzies, Erin Doherty and Josh O'Connor filmed season four back-to-back with season three, and while no time period was officially announced, the upcoming season will feature the introduction of Princess Diana (played by Emma Corrin) and Margaret Thatcher (The X-Files and Sex Education star Gillian Anderson). Long story short, the fourth season will cover the 1980s—Thatcher was prime minister from 1979-1990—the fifth (yet to be officially announced) would cover the 1990s and the sixth and final would be the 2000s.
According to BBC, The Crown executive producer Suzanne Mackie told PA that the Netflix drama is unlikely to touch this latest batch of drama for Queen Elizabeth and family.
"To be honest, whatever the life of The Crown is after where we are now, I doubt we'll ever go as far into the present day," Mackie said.
Of course that could still change, or there's always the prospect of a TV revival down the line. For now, it looks like The Crown won't be touching "Megxit" or any of the rumored strife between Prince Harry and Prince William.
Three seasons of The Crown are currently streaming on Netflix. The fourth is expected to drop in 2020.