A first look at Olivia Williams as the Duchess of Cornwall on The Crown

The Rushmore star will be taking over the role from Emerald Fennell

(Image credit: 2020 Max Mumby/Indigo)

The Rushmore star will be taking over the role from Emerald Fennell

If you’re a diehard fan of The Crown, you’re in for a treat today. The hit Netflix series, which centers on the lives of members of the Royal Family, is currently filming its upcoming fifth season and photographers snapped a picture of Olivia Williams in character as Camilla Parker-Bowles; blonde bob and all.

Williams, who has starred in hit films such as The Sixth Sense and Rushmore, was snapped on set dressed in an emerald coat and the Duchess of Cornwall’s signature haircut. Pictures of Williams in costume were shared widely on social media, drumming up excitement for the fifth season.

This will be the first time that Williams steps into her role on the series, which regularly recasts its main players as it jumps forward in time. Over the past two seasons, actor and Oscar-winning screenwriter Emerald Fennell played the Duchess of Cornwall alongside God’s Own Country star Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles and Emma Corrin as Princess Diana. O’Connor and Corrin have also been replaced for the upcoming season.

Olivia Williams

Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki will be taking on the roles of Prince Charles and Princess Diana respectively, and are expected to play out the complex love triangle between the pair and Camilla this season.

Harry Potter actor Imelda Staunton will preside over the cast as Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip. 

Josh O'Connor and Emma Corrin as Prince Charles and Princess Diana in season four of The Crown

While it isn’t known exactly what period of time season five of The Crown will cover this time, season four set the wheels in motion for the breakdown of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage. Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married in 1981 and divorced fifteen years later in 1996, following highly scrutinized strain on their marriage and Prince Charles’ public admission of his affair.

Netflix previously confirmed that after season five, the show will sadly come to an end with a sixth and final season. Williams will reprise her role as Camilla for ‘The Crown’’s last outing.

Megan C. Hills

Megan is a freelance journalist who covers entertainment and all things lifestyle, with a particular passion for fashion, beauty, travel and Keanu Reeves stories. She has previously worked on staff for titles including Marie Claire UK, CNN Style and The Evening Standard and has written for titles such as Bustle UK, Wallpaper*, Forbes and Hong Kong Tatler. She splits her time between London and her hometown Hong Kong, where she currently lives with the love of her life - an elderly dog named Poppy - and her husband.