'The Crown' Casts Dominic West As Prince Charles For The Final Two Seasons

Dominic West is heading from one Affair to another. Netflix's The Crown has tapped The Affair actor to play Prince Charles in seasons 5 and 6, covering the period of the 1990s and early 2000s when the crown prince split from Diana and embarked on an affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles.The Hollywood Reporter reports that Dominic West is in final talks to play Prince Charles in seasons 5 and 6 of Netflix's acclaimed royal drama The Crown, which already features Imelda Staunton taking the throne as Queen Elizabeth II, Lesley Manville set to play Queen Margaret, Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, and Elizabeth Debecki as Prince Diana. West would take over the role from Josh O'Connor, who played Prince Charles in seasons 3 and 4 and earned a BAFTA nod for his performance.

It's a fitting piece of casting, as West starred in Showtime's The Affair, earning a Golden Globe nomination for his performance, and will now be moving on to play a part in one of the most infamous real-life affairs in recent history — that of Princes Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, which resulted in the split between the crown prince and the widely beloved Princess Diana. Diana's death in 1997 would only add a greater air of tragedy to the whole thing. Of course, West is much more attractive than Prince Charles, but that is just a byproduct of a Hollywood production.

In July, it was announced that The Crown would be extended for a sixth and final season. The Crown showrunner Peter Morgan had earlier stated that the show would only run for five seasons, but changed his mind and pushed the run back to the original target of six seasons.

"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," Morgan said.

The Crown season 4 premieres on Netflix on November 15, 2020.

Based on an award-winning play ("The Audience") by showrunner Peter Morgan, this lavish, Netflix-original drama chronicles the life of Queen Elizabeth II (Claire Foy) from the 1940s to modern times. The series begins with an inside look at the early reign of the queen, who ascended the throne at age 25 after the death of her father, King George VI. As the decades pass, personal intrigues, romances, and political rivalries are revealed that played a big role in events that shaped the later years of the 20th century.